March 2018
Nelson County Beekeepers nelsconcountybeekeepers@gmail.com
What’s The Buzz
Volume 4, Issue 3
Meeting
March 15th
@
6:30 PM
Steering Meeting @ 5:30 PM PROGRAM:
Officers President-Steve Hutchins Vice President-Ricky Humphrey
Kevin Hale – Hale Honey Farms – Spring Nutrition – Making Splits.
Secretary-Bennie Hite Treasurer & Editor-Susan Zhunga Hospitality-Monthly Volunteer Newsletter Publisher– Georganne Collins Inside this issue: March Program
2
Minutes & Financial Report
3
Managing Small Hive Beetles
4
Bee Items for Sale
6
Membership Dues
7
POT LUCK – PLEASE BRING SOMETHING TO SHARE-Food and Good Treats for all. Bring a friend who might be interested in keeping bees. All are welcome.
Robbie Smith County Extension Agent for Horticulture
Page 2 March Program
Kevin Hale, Commercial Beekeeper, owner – operator of Hale's Honey, located in Menifee County, Kentucky. He will be our guest speaker for the March 15th meeting. Kevin has come to us now for several years now, and is one of the many speakers our members request. Kevin's topic this month will be Bee nutrition. Always important. What, When and How to feed your bees. If time allows, he will also walk us through the steps of making a split. This is the time of year that we will be deciding whether or not to make splits.
Winter Feed Recipes: Courtesy of Kevin Hale Sugar/Protein Patties: • 3 cups protein powder (Brood Builder, Mega Bee or AP 23) • 9 cups sugar • Add enough 2:1 syrup to make consistence of peanut butter and form into patties on wax paper. Hard Sugar Blocks: • 1 pint water • 6 lb. sugar (12 cups) • 6 teaspoons HBH • Two 7”x7”x1.25” cake pans or two 9” pie pans (makes two 3 lb. pans) • Heat water to boil, add HBH, add sugar and mix, heat to 245 deg. mixing occasionally, remove from heat and let cool to 190 deg., stir quickly and pour into pans, let harden (don’t let it get to hard while cooling or you can’t pour it) Hard Sugar/Protein Blocks: • 1 pint water • 6 lb. sugar (12 cups) • 3 cups protein powder • 6 teaspoons HBH • Two 7”x7”x1.25” cake pans or two 9” pie pans (makes two 3 lb. pans) • Heat water to boil, add HBH, add sugar and mix, heat to 245 deg. mixing occasionally, remove from heat add protein powder and mix in quickly. Once mixed, pour into pans, let harden.
Page 3 Nelson County Beekeeping Meeting February 15th 2018
Attending: Gene Englert, Ricky Humphrey, Steve Hutchins, Robbie Smith, Pat Swartz, Henry Wilkerson and Susan Zhunga and member Roy Hutchins. February, 2018 Steering Committee Meeting Discussed: The nucs are all orders. Looks like 53 people have already signed up for this February’s school. Discussed the new programs for the meetings the rest of the year. Road Clean up and T's shirts were also discussed. Who will be teaching what classes. Helpers for setup & cleanup. Beekeeper's Meeting: Steve Hutchins talk about the school. He also brought up the availability of T-shirts for sale. Spoke about up coming spring road clean up in April. Ricky Humphrey will head up that program. He will be looking for volunteers to assist. This is one of the fundraisers that helps pay for Free bee schools and speakers. So lets all help is we can. Andrew Fogg, the new manager of Dadant's Beekeeping Supplies, from Frankfurt, was our guest speaker. Talked about the products available and discounts for memeber. He has offered Free Shipping to the members. Andrew also brought a trailer load of product for us to see and purchase. He also delivered ordered equipment for member that contacted him before the meeting. About 32 members were in attendance. Benny Hite Secretary (by Susan Zhunga)
Financial Statement As Of 03/01/18 Start Expense (Christmas) Income (Dues) Balance
Susan Zhunga Treasurer
2,448.20 578.58 536.00 $2,405.62
Page 4 Managing Small Hive Beetles Honey bee colonies appear able to contend with fairly large populations of adult beetles with little effect. However, high beetle
maintaining strong bee colonies, and keeping adult beetle populations low, beekeepers can suppress the beetles’ reproductive
populations are able to lay enormous numbers of eggs. These eggs develop quickly and result in rapid destruction of unprotected combs in a short time. There is no established threshold number for small hive beetles, as their ability to devastate a bee colony is related to many factors of colony strength and overall health. By
potential. Chemical Treatment in the Hive The chemical coumaphos (sold as Checkmite+ for varroa control) is the only pesticide registered for in-hive treatment of small hive beetles.
Mechanical Traps for eliminating Small Hive Beetles Numerous mechanical trap designs are available for use in the hive to control the adult SHB population. Most traps kill beetles by drowning them in vegetable oil or mineral oil. The traps have small openings that allow beetles to enter, but restrict the larger honey bees. Some traps utilize a fermenting bait to attract the beetles into the trap, but beetles will enter non-baited traps to escape from the bees. By maintaining a manageable adult beetle
Page 5 population in the hive, beekeepers can often prevent a major infestation of beetle larvae, which cause the the most destruction. Soil Treatment The pupal stage is a vulnerable time in the beetle life cycle. Slightly moist, loose,
sandy soil is optimal for their development. Locating colonies on hard clay or rocky soil, rather than light sandy soil, can reduce the number of beetle larvae that successfully pupate. If numerous larvae are discovered in the hive, the soil around the colony can be
treated with a permethrin drench to prevent the larvae from pupating, killing them in the soil. Use with caution, as permethrin is highly toxic to bees! Author: Jon Zawislak, University of Arkansas, Division of Agriculture
Honeycombs infested with SHB larvae take on a glistening or "slimey" appearance. Honey contaminated by beetle larvae is unfit for consumption by either bees or humans.
Page 6 BEEKEEPING ITEMS FOR SALE SWAP MEET – YARD SALE @ Every Meeting If any member has beekeeping items for sale, list them in the newsletter and/or bring them to the meeting. We can do some bartering after the regular meetings are over. Good time to save some money on necessary items. Be sure and bring items in good clean condition. Make sure they are priced and have your name. We will set up special tables for your items. Susan Zhunga & Mary Ellen Marquess – are selling “Sue B Healthy” which is the Bee Ladies formula for Honey Bee Healthy - $12.00 for an 1 lb jar. Mike Johnson – Will make wooden ware to order. Boxes, frames and wax dipping. Contact Mike for information and pricing @ 502-249-2007. The Club - has NCB T - Shirts Prices are: $8.00 for children $10.00 for Adults and $12.00 for Adults 2x & 3x.
NUC BUYERS !!!!!!!!!!! All final payments are due at the March meeting – No exceptions. Non-paid Nucs will be sold to the next person on the waiting list, and your deposit will be refunded. Please make sure that we have a good phone number that you can be reach at, so that we can notify you about the day and time of pick up at the Nelson County Extension Office.
Page 7 ITEMS AVAILABLE FOR MEMEBERS ONLY Test kits for American Foul Brood (AFB) and European Foul Brood (EFB) are available for purchase from Extension Office for $14.00 each. Please call me (Susan 507-8789) for availability. There are 2 extractors complete with all that you need to extract honey. It comes with a refractometer to test you honey. $10.00 for usage, with a 2 day maximum.
$$$$$ MEMBERSHIP DUES $$$$$$$$ Don't forget!! you need to pay your 2018 membership dues. Mail them to the Susan E. Zhunga, 555 King Road, Cos's Creek, KY 40013. Make check payable to the Nelson County Soil Lab, or I'll see you at the meeting. This will keep you active on our Facebook page and also on the mailing list for the newsletter. Dues are still $12.00 per household. These dues and other fund raisers help to pay for speakers, assist in pot luck, and beekeeping education for both our members and the public about the importance of beekeeping and buying LOCAL honey.
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Bardstown KY 40004
317 S Third St
Nelson County
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