Bristol County Beekeepers

Beekeepers may be concerned about pesticide applications.  You can apply to have your property excluded from spray programs.  The deadline for you to contact your Town Clerk is March 1. 

 
The Bristol County Mosquito Control Project is gathering names of property owners who want their property excluded from pesticide spraying.

Owners must provide the town or city clerk of the community in which the land is located with a certified letter providing the name, address, telephone number and define spraying programs from which the exclusion is requested.

Designations need to be made before March 1 of each year, and are effective from April 1 of that year through March 31 of the following year.

Under the regulations, the person requesting an exclusion must mark the boundaries or areas to be excluded at least every 50 feet with orange surveyor’s tape, or another department-approved marking device which clearly defines the area of exclusion. For more information, call your Town Clerk’s office.

Ray found an interesting web page about raising queens.

   I posted it under the how to section on the top line of the website.      You can also use this link.

President’s Message

 

Hello People,

Well, this is my final message as president.  As has been wisely said it’s a good idea to pass the torch to ‘get some new blood.’  Well, at this Tuesday’s Club meeting, it’s time for our biannual elections and the torch will be passed.

            Please know how much I’ve enjoyed working with various Club members, be it board or general, to help fulfill the Club’s charter.  On a personal note, there’s a certain amount of satisfaction to have helped so that as I move along, the Club is in a decent place.  There are various committees in place, such as the Fair, Education, web site and Bee School groups, which address those areas of the Club’s charter.  It’s been fun working with members and being involved with the fairs, finding speakers, helping with the bee school and workshops.  And, for icing a really neat part of all this activity of outreach and promoting bees and beekeeping to the general public is our bank account has some more breathing room now.  Pretty neat in my book.

            As mentioned earlier, this month’s meeting is Election night.  Most positions are filled.  However we are still looking for a Secretary.  The general requirements are show up and take minutes for the Club and Executive Committee meetings, help keep the membership list in sync with the Treasurer and take care of Club correspondence, both via e-mail and snail mail.  Oh yes, and one other big nut, taking care of the newsletter has also been part of the duties.  If you are decent with a computer and like details, people and bees please consider helping out.

            Well, it’s getting to be Spring-y out; the sun is setting later, we’re getting through January, February is short, the queen is or will soon begin laying this year’s brood.  It’s a good idea to check your apiary, bees, equipment.  Order bees if needed, repair equipment, order something if need be; because as you know, soon the days will be warm, the bees will be flying and the season will be in full stride.  It’s coming and it will be wonderful.

            Good for now.  Thank you to the many Board and Club members with whom I’ve worked and talked with along the way.  You’ve taught me some very valuable lessons; I appreciate your time and patience.  Thank YOU very much.  It’s been excellent.  Very well.  It’s time to head along.  Thank you, Good Day and see you around.  Greg

 

 

PLEASE REMEMBER

 

Fellow club members to remember in your prayers: Pam, Ray, Dick B., Chris, Joe, and Fred; and little John P. seems to be doing well! These people are in, or have just gone through a ‘rapids’ portion of their life journey, so any help or kindness directed their way would go a long way.

 

 

Help Keep Our Files Current

If you move or change any contact information, please tell us.  This is especially true of e-mail addresses.  A quick note will save many emails from the internet postmaster.

ITEMS FOR SALE

If anyone has anything bee related that they would like to advertise in this newsletter, please email me at        weeacresii at comcast.net

 

 

CLUB MEETINGS

 

UNLESS OTHERWISE ANNOUNCED, ALL GENERAL MEETINGS ARE HELD ON THE 4^TH TUESDAY OF THE MONTH AT THE BRISTOL COUNTY AGRICULTURAL HIGH SCHOOL AND BEGIN AT 7 PM

PLEASE WEAR YOUR NAME TAG TO THE MEETING TO HELP OUR NEWER MEMBERS LEARN WHO YOU ARE. IF YOU HAVE MISPLACED YOURS, PLEASE SEE JEANI WARISH FOR A REPLACEMENT.

 

 

If there is a topic you would like to see covered or a particular speaker you are interested in for future meetings, please contact President Greg Boyd. 

BrCBA Yearly Calendar  2010

 

January 26^th ~ Video from the club library  ELECTION OF NEW OFFICERS AND BOARD MEMBERS

February 23^rd ~ Topic TBA 

March 23^rd ~ Topic TBA

April 27^th ~ Topic TBA

May 25^th ~ Topic TBA

 

 

 

Mentor Program

 

JANUARY BEEKEEPER’S SCHEDULE

Attend the January Club meeting.

Sign up for bee school.

Go to school or teach a class.

Clear snow from hive entrances.

Build new frames and hives as required.

Order bee packages.

Feed bees if needed.

Make sure the hive is pointing South-ish to shelter it from the North-ish winds.

Consider wrapping the hive with tarpaper. This will help keep the hive warm and reduce wind infiltration.

Consider adding a top insulation board. Make sure the slot is facing the frames, and the outlet is facing the front of the hive. Ensure the top extension cover is pulled forward to allow the bees to enter/exit.

Put weights on the top cover to weigh it down.

 

IF YOU’RE PLANNING ON ORDERING PACKAGES/NUCS/QUEENS, BELOW IS A LIST OF PEOPLE TO CONTACT

PACKAGE BEES

Beehavin’ Apiary 

            Package & nuc pick-up locations in Smithfield, RI,  Freetown, MA and Thompson, CT

            http://www.beehavin’    1-800-431-6747  

 Fred Magee

West Bridgewater, MA   508-583-4270

Roger Robitiaille

88 Lewis St. Warwick, RI 02886

401-732-6599 or 401-378-3578

 Trails End Farm

Call (508) 763-5280 to place order or go to http://www.tefarm.com/  

 

QUEEN BREEDERS

 Bob Brachmann , Cold Weather Queens

7590 Maples Rd. Little Valley, NY 14755

foxxbrachmann@hotmail.com

 Andy Card

Billerica, MA, 798-667-5380

 Rollin Hannan Jr., Hannan Honey LLC

480 Hulls Hill Rd., Southbury, CT 06488

mailto:r,hannan@sbcglobal,net

 Frank Lagrant

Ware, MA, 413-967-5064

 Michael Palmer, French Hill Apiaries

505 French Hill Rd., St. Albans, VT 05478

mpalmer@together.net

 Andy Reseska,

Holliston, MA, 508-429-6872

 Kirk Webster

Champlain Valley Bees and Queens

Box 381, Middlebury, VT 05723   802-758-2501

 

 

 

Bristol County Beekeepers Association Bee Library

 

 

 

  

DUES ARE DUE        DUES ARE DUE        DUES ARE DUE

Dues are $15 per year. As the bylaws state, notices shall be made in the newsletter for November, December, and January.  Well, here’s the November notice!  Dues are due.  Please make your check out to Bristol County Beekeepers Association and send it to Doreen Laboa, 180 New Bedford Rd. Rochester, Ma 02770. Please fill out the Member Renewal Form for 2010 sheet below and mail it or bring it to a Club meeting. PLEASE PRINT all information legibly.

 

 

 

Membership Renewal Form 2010 Please provide all of this information when you renew.  Please print clearly.  Thank You.         NAME: ___________________________________________________________________ ADDRESS: _______________________________________________________________       PHONE NUMBER: ______________________CELL (optional)_______________________       E-MAIL: __________________________________________________________________ How do you want to receive the Bristol County Beekeepers Association newsletter? ‹   POSTAL SERVICE         ‹   E-MAIL ONLY

 

nnnnnnnnnn

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MINUTES TO GENERAL MEETING

NOVEMBER 24,2009

 

The evening began with an open discussion about various problems and solutions in member hives. Then the attending members were treated to a talk by Don Adams about how to build a wax melter, how to melt and strain impurities from your wax, and how to make use of your wax.

The meeting began at 8:45 PM. A thank you card was received from Ray and Eunice Michaud for the plaque and gift certificate. Thanks to Bob P. and Jeani for getting things organized. And thanks to Everett for delivering them.

A motion was made to accept the secretary’s minutes as written in the last newsletter. Motion was seconded and passed. Treasurer’s report read by Fred Sterner was accepted as read.

The club Christmas party will be December 22, in room B2. It will be a pot luck with a Yankee swap. Children are welcome. Festivities will start at 6:60 PM.  A separate flyer will be sent out.

Elections are being held at the January meeting. We still need someone for the secretary position, and someone for the executive board.

The club will be donating $250 to RIBA to help with the expense of having Randy Oliver here this past summer.

Meeting adjourned 8:55 PM.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Count your blessings. Once you realize how valuable you are and how much you have going for you, the smiles will return, the sun will break out, the music will play, and you will finally be able to move forward the life that God intended for you with grace, strength, courage, and confidence.”

 

Og Mandino

 

We saw Jeff at a conference and he mentioned that if there was a single cause of CCD, anyone could have figured it out -

Here is an article.

INDIANAPOLIS, IND — Jeff Pettis continues to break the hearts of mystery lovers.

Two years ago he and other entomologists went to work on what sounded like the scenario for rip-roaring fiction: widespread, unexplained disappearances of honey bee workers that left the youngsters and queen behind for no obvious reason.

His progress report to the national meeting of the Entomological Society of America, however, isn’t pointing toward a fictional crescendo. Pettis argues that there may not be a Colonel Mustard in the kitchen with the candlestick, but a web of subtly interacting factors. At his presentation December 12, he might have been an epidemiologist chiding humans about the need for life style changes: … multiple stresses … subtle interactions … importance of nutrition.

Pettis is an entomologist though, the research leader at the USDA Agricultural Research Service’s Bee Research Laboratory in Beltsville, Md. For at least a year, he has been talking about the interaction hypothesis.

He points out that a working honey bee leads a tough life in today’s landscape of imported parasites and long-distance road trips to agricultural fields that may have low nutritional value but considerable pesticide residues. He proposes that such stresses weaken the bees and interact with other menaces, such as viruses, which can massacre a colony.

Other research, which he didn’t review, has identified viruses that lead bees to expire when they have ventured beyond their hives. That quirk might explain the syndrome’s illusion of vanishing workers.

As examples of worrisome stresses, Pettis described sublethal doses of pesticides, under study in cooperative research with Galen Dively of the University of Maryland in College Park. In this work, bees didn’t die from weeks of exposure to a neonicotinoid pesticide. But when the same bees faced a later challenge, the nasty fungal pathogen Nosema ceranae, they developed worrisome infections. Pesticide-exposed bees ended up with three to four times as many Nosema spores in their body as did bees without the pesticide preview. “It’s a very subtle interaction we wouldn’t have detected” without the specific test, Pettis said.

Hauling bees across the country adds more stress, although Pettis says he’s not betting that the long-standing problems of transportation will prove a major factor in the recent colony collapses. Nevertheless, ARS and other institutions are looking into the stress. A comparison of hives shipped away versus ones left in place found higher egg and larval losses in the transported colonies, he said.

Also, bees on the road failed to manage their hive temperature as well as the stationary ones do, Pettis said. Hives sitting in California stayed near 34 degrees Celsius even though day and night outdoor temperatures zigged and zagged during the same period. When traveling on a truck though, hive temperatures lost their relatively even control and began spiking and dipping.

This multiple-stress approach to the bee dilemma doesn’t grab public imagination the way a classic mystery villain does. Yet it’s just as worrisome. Adding colony collapse disorder to the other perils honeybees face has raised winter losses to around 30 percent, Pettis said. Beekeepers have divided hives and compensated to some extent so far, but “this is becoming unsustainable,” he said.

At one point in his talk, Pettis showed what might have been taken as a sign of stress himself under other circumstances. He volunteered that approaching the presentation room, he began to wonder whether he should have tied a large pink bow in his hair.

The audience merely nodded in understanding. The entomology meeting shared the convention center with the World Sprit Federation’s cheerleading competition. Reaching any scientific talk involved dodging through throngs of young girls in spangled outfits, face paint and big, glittering hair bows.

Move your mouse to the How to section on the top of the page and click on Screened Feeder Frame for a great new method for cold weather feeding sent in by Everett

NOVEMBER 2009

President’s Message

 

Hello People,

Greetings and salutations!

First, as those of you who were present at the September and October Club meetings know, we commissioned a plaque of thanks and appreciation for Ray.  We also presented Eunice with a gift certificate for supplies at a local art supply store.   Everett and Lisa visited to present them to the Michauds.  A neat, unintended consequence was, it turns out that when Everett and Lisa stopped by, it was during a particularly tough time for Ray, due to the various procedures and tests he’s been undergoing.  The visit and the plaque, I’ve heard, both lifted his spirits.  So I say hey, if that helps, we ought to drop another one off this month!

Ray, on behalf of the Bristol County Beekeepers Association, I want to Thank You for your interest, willingness to help and answer questions, visit, discuss, explain, explain again, make presentations; generally carry the ball when it needed to be carried.  And Eunice, Thank You for answering the phone ever so patiently, helping at meetings, helping keep the books square; generally being a cheerful soul and good sport.  Thank you both, very much.  We, the Club, very much appreciate that you are members of the Bristol County Beekeepers Association.  And now Life Members!  Congratulations!

Now, back at the ranch, have you found it pretty amazing how in spite of all of our planning, both ‘successes’ and ‘failures’ happen but most of all, if a good attitude is maintained, things tend to work out well?  And doesn’t that just relate to beekeeping?  Ah, the parallels.  Any recent discussion I’ve had about bees has, at some point, raised the point about ‘what a strange year it’s been.’  Well, yes, it was a ‘year to remember’.  And I say ‘Forward ho!’  We’re into the late fall/early winter management part of the cycle, with aims of getting to and through the spring.  So, what practices should be employed?  Wrap?  Feed?  Screen bottom board covered?   By keeping our balance, a clear head, and positive attitude we can take judicious steps to ‘keep’ our bees healthy for this next leg.  Don’t you just love it?!

For this month, by popular demand, Don Adams visits again.  Don will be speaking about ‘Processing and Uses for Wax.’  After the honey has been uncapped and you have the cappings… Don has some ideas about what to do next.  It ought to be good and relevant.

A friendly reminder is posted elsewhere about dues.  Please make it easier on Bob and Doreen, and settle up earlier than later.  It works well.  Thank You.

Also elsewhere is a ditty about this year’s Christmas party.  Christmas is on a Friday, and we meet the Tuesday before.  So we figured, (at Jeani’s insistence!) it’d be a good year to have a party.  Here, here!  Parties are enjoyable, often memorable and a good chance to talk bees.  It’s nice that this year’s timing works well. 

One last thing: we’ll be meeting in the auditorium this month.  There’s a ‘Parent Teacher’ meeting the same night and we’ve been ‘bumped’.  Yet another opportunity to adapt, improvise and overcome!  Ah, the journey of beekeeping. 

I hope this finds you and yours doing well.  And from my family and me to you and yours, please accept our heartfelt best wishes for a meaningful Thanksgiving.  Cheers, Greg

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE NOVEMBER MEETING WILL BE HELD IN THE AUDITORIUM

 

November 24^th ~ Topic Don Adams ~ Processing and Uses for Wax

December 22^nd ~ Pot Luck Christmas Party 

January 26^th ~ Topic TBA

February 23^rd ~ Topic TBA

March 23^rd ~ Topic TBA

April 27^th ~ Topic TBA

May 25^th ~ Topic TBA

DECEMBER CHRISTMAS PARTY

 

Jeani Warish is heading up the committee in charge of planning the party. A flyer will be coming out shortly ~ potluck…Yankee swap…talkin’ all things bees…mark your calendars!

MINUTES TO GENERAL MEETING

OCTOBER 27, 2009

 

Meeting began at 7:37 PM. There was no treasurer’s report; a motion was made to accept the secretary’s minutes as written in the September newsletter. Motion was seconded and passed.

Elections are being held in January, so we need a nominating committee. Jeani Warish, Greg Boyd, Richard Cusolito, and Sarah Murray volunteered. Nominations will be at the November meeting. We also need 3 people to audit the books. Celeste Turner, Julie Lynn, and Doreen Laboa volunteered to do it.

BEE SCHOOL  ~ Feb. 16^th and 23^rd, March 2^nd, 9^th, 16^th, 23^rd, 30^th, and April 7^th. Classes start at 7 PM.

WEB SITE ~ Fred is doing a great job; he has redesigned it using wordpress. It was decided to make the mentor link go to all names on the list, and those who wish to answer it may do so, thus giving people several view points to ponder. If you have anything you would like to put on the website, please don’t hesitate to contact Fred.

BEE CULTURE MAGAZINE ~ It only costs $15 if you chose to get your issues online.

Joe Tardif shared a secret of his…putting a mixture of propolis and grapeseed oil on your hands bsfore working your bees makes them sting less. Marla Spivak also suggests using 2 TBLSP sugar instead of alcohol when doing a mite count. For those who like to read, the U. of Minnesota has a great website just chocked full of links to EVERYWHERE!

Everett will deliver the plaque and gift certificate to Ray and Eunice. Ray is still not allowed to be in large crowds due to the chance of infection.

Jeani Warish volunteered to head up the committee to plan the club’s December 22^nd potluck Christmas party.

Meeting adjourned 8:37 PM

 

DUES ARE DUE        DUES ARE DUE        DUES ARE DUE

Dues are $15 per year. As the bylaws state, notices shall be made in the newsletter for November, December, and January.  Well, here’s the November notice!  Dues are due.  Please make your check out to Bristol County Beekeepers Association and send it to Bob Derosier, 76R Middle Rd. Acushnet, Ma. 02743. Please fill out the Member Renewal Form for 2010 sheet below and mail it or bring it to a Club meeting. PLEASE PRINT all information legibly.

 

 

 

Membership Renewal Form 2010 Please provide all of this information when you renew.  Please print clearly.  Thank You.         NAME: ___________________________________________________________________ ADDRESS: _______________________________________________________________       PHONE NUMBER: ______________________CELL (optional)_______________________       E-MAIL: __________________________________________________________________ How do you want to receive the Bristol County Beekeepers Association newsletter? ‹   POSTAL SERVICE         ‹   E-MAIL ONLY

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The speaker at the meeting will be Don Adams.   He will talk about solar wax melters and what to do with the wax that is collected.

We will meet in the library.

The Christmas meeting will be an informal pot luck.

 President’s Message

 Hello People,

Greetings and salutations!  How are you?  How are your bees?  Fall management practices in full stride?  Cause now is the time to Think Spring!  Amazing how the Great Wheels turn along, isn’t it?  And to consider how very fortunate we are to be a part of that process, to whatever extent, truly makes for a Good Day indeed.

This month we’ll begin our indoor meetings at Bristol Aggie pm Oct.  27th.  Remember, we’ll be meeting in the Library, which is on the second floor.  It’s a very spacious, comfortable room and ought to work well for our meetings.

For you new beekeepers, how are you doing?  Interesting year, yes?  Please keep in mind 2009 was a very odd year.  As I spoke with people from a fairly wide representation of agriculture, the consensus was ‘never seen a year like this for as long as I’ve been __________ (farming, keeping bees, gardening etc.).  Hence the ‘Think Spring’ admonition!  Have questions?  The mentor list is in the newsletter; call and ask away!  And of course, you can bring your question to this month’s meeting.  We’ll get you an answer and you can carry on.  The main thing to remember is you are not alone, help is available, and Keep the Faith!

Good for now.  Best to you and yours, Greg

 

Help Keep Our Files Current

If you move or change any contact information, please tell us.  This is especially true of e-mail addresses.  A quick note will save many emails from the internet postmaster.

 

 

ITEMS FOR SALE

If anyone has anything bee related that they would like to advertise in this newsletter, please email me at weeacresii@comcast.net 

 

 

CLUB MEETINGS

 

UNLESS OTHERWISE ANNOUNCED, ALL GENERAL MEETINGS ARE HELD ON THE 4^TH TUESDAY OF THE MONTH AT THE BRISTOL COUNTY AGRICULTURAL HIGH SCHOOL AND BEGIN AT 7 PM

PLEASE WEAR YOUR NAME TAG TO THE MEETING TO HELP OUR NEWER MEMBERS LEARN WHO YOU ARE. IF YOU HAVE MISPLACED YOURS, PLEASE SEE JEANI WARISH FOR A REPLACEMENT.

 

 

If there is a topic you would like to see covered or a particular speaker you are interested in for future meetings, please contact President Greg Boyd. 

BrCBA Yearly Calendar 2009 – 2010

 

PLEASE NOTE THAT MEETINGS WILL NOW BE HELD IN THE LIBRARY, LOCATED ON THE SECOND FLOOR

 

October 27^th ~ Topic ~ Fred Sterner and Mary Anne McQuillan will be speaking about mead and beer making.

November 24^th ~ Topic TBA

December   22nd- “Christmas Party – Pot luck dinner” 

January 26^th ~ Topic TBA

February 23^rd ~ Topic TBA

March 23^rd ~ Topic TBA

April 27^th ~ Topic TBA

May 25^th ~ Topic TBA

 

 

A Few Thank You’s

 

In the recent past, quite a few people have helped carry the Club ball along in such a way that it seems appropriate to take some time to acknowledge them.  First, going back to June, Joe, on very short notice, led a workshop focusing on the status of the hive.  From all accounts it went well and was well worth one’s time.  Thank You Joe.

Then in August, Randy Oliver visited the area.  Everett and RIBA organized the Randy Oliver visit, and what a visit!  Randy was in for that weekend and Everett did the hosting; some sightseeing, visiting out yards and spending some time talking queens with Ray.  On Sunday we met at Skip’s farm for the first of two workshops.  It was excellent.  Randy started slowly, ramped up and was soon making point after point, illustration after illustration.  And all with such ease.  Before we knew it, noontime was here, so back to Skip’s for pie and cider.  For the afternoon we ventured to a RI host for another workshop.  A lot of repeat, but still new info was presented/discussed/illustrated.  All in all it was an excellent return for the time invested.  Thank You to Everett and the RIBA for organizing the visit.  Thanks very much.

Now, in the course of relating the Randy Oliver visit, I mentioned how we met at Skip’s.  Skip is the next person I want to thank for a couple of things.  One is for being a gracious host for Randy’s workshop; we went to a nice out yard to discuss the hives/bees/treatments and then back to his shop for some farm-made pies and cider.  What a nice gesture.  Thanks Skip.

The other item is, as we were preparing for the fairs, the Club obtained some honey and some jars, good.  But now to bottle.  How?  Who?  I asked Skip if we could bottle at his Wishing Stone Farm (WSF), and being gracious once again he agreed that we could use his facilities.  So my family and I ventured to WSF with bottles and honey and zipped through the task.  Skip’s wife Liz was at the ready for various requests, some ideas and keeping me in line.  Then, I had miscalculated the amount of honey we would need and, yes, Skip had 5 gallons available and offered it to us; the right person with the right goods at the right time.  We finished and were on our way.  But I’ll tell you it means a lot for Wishing Stone Farm and Skip and Liz to be so helpful and timely helping us prepare for the fairs.  So for both hosting Randy and allowing us to use your bottling facilities, (man talk about helping out above and beyond), Thank You Skip and Liz.  Thank you very much.

            Fairs, yes we were at some fairs, in between the rain showers!  And for the most part they worked out well.  Bill and Margaret organized the staffing of the Rehoboth and Rochester fairs.  The one fair that didn’t work out was the Tractor Show in Rehoboth in early October.  It was a combination of a very rainy Saturday (can you believe it?!), the end of the season and people getting tired.  But Rehoboth and Rochester went well.  Also, Thank You to those people who helped staff our booth at the fairs.  Without you it would have been a ‘disappearing bee club’ booth, which would not be good.   So, thank you people for taking the time to help.  And, of course, Thank You Bill and Margaret for pulling the fairs together.

            Speaking about the fairs, one of the key items for a successful booth is an observation hive.  Well our main people for this were Jeani and Mike.  Mike provided the hive and Jeani provided the bees.  It worked so well; the o-hive is a 3-frame model and Jeani packed it with bees.  It was great.  Thank you both.  That’s a make-or-break item.  Thanks for ‘making’ it happen!

            And, speaking of Jeani, well, it was her idea to have the September meeting on a Sunday, outdoors.  Again from all accounts it worked very well.  Everett and Joe were there to open hives and field questions.  The opportunity to ‘talk bees’ was not wasted.  And the potluck, well, have you ever heard of a potluck that didn’t work?!  Thanks again Jeani.  Great idea.

            Those are the people and events I’ve wanted to mention.  Now please, I’m not trying to get all gooshy about this.  It’s just when people help the Club with its mission, I think that is a bright spot and deserves acknowledgement.  So again, Thank You ‘Helper People,’

 

 

Beekeeper’s Calendar for October

 

• Continue checking hives for diseases.  If found, treat immediately, PER INSTRUCTIONS ON BOX.

• NEVER TREAT A HIVE WHEN IT HAS HONEY SUPERS.  ALWAYS REMOVE HONEY SUPERS FIRST, AND THEN TREAT.
• Expose the hives to sun and protect from wind.  Tip the hive forward to allow any moisture to drain.

• Check stored equipment/wax for wax moth.  If evidence of wax moth is found, exposing the frames to air and sunshine will eradicate the problem.  Also, the cold temperatures will kill the larva.
• Store empty supers and hive bodies, which have drawn comb, with Para dichlorobenzene (moth balls without naptha-remember No Naptha).  The Para repels the wax moths. Also, make sure the equipment is mice proof.
• Check honey stores in brood and honey chambers.  If the hive is light (Lift/ back side of hive.  80# for 2 deeps or 3 mediums are good weights), you’ll need to feed with sugar/water mixture.  BUT feed after fall flowers have passed.  Otherwise the bees will not take the syrup down. There will be some late-season harvesting by the bees; thistle, asters, golden rod are coming in.  So after the late season flowers have passed, add the feed.
• Make sure there is enough ventilation to allow excess moisture to exit the hive.  Also, make sure the cover keeps out any rain or snow.  Moisture causes more harm than cold does; it causes hypothermia of the bees, and they will die.

• Install ½”x ½” hardware cloth mouse guards.
• Consider investigating using formic acid

 

 

Beekeeper’s Calendar for November

 

• Make sure all medications are removed per the time requirements stated on the package.  Leaving them in too long allows the target pests to build immunity.
• Install insulation board on top of inner cover.  Homosite is the recommended material.  This will absorb water vapor, and the bees can retrieve this moisture as they need to.
• Make sure there is a 2-3 pound weight on top of each hive.  This will keep the cover on in case of blustery winter winds.
• Make sure there is enough ventilation to allow excess moisture to exit the hive.  Also, make sure the cover keeps out any rain or snow.  Moisture causes more harm than cold does; it causes hypothermia in the bees, and they will die.

 

 

 

 

 

MINUTES TO GENERAL MEETING

SEPTEMBER 20, 2009

 

Meeting was held at Jeani Warish’s house, and began at 12:00 PM with the opening of Jeani’s 3 hives, led by Everett Zurlinden. After thoroughly examining the hives, everyone gathered on the deck at 2:00 PM to discuss club business. There was no treasurer’s report.  Fred is busy revamping the club website. The “bee school” link will go to Everett; we need a link for people who wish to ask questions to BeeSource. We also discussed looking into starting a Yahoo group.

A motion was made to pay the entire insurance bill as opposed to installmaents. Motion was seconded and passed.

A student at RISDE needs a beeyard for a project.

The EAS convention is being held At URI in August 2011. RIBA is going to need LOTS of volunteers! We need a treasurer’s report before we can decide the size of our donation to RIBA. There’s a man on Cuttyhunk surveying for bees; Fred left a note on his car in hopes he would contact him.

The idea of combining the general meetings and bee school was mentioned.

The classes at the Rotch – Duff House were explained by Joe Tardiff.

Meeting ended at 2:30 PM; a delicious pot luck lunch followed!

 

 Mentors

Mentors are experienced beekeepers that afre willing to help beginners and old hands with problems.  To find one near you, contact Mentors.   Email your location and problem along  with your contact information.

 

 

“A good deed is never lost: he who sows courtesy reaps friendship; and he who plants kindness gathers love.”