Nelson County February 2019
Nelson County Beekeepers
What’s The Buzz
Volume 5, Issue 2
Meeting
February 21st @ 6:30 pm The speaker for this meeting will be our own Extension Agent and Club Member Robbie Smith. He will be discussing pollination plants that most benefit our bees and other important pollinators. What to plant and when to plant.
Officers
POT – LUCK DINNER
President-Steve Hutchins Vice President-Darrell Hester Secretary-Bennie Hite Treasurer & Editor-Susan Zhunga
Pot luck will be served. The Main Dish will be Lee's Chicken. Please be sure and bring sides and desserts to share.
This treat that we share each meeting has been hosted by Pat Swartz for many years. Hospitality-Monthly Volunteer She sets it up and she cleans it up. This is a Newsletter Publisher– lot of work for one person. Starting in Georganne Collins January, each person will be responsible for setting up their dish, and assisting in Inside this issue: cleaning the kitchen before we all leave. We want to continue with this tradition, but Meeting Minutes 2 we need your help Thank You In Advance February – March Beekeeping Chores
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Excerpt from Tammy Porter's Newsletter
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MARK THE DATE & SPREAD THE WORD
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Steve Hutchins President
Robbie Smith County Extension Agent for Horticulture
Page 2 MEETING MINUTES Nelson County Beekeepers January 17, 2019 Meeting Steering Committee Meeting Attending: Gene Englert, Darrel Hester, Benny Hite, Steve Hutchins, Ernie and Emma Sharp, Pat Swartz, and Susan Zhunga. Discussed: The intermediate school was discussed. There will be six session offered at the intermediate school ranging from many different topics which are listed on a flier being printed now. Nucs can now be ordered by paying ½ now and the rest the meeting before pickup. Bee Meeting: The meeting was then turned over to Gene Englert were he had a good hour question and answer period about splits and nucs. Everyone participated well and I would say a lot questions were answered very well. We had our annual Chili Cook Off and 5 members made their chili for us to judge. Jason Haler came in First Place and Melissa Barnes came was Second Place, but they were all great! We had two new members, Tina Spading and Tim Prather. There were 39 people in attendance and Darrel Hester won the door prize. Benny Joe Hite Secretary
Page 3 February – March Beekeeping Chores Info Fomr http://www.ksbabeekeeping.org
Beekeeper Chores This is the time for constructing, painting, and repairing equipment. Most of the new catalogs from the beekeeping supply companies will be available in January. Your goal should be to have the bees and the equipment ready for making honey by midApril. Old, dark comb should be removed from frames in storage. Do not install the foundation yet — that should be done just before the frames go into the hives. Foundation will dry, crack, and be rejected by the bees if it is exposed to the air for a long time prior to going into the hive. There will be a few days in these months above 60o. If possible, take a few minutes to look at your hives. If no bees are flying from a hive, you probably have lost it or it’s very weak and could die soon. Open it and take a look. Take a look at the maple trees through the month of February. The maple flowers are a drab, dark red and bees collect yellow pollen from them. This is an indication of the first availability of food for the bees, and that the end of winter is coming. A mild winter and early spring will accelerate bee colony development by several weeks or even a month. If the winter drags on into a cold, rainy spring the bees will lag behind in their development and activities. Southern and far western Kentucky generally get spring weather a week or two earlier than central Kentucky. The eastern mountains and the northern part of Kentucky are later in getting spring weather. Similarly, fall comes late to the southern and western parts of the state, and early to the east and north.
Page 4 Excerpt from Tammy Porter's Newsletter February 2019 Beelines Many beekeepers have sent me photos of hives that have run out of honey. Beekeepers need to provide supplemental feed and/or combine hives if the population of the hive is too low if the hive is not dying from a disease. “It takes a lot of bees to make a lot of bees,” is a common refrain, and ideally, your hive should have about 10,000 bees coming out of winter to take care of emerging brood and take advantage of the nectar flow. Kentucky still has about 4 weeks of winter, despite Groundhog Phil’s forecast. This time of year, as the days lengthen and more pollen begins to come into the hive, the queen will begin to lay more, and the older bees that formed the winter cluster will begin to die-off. Around Feb. 14, if weather permits, some beekeepers will “reverse” their hives, putting the bottom super, which is sometimes called a “deep,” on top of the hive. This practice allows the honey bees to continue to “move up and out” as the spring flowers and trees blossom and reduces the tendency of the bees to want to swarm. If weather does not permit opening the hive, simply leave the hive as is. It is becoming increasingly apparent, however, the importance of treating honey bees in the early spring before the varroa mites can inflict damage (or mite wounds) on the emerging spring bees. To help beekeepers make informed decisions about the types of treatments to apply this time of year, the Honey Bee Health Coalition has released a couple of tools here are links: 1. A decision support tool to help beekeepers confused by the many varroa mite treatments available, https:// honeybeehealthcoalition.org/varroatool/. 2. A Best Management Practices Guide for Beekeepers is also available: https://honeybeehealthcoalition.org/hivehealthbmps/
Page 5 TO OUR MEMBERSHIP TO OUR MEMBERSHIP The club has added a lot of new members over the past year, and as such, would like to know what you would like to have presented at some of the meetings ? What would you like to lean more about, and how can the club help ? It's your club, and your dues that support all of our efforts to help with understanding the importance of beekeeping. Talk to the officers at the meeting or post your thought on “Facebook�. We encourage you to bring us some ideas to keep the club interesting and informative. Your President Steve Hutchins. Honey Trivia
HONEY IS MEDICINAL. Evidence of honey being prescribed as a medical treatment dates back as far as ancient Mesopotamia. Because the substance is so inhospitable to bacteria, it was often used as a natural bandage to protect cuts and burns from infection. Today, honey is still used as a natural treatment for dandruff, stomach ulcers, and even seasonal allergies.
Page 6 ITEMS AVAILABLE FOR MEMEBERS ONLY
BEEKEEPING ITEMS FOR SALE 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. 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 meeting is over. Good time to save some money on necessary ATTENTION! items. Be sure and bring items in good clean ATTENTION! condition. Make sure they There are 2 extractors are priced and have your name. We will set up special complete with all that you need to extract honey. It tables for your items. Mike Johnson – Will make wooden ware to order. Boxes, frames and wax dipping. Contact Mike for information and pricing @ 502-249-2007.
comes with a refractometer to test you honey. $10.00 for usage, with a 2 day maximum.
The Club - has NCB T - Shirts Prices are: $8.00 for children $10.00 for Adults and $12.00 for Adults 2x & 3x. All members are encouraged to join us on Facebook. Ask questions, show your progress, and share your pictures. “Nelson County Beekeepers”. We would love to hear from you.
Page 7 MARK THE DATE & SPREAD THE WORD March 23, 2019 – Year Two in beekeeping School. FREE FREE FREE. All are welcome. Please reserve a seat, we have a limited amount of space. Call 502-348-9204 to reserve your seat. Lunch will be available for the participants for $5.00 payable at the door. Volunteers will eat for free. Schedule below:
2nd YEAR BEE MANAGEMENT Registration:
8:00 – 9:00 am
Coffee, Juice & Pastries will be served
Session One:
9:00 – 9:45 am
Bee Nutrition/Pollination Mgmt.
Session Two:
9:50 – 10:35 am
Swam Control/Catching
Session Three: 10:40 – 11:25 am
Creating Splits & Nucs
Session Four:
11:30 – 12:15 am
Extracting & Bottling Honey
Lunch
12:15 – 1:15 pm
Session Five:
1:20 – 2:05 pm
Queen issues/re-Queening
Session Six:
2:10 – 2:55 pm
Varroa/Hive Beetles Problems/Treatments
Closing
3:00 pm Q & A / Closing / Drawing of Door Prizes.
$$$$ REMINDER – ANNUAL DUES FOR 2019 ARE NOW DUE $$$$
You have until March 31st to renew your membership. All check should be made payable to the Nelson County Soil Lab. Deadline is March 31st date, you will be removed from the mailing list and from the Facebook page. Mail check to Susan Zhunga, 555 King Road, Coxs Creek, KY 40013.
RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED
Bardstown KY 40004
317 S Third St
Nelson County