April 2015
Nelson County Beekeepers
What’s The Buzz
Volume 1, Issue 1
Welcome!!! From the Nelson County Beekeepers, of Kentucky Time:
Meetings are on the 3rd Thursday each month
Place:
Nelson County Extension Office, 317 S 3rd St., Bardstown, KY 40004 502-348-9204
Food:
Pot Luck Suppers !!! Always a great surprise!
Monthly Meeting
Officers
May 21st—Michele Colopy– The Pollinator Stewardship Council. “Pollinator Stewardship Council Collaborations: Education, Advocacy, Action” June 18th—Farida Olden—Honey bee nutrition effects on bee genetic Dr. Lee Towsend– Effects of pesticides on Honeybees July 16th—Field Day at Pat Swartz
August 20th—Tavia Cathcart—How Flowers Flirt & Flourish September 17th—Dr. Ric Bessin—Preparing for winter
October 15th—-Dr. Tom Webester– expert in mites. Officer nominations. November 19th—Thanksgiving Meal, The Famous Honey-Bourbon Turkey prepared by Robbie Smith. Officer elections. December 17th Christmas Party
President-Paul Kiener paul.kiener@gmail.com Vice President-Doug Brink Secretary-Helen Fenske Treasurer-Susan Zhunga
May Robbie Smith County Extension Agent for Horticulture
Inside this issue: Colony Loss- 2013-2014: Preliminary Results
2
Oxalic Acid registered by EPA for use against Varroa
3
The Life Cycle of a Bee
3
Up Coming Events
3
Reminder
4
What’s Happening Inside The Hive? In May and June you and the bees are rewarded, or disappointed, by how well you prepared for the honey flow. You may also be busy keeping up with your bees. Serious beekeepers do not take long vacations in May. If your bees are healthy, everything happens this month. The hive is full of young bees, the weather is almost perfect, and honey plants are blooming everywhere. The queen is laying eggs day and night, often over 1000 daily. There are now enough bees to take care of all the brood. The hive is making honey very quickly, even several pounds daily. If the bees need to make wax they will do this quickly by building onto foundation in your frames or by filling in empty spaces
with burr comb. Drone production increases greatly and many drones fly out on sunny afternoons in search of the mating areas. Swarming becomes a very important factor. May is the ideal time for a colony to reproduce, and most colonies will produce “swarm cells”, or queen cells that will mature in time for swarms to issue from the hive. There are three reasons to keep your bees from swarming : (1) Your hive will be weakened and the potential for honey production much less; (2) Your queen will be replaced by a daughter queen which may not be as good as the original; and (3) Your swarming bees can be a nuisance to the neighbors. The possibility of tracheal mite and nosema problems is very low by now. Only the very weakest hives are still fighting
them. Varroa mites should be at very low levels, but be aware that they are starting to increase now that the treatments are out of the hive. Beekeeper Chores Check your hives weekly and add supers as needed. Be sure there is plenty of space above the brood nest for honey. Frames with new foundation should go in. A strong hive will draw out the foundation into new comb in just a few days if the weather is good. In a hive with two deep brood boxes, the bees will often move to the upper brood box, leaving the lower box relatively empty. This is an inefficient use of space in the hive and can lead to swarming. In May or June it is useful to “reverse” these brood boxes. This means removing all of the boxes, (Continued on page 2)
What’s The Buzz Volume 1, Issue 1
Page 2 Colony Loss- 2013-2014: Preliminary Results For the winter of 2013/14, 23.2% of managed honey bee colonies in the U.S. died. Nearly two-thirds of the respondents (65.4%) experienced winter colony loss rates greater than the average selfreported acceptable winter mortality rate of 18.9%. The 2013/14 winter colony loss rate of 23.2% is 7.3 points (or 23.9%) lower than the previous years’ (2012/13) estimate of 30.5% loss. (Figure 1) and is notably lower than the 8-year average total loss of 29.6% .
Figure 1: Summary of the total overwinter colony loss (October 1 – April 1) of managed honey bee colonies in the US across the 8 annual national surveys (red bars). The acceptable range (blue bars) is the average percentage of acceptable loss declared by the survey participants in each of the 8 years of the survey. Info from: Beeinformed.org.
thicken and ripen it into honey. Swarm collecting has been a favorite pastime of beekeepers for centuries. If you are Be sure to keep an interested in doing this, have a few empty hives on hand. Some eye on the beekeepers locate empty “trap weather hives” or “bait hives” near their own hives. Often, a swarm flying out of one of your own placing the second box on the hives will move into the trap bottom board where the first hive, since it is much like what box had been, and placing the the bees are searching for. In first box above it. This may this way, the beekeeper break the brood cluster. So manages to catch and save the check the weather forecast and bees, although the source hive do this when at least two warm is weakened. days are coming. The bees will http://www.nkybeekeepers.co need to rearrange their cluster, m/uploads/beecalendar.pdf and less brood will be lost in the process if it is not exposed to cool weather much b low 50o. Observations and Ideas Hold a honey frame horizontally and shake it over the hive. If nectar sprinkles out, your bees are on a honey flow. The nectar is still dilute and watery. With time, the bees will either consume it or continue to (Continued from page 1)
APRIL TRASH PICK-UP Thank you, thank you, thank you to all who participated in this evening's (April 27th) trash pick-up!!! We had enough people that we finished at about 7:20 pm!!!! I looked at my watch, and kept asking what areas were covered, and we had it all done. I couldn't believe that it went so quickly!! (OK Henry....you can now move the mileage markers back to where they belong!!!)There were some members who contacted me and for one reason or another, they couldn't make it this evening, but they wanted to help tomorrow. Thank you for your willingness to help; very much appreciated. But we have it all cleaned up for the Spring. We'll have another chance in the Fall. Again, thanks to all! Paul Kiener - President
Special Event Big Congratulations to Darrel Hester. Winner (again) of the 2015 Chili Cook-off. This time we were able to present him with his very own, engraved Hive Tool. Way to go Dave!!!!!
Insider Info Any member looking to sell some of their equipment, we can list it for you right here in the newsletter. Contact Susan Zhunga @ 502-507-8789. Doug Brink still has t-shirts and hooded sweatshirts for sale . See him at the next meeting.
We now have two suppliers of bee equipment in our area: Bluegrass Seed & Fertilizer Inc 3345 Bloomfield Rd. Bardstown, KY 40004 (502) 348-7333 Bardstown Mills 1393 Withrow Ct. Bardstown, KY 40004 (502) 348-3949
Page 3 Oxalic Acid registered by EPA for use against Varroa mite on Honey bees
Uncapped Honeybee pupa opened from the side with reddish brown adult varroa mite and bee-colored deutonymph (baby) mites Photo credit: Abdullah Ibrahim.
Adult female honey bee with a reddish brown oval shaped varroa mite on her thorax, between her wings, Photo credit: Bee Informed Partnership
Oxalic acid (CAS #144-62-7) has just been registered by the EPA for use on honey bee colonies here in the US. Oxalic acid has been legal to use on honeybees in Europe and Canada and is a naturally occurring chemical that can be found in a number of plants. It also occurs naturally in honey and is commonly used as wood bleach.
(Oxalic acid in sugar solution is trickled between frames and other spaces) 3. Vapor treatment of Beehives (Oxalic acid dehydrate is heated and the vapor sublimates in the hive.” **from J.E. Housenger, EPA, Registration Decision for the New Active Ingredient Oxalic Acid
A few oxalic acid applications have been registered:
The most useful application method for side-liner and hobby beekeepers is trickling the oxalic/sugar syrup mixture between the frames. The product label includes important information on dose and personal protection equipment including, but not limited to: gloves, goggles and a respirator. It is particularly important to not breathe in the dust when you are preparing the solution. Be certain to read and
“Application Methods and Labeling Oxalic Acid will be labeled for application by three different methods: 1. By Solution to Package Bees (Oxalic acid in sugar solution is applied as a spray to the package) 2. By Solution to the Beehives
follow the label directions to ensure the best results when treating your bees. Additionally, treatments can negatively impact honey bee larval development and adult life span and should be applied only after the mite levels have crossed the threshold for treatment. That threshold is different for different operations. It is not likely that mites will develop resistance to a naturally occurring compound such as formic or oxalic acid as these acids desiccate mites and it is difficult to see a resistance developed to this mode of action. http:// beeinformed.org/2015/03/ oxalic-acid-registered-by-epa-foruse-against-varroa-mite-onhoney-bees/
The Life Cycle of a Bee The life stages of a honeybee are egg, larva, pupa and adult. Development from egg to adult takes 16 days for the queen, 21 days for the worker and 24 days for the drone. The length of these stages is set out in the table to the right. http://www.purepeihoney.com/ uploads/1/1/8/4/11846875/22 59957.jpg
Up Coming Events KY State Fair Aug. 20-30, 2015 Louisville, KY We will get details on participation in Honey Competition and working honey booths when available. Road Clean up October more information to follow. Christmas Parade—Date to be determined. We will be looking for volunteers to decorate and ride the wagon. Will need you to wear bee suits, carry smokers and have a good time. All are welcome. Contact Henry Wilkerson.
Cooperative Extension Service University of Kentucky Nelson County 317 S Third Street Bardstown, KY 40004
RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED
address
Meeting Reminder !!!!!! May 21st 2015 at 6:30 p.m. Pot Luck Bring what you’d like to share
Michele Colopy Program Director Pollinator Stewardship Council, Inc.
Guest Speaker: Michele Colopy -
WANNA BEE A MEMBER Annual Dues $12.00
“Pollinator Stewardship Council Collaborations: Education, Advocacy, Action” Participants will learn how we collaborate with local groups, how we turn advocacy and education into action at the individual level, understanding the bee kill reporting process, increased awareness of pesticide labels, and the value of pollination to crop yields.
Send your name, address, city & zip, Phone & email to : Susan E. Zhunga 555 King Road Coxs Creek, KY 40013
SWARM HOT-LINE Call to report a Honey Bee Swarm 502-203-4136
Hey Fellow Beekeepers. For those of you who want to maintain your status as a member in good standing, please send me your annual dues of $12.00 for the 2015 season. As of June 30th, I will delete the names of members who have not paid for this year. Mail payment to Susan Zhunga, 555 King Road, Coxs Creek, KY 40013. DON’T FORGET TO JOIN US ON FACE BOOK!!