Nelson County September 2019
Nelson County Beekeepers
What’s The Buzz
Volume 5, Issue 8
Meeting September 19th @ 6:30 pm
Officers President-Steve Hutchins Vice President-Darrell Hester Secretary-Bennie Hite Treasurer & Editor-Susan Zhunga Hospitality-Monthly Volunteers Newsletter Publisher– Georganne Collins
We will have a Swap Meet/Yard Sale for this meeting. Bring what you have to sell in the way of Beekeeping equipment. Clean it up and price your items. Tables will be set up for display. A round table discussion will take place, for questions and answers as to what to do this time of the year.
Inside this issue: Financials & Minutes
2
Extractor
3
Items Available for Sale 3
Beekeepers Calendars
4-7
Robbie Smith County Extension Agent for Horticulture
Page 2 Financials & Minutes FINANCIAL STATEMENT 7/31/2019 Opening balance
1/1/2019
$2,125.37
Gross Income
$763.00 Due/Extractor
Net Expense
$-1,259.22 A&C Fair/Food/ Door Prizes
Bank Balance
$2,629.15
Nelson County Beekeepers August 15th,2019 Meeting Steering Committee Meeting Attending: Gene Engler t, Dar r el Hester , Steve Hutchins, Benny Hite, Pat Swartz, Henry Wilkerson, and Susan Zhunga. Discussed: The bee club will not be in the Nelson County Fair next year. Tom Webster will be the speaker at the October bee meeting. We will have a swap meet at the September Meeting. Bee Meeting: After a gr eat meal the meeting was tur n over to Gene Englert for a question and answer period about how to treat our bees for mites. Lots of good question and answers were there for everyone to learn. We had 2 new members and 36 were in attendance. Yogi Edelen and Pat Swartz won the door prizes. Benny Joe Hite Secretary
Page 3 Attention Attention 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 4 day maximum. 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.
ITEMS AVAILABLE 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.
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.
Page 4 Beekeepers Calendars for the Upcoming Season Read them all and take the information to your bee yard. We need to prepare for the fall and the winter. Also information on when to treat for Varro Mites.
Early/Mid August through October (Preparing for Dormant Season) https://glorybee.com/blog/beekeeping-calendar/ Completing preparations of ripening the incoming nectar and fall preparations for overwintering. Time for the beekeeper to finish harvest and perform mite/disease treatments Early/Mid August remove all "honey supers" using bee escapes or "honey robber" products. Be on the lookout for "honey robbers"(aka other bees, wasps, skunks etc) toward the end of the season. Use entrance reducers to minimize likelihood of robbers. Inspect bees and look for eggs, not larvae. Eggs mean the queen was present within last 3 days. Ensure the top brood boxes are full of honey, you want about 50 - 80 lbs, to hold the bees over during the winter. If you have less, feed sugar syrup (60 % sugar / 40% water) beginning late Augearly Sept. An average deep 9 1/8 frame that is full holds 7-10 lbs of honey.
Start mite treatment as early as possible and immediately after honey harvesting.
Feed and medicate (2-1 sugar syrup with Fumagilin) until they stop or the temperature drops and they form a cluster.
Natural Alternatives - Essential Oil Patty.
Add an inner cover to the hive to increase ventilation.
Page 5 Total hours spent on beekeeping: 3-5 per week.
September https://beewellhoneyfarm.com/beekeepers-calendar/ Hive population continues to drop and drones start to disappear. The queen is laying fewer eggs. Some or all colonies may need feeding. Some or all colonies may need re-queening. Pollen should only be fed dry in outside feeders or mixed in syrup. No patties should be fed due to increased small hive beetle activity. Look out for robber bees-reduce the entrance. Feed if necessary (especially if re-queening) pollen and syrup Equalize colony strength Continue mite evaluations Attend bee meetings Update “bloom calendar”
September https://backyardbeekeepers.com/wp/the-beekeepers-year/
The Bees. The drones may begin to disappear this month. The hive population is dropping. The queen’s her egg laying is dramatically reduced.
The Beekeeper. Harvest your honey crop. Remember to leave the colony with at least 60 pounds of honey for winter. Check for the (Continued on page 6)
Page 6 queen’s presence. Feed and medicate towards the end of the month (the first 2 gallons is medicated). Apply mite treatment. Continue feeding until the bees will take no more syrup. Attend bee club meetings. Time Spent. Estimate 2-3 hours.
September kybees.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/beecalendar-1.pdf
What’s Happening Inside the Hive? Brood rearing begins to taper off and drone brood has disappeared. Often, a second honey flow comes in September. Goldenrod and aster bloom at this time. With a good location and good weather conditions, the beekeeper can make a significant crop. Have an empty super on the hive to take advantage of this possibility. Your experience from previous years will tell you whether bees can make a late season crop in your area.
Beekeeper Chores Put those mite treatments on! Hot September weather may keep you from putting the Apicure gel packs (for varroa) or menthol (for tracheal mites) on. Wait until daytime temperatures are regularly below 85o. Beekeepers often face a September dilemma. If they put their Apistan on in early September, they will not be able to harvest the honey made in that time. If they wait until late September, the varroa mites may be out of control and the hive lost. The best approach is to monitor your varroa numbers through late summer. That
Page 7 information will allow you to make an informed decision. The last weeks of warm weather are the time to assess which hives are ready for winter. There is still time to feed syrup to those without sufficient stored honey and to unite the weakest hives with stronger hives.
Observations and Ideas Late summer and early fall is yellow jacket season. These wasps are often confused with honey bees by non-beekeepers. If your neighbors have yellow jackets disrupting their picnics, they may blame you. Show them the differences : yellow jackets have less hair than the fuzzy bees, are slightly smaller, live underground, and are interested in many foods like meat that bees don’t care for. Yellow jacket nests die when winter comes. Only the queens survive, hibernate through the winter, and start new nests alone in spring.
DON’T FORGET TO JOIN US ON FACE BOOK!!
RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED
Bardstown KY 40004
317 S Third St
Nelson County