It felt like spring this morning, but that's over with again for awhile. Back into the freezer! The past several days were quite nice and I imagined the bees were busy in the sugar and pollen patties I had gotten into the hives last Saturday in anticipation of the thaw. I'm glad I got it done. 8 of my 11 winter hives are still alive and I'm hoping to not have any further losses. Of course I didn't hope for any losses, but it's unrealistic to think that they'll all make it through a Wisconsin winter. Our bees face a lot of challenges with pests and diseases, and without the queen being able to replace many of the dying bees because they're clustered, the population dwindles and it's hard for them to keep warm. But, every year some colonies make it through to spring and rebuild the colony to full strength and cast off swarms to replace those colonies that were lost. And they've been doing this for 100 million years. That's a long time and a lot of adaptation. To provide us more information on bee pests and diseases, and how to hopefully improve our game, Daniel Ziehli, Wisconsin State Apiary Inspector, will be providing us with a presentation at our meeting on January 20. This is Daniel's off-season from apiary inspections, but he continues to serve the beekeeping community through educational talks. During the season, May through October, Daniel will assist beekeepers with free, voluntary hive inspections on a first come, first serve basis. Daniel will address a variety of issues that we face as beekeepers, and enlighten us on ways to deal with them. Daniel is here for us, when we request him, to analyze problems and offer suggestions for improvement. I've already asked Daniel about Nosema cerenae and if he has a microscope (remember my current obsession?), and although he doesn't personally have a microscope, he will provide us with resources (labs) that we can contact to analyze bee diseases. Hopefully many of you can make the meeting and meet Daniel, who's here to help us, but if not, there will be another opportunity at D's Field Day on July 7. More on that in a future newsletter. Tomorrow is moving day for the extractor, to its new home at the Rushford Meadery and Winery. Fred and Al will be doing most, if not all, of the heavy lifting but anyone that can lend a hand can meet them at the Meadery around 2:30 pm. 8389 Liberty School Road, Omro, 54963. Shane and Laurel Coombs are our hosts. Thank-you. Next meeting: Saturday January 20, Caestecker Library, 518 Hill Street, Green Lake, 9:30 a.m. At this meeting we will be holding elections for President and Secretary. If you are interested in serving the ECWBA in either capacity, but cannot attend this meeting, please send me your name and the office you are interested in. See you then. Gerard
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ECWBA NewsletterSince 2009 Archives
March 2019
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