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CARROLL COUNTY BEEKEEPERS ASSOC.
THE CARROLL BEE August 2015
Note – the “Contents” lines are links to within the
Newsletter. Just point and click!
Contents
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE.......................................................... 1
4-H FAIR A HUGE SUCCESS! ................................................... 2
HONEY BEE HEALTH COALITION RELEASES GUIDE TO HELP BEEKEEPERS DETECT, CONTROL VARROA MITE INFESTATIONS .............................................................................................. 3
OXALIC ACID APPROVED FOR SALE IN MARYLAND ................. 5
ROBBING – HONEY BEES AS THIEVES! .................................... 6
BILLY DAVIS' ROBBER SCREEN .............................................. 10
COMMERCIAL ROBBING SCREENS ....................................... 11
HOW LONG BEFORE YOU SEE BROOD? ................................ 12
LOCALLY PRODUCED NUCS AVAILABLE IN MEDIUM OR DEEP FRAMES, FOR IMMEDIATE DELIVERY ................................... 13
FOR SALE - BEEKEEPER STARTER KIT .................................... 14
BRUSHY MOUNTAIN END OF SUMMER SALE ....................... 14
BRUSHY MOUNTAIN BEE FARM DISTRIBUTOR ..................... 15
FOR SALE - CCBA T-SHIRTS -$20 ........................................... 16
CCBA WEBSITE FORUM ....................................................... 16
APIARY MAPPING SITE ......................................................... 16
SAVE THE DATES .................................................................. 17
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE By Fred Sypher
I spent this afternoon working the CCBA booth at the 4-H Fair and I was struck by the absence of questions about the plight of the honey bees. Several people commented that something needs to be done, but no one asked if the bees are in trouble. The message is out – honey bees are an important part of our agricultural landscape, there is trouble brewing, and without bees our diet will be changed, and not for the better. However, this is only half the message. I am not hopeful that the second part of the message will be reported as widely as the first. The rest of the message, in my opinion, is that while scientists know about the plight of the honey bee, they don’t know squat about the thousands of other pollinator species that may also be on the razor’s edge. Honey bees are important to our agriculture because they conveniently cluster in boxes by the thousands. Native bees are also important to our agriculture but they are solitary bees and don’t conveniently cluster in boxes so we can study them. It is difficult to see trends when unexplained bee deaths occur unobserved in the wild. Native bee populations may be crashing, but we cannot yet see the damage.
I also look at the crashing monarch butterfly population which has gone from millions to thousands in a very short time, and humans are mostly responsible for the crash.
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PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Continued from page 1
I suspect the advice we hand out to those who ask “What can I do for the bees?” applies as well to the native pollinators such as the solitary bees and the butterflies. While encouraging our neighbors to plant pollinator-friendly plants in their back yards is great for education and awareness, it cannot begin to compensate for the thousands of acres of rural land lost to development in the US every day.
Our leaders depend on us to inform them about things we believe need our government’s
attention. As beekeepers we know that a couple of bees can make a little noise, but they can’t accomplish much. Real progress requires the work of thousands of bees. Let’s use that as an example of what we have to do to call attention to the plight of pollinators in Maryland. Let’s all write letters to our elected representatives to tell them we are concerned about the plight of our pollinators and want our government to pay attention and take a leading role investigating the problem.
4-H FAIR A HUGE SUCCESS! Thank you to everyone who helped make this year’s Fair a huge success. We sold a little over $2,500 worth of honey,
candles, gift baskets, lip balm and ointment. This was our best year ever.
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Which one is standing on a box?
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HONEY BEE HEALTH COALITION RELEASES GUIDE TO HELP BEEKEEPERS DETECT, CONTROL VARROA MITE INFESTATIONS
August 11, 2015
Honey Bee Health Coalition Releases Guide to Help Beekeepers Detect, Control Varroa Mite Infestations
Guide Equips Beekeepers of All Types with Tools to Tackle Parasite, Strengthen Hive Health
The Honey Bee Health Coalition, a diverse coalition dedicated to improving the health of honey bees and other pollinators, released a guide today aimed at helping beekeepers strengthen hive health by controlling the Varroa mite (Varroa destructor). This parasitic mite undermines honey bee health by literally draining the life from honey bees, spreading viral diseases, and wiping out vast numbers of hives along with the pollination services these bees provide. As a result, these tiny mites are one of the biggest threats to honey bees and global food production.
“Varroa mites are one of the most serious threats to honey bee health and hives across North America,” said Bob Sears, president of the Eastern Missouri Beekeepers Association. “This straightforward guide, compiled using the best available scientific and commercial information, will equip beekeepers — from hobbyists to commercial — with effective and environmentally sensitive approaches to monitoring as well as control techniques to ensure their colonies can endure.”
“These problematic parasites have demonstrated a startling resiliency and ability to spread to other honey bee colonies,” said Christi
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Heintz, executive director of Project Apism. “This guide, developed by leading honey bee health experts, will ensure beekeepers can more easily confront the problem of Varroa mite infestations, better protect their own bees, and mitigate the parasites’ abilities to move into other nearby apiaries.”
The Honey Bee Health Coalition worked with Dr. Dewey Caron, emeritus professor of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware and affiliate professor at Oregon State University’s Department of Horticulture, to gather input from leading experts on Varroa mite control. The resulting guide identifies straightforward, proactive, and flexible monitoring methods and guidelines to help beekeepers detect and control Varroa mites.
The guide, which can be found at http://honeybeehealthcoalition.org/Varroa, lays out an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategy for managing Varroa mite infestations; including how to monitor mite levels, chemical and non-chemical methods to control the mites, and methods to determine which treatment is appropriate for a beekeeper to use at different phases in a colony’s life cycle.
About the Honey Bee Health Coalition
The Honey Bee Health Coalition brings together beekeepers, growers, researchers, government agencies, agribusinesses, conservation groups, manufacturers and brands, and other key partners to improve the health of honey bees and other pollinators. Its mission is to collaboratively implement solutions that will help to achieve a healthy population of honey bees while also supporting healthy populations of native and managed pollinators in the context of productive agricultural systems and thriving ecosystems. The Coalition is focusing on accelerating collective impact to improve honey bee health in four key areas: forage and nutrition, hive management, crop pest management, and communications, outreach and education.
Through its unique network of private and public sector members, the Coalition fosters new partnerships, leverages existing efforts and expertise, and incubates and implements new solutions. The Coalition brings together diverse resources to promote communication, coordination, collaboration, and investment to strategically and substantively improve honey bee health in North America
More information, including a list of Honey Bee Health Coalition members, can be found at: http://honeybeehealthcoalition.org.
Click here to see a digital sample of the American Bee Journal. To subscribe to the American Bee Journal click here and choose digital or the printed version.
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OXALIC ACID APPROVED FOR SALE IN MARYLAND Reference: http://www.brushymountainbeefarm.com/Oxalic-Acid/productinfo/727/
Reference
http://www.brushymountainbeefarm.com/include/efliers/august_eflier_2015_btb.asp?utm_source=August+2015+E-Flyer&utm_campaign=August+E-flier+2015&utm_medium=email
Oxalic Acid is not an effective treatment when capped brood is present in the hive. Oxalic does not penetrate capped brood and when the brood emerges, so will a new generation of varroa.
The effectiveness of Oxalic Acid treatments used in solution can be in excess of 95%, lower if using vapor method. Honey Bees have a low tolerance to oxalic acid, there¬fore, only one application should be made. Here are two application methods to use:
SOLUTION METHOD:
NOTE: To completely dissolve Oxalic Acid Dihydrate, use warm syrup.
Dissolve 35 g of Oxalic Acid Dihydrate in 1 liter of 1:1 sugar: water (weight:volume). Smoke bees down from the top bars. With a syringe or an applicator, trickle 5 ml of this solution directly onto the bees in each occupied bee space in each brood box. The maximum dose is 50 ml per colony whether bees are in nucs, single, or multiple brood chambers.
Under certain unfavorable conditions (e.g., weak colonies, unfavorable overwintering conditions),
this application method may cause some bee mortality or overwintering bee loss.
VAPORIZER METHOD:
Apply only to outdoor colonies with a restricted lower hive entrance. Seal all upper hive entrances and cracks with tape to avoid escape of Oxalic Acid vapor. Smoke bees up from the bottom board, Place 1.0 g Oxalic Acid Dihydrate powder into vaporizer. Follow the vaporizer manufacturer’s directions for use. Insert the vaporizer apparatus through the bottom entrance. Apply heat until all Oxalic Acid has sublimated.
It is recommended that you assess your mite levels by performing a mite count before any treatment is applied to the hive. With this information you will be able to determine if your treatment was effective by checking mite levels upon completion of treatment. Mites can develop a resistance to certain treatments; therefore, a different treatment is required if mite levels remain the same or increase.
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ROBBING – HONEY BEES AS THIEVES! (Posted on July 9, 2015. Copied, with permission, from http://philcrafthivecraft.com/)
Yes, our honey bees can become little criminals and steal from their neighbors! The threat of larceny is usually not great in the spring and early summer when a good nectar flow is on, but as the flow slows or stops (as occurs from time to time, especially in periods of dry weather), bees are on the lookout for any food they can find. So watch out! It is that time of year. The closest source is often a neighboring hive. Colonies with strong populations can usually defend themselves. New nucs and divides, recently captured swarms, and any hives which have not built up well or which are dwindling due to disease, pests, or other causes, are all likely targets of robbing bees. The culprits may come from your own hives, from your neighbor’s, or from nearby bee trees. Heavily robbed hives can face starvation very quickly, so beekeepers need to be vigilant in order to prevent or reduce this activity. What does a hive being robbed look like? Robbing is character-ized by abnormal activity at the hive entrance, and large numbers of bees in the air around the hive. At times other normal flight activities will give the same appearance, such as swarming, and daily orientation flights of new bees. These normal activities are short in duration, while robbing continues non-stop during robbing. We also see fighting at the entrance, and resulting dead bees. However, during robbing, this increased activity is also accompanied by large numbers of bees on the surface of brood boxes, and supers, looking for alternative entrances.
Bees seeking entrance under cover
Bees at joints of hive bodies
Increased activity at the hive entrance, and fighting
Hive being robbed
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Bees are most apparent at the joints of adjoining hive bodies, and at the hive covers. See the photos.
We cannot manage nectar flows, but other circumstances which encourage robbing are more easily controlled. The first rule is to avoid open feeding. Feeding entire bee yards by setting out wet frames or by putting sugar syrup out in an open barrel or bucket (often with straw or wood floats inside), very often instigates robbing. Once robbing has begun, open feeding is more likely to fuel the feeding frenzy than to sate the bees. If you practice open feeding (WHICH I DO NOT RECOMMEND), first install entrance reducers, or robber screens (more on robber screens further on), in ALL of your hives and place the feeding bucket or barrel a couple of hundred feet from your apiary, preferably with an obstacle such as a building or a tree line between the syrup and the hives. (Remove the entrance reducers from stronger hives after feeding is finished.) Open feeding and exposing honey can cause even strong colonies to be robbed. Another argument against it, especially during a dearth, is that you are very likely feeding, not just your own bees, but all the hives within a couple of miles, including feral colonies. A robbing response can also be triggered by beekeepers while working hives or removing honey supers when there is not much of a nectar flow occurring. Supers of honey, or even open brood boxes, exposed in the bee yard can be all the temptation that’s needed to initiate the behavior and, once begun, it escalates rapidly. We need to go through hives quickly and cover boxes which are set off the hives when working hives during a nectar dearth. When removing supers, take them out of your apiary as quickly as possible and keep them well covered if they are temporarily left outside. If you set wet supers out after extraction to allow the bees to clean out the remaining honey, do so at least several hundred feet away from your hives. Also, set them out late in the day to lessen the time for potential robbing. Better yet, set wet supers back on top of the hives (only on strong ones) and allow the bees to clean up the remaining honey
within the hive. This should be done late in the day as well. Always keep an eye on your hives whenever you have exposed honey so that, if robbing begins, you can attempt to do something about it. The photos that go with this post were taken when I recently took some wet honey supers back to the bee yard for placing back on top of hives. I left those wet supers sitting uncovered for just a few minutes in the edge of the bee yard, and within minutes they were covered with hundreds of bees, who smelled the honey in the comb, though there was little honey remaining there. After I moved those supers onto a strong hive, robbing commenced in a weaker hive, which was located near where I left the supers sitting. I was lucky that only the one hive was involved. Learn from my mistake, keep wet supers, and supers removed from hives covered at ALL times. How can we stop robbing once it occurs? I use
robber screens, or more accurately anti-robber screens. These are specially constructed screens that is placed in front of the hive entrance, leaving a small opening directly over it, but closing off the front entrance. The screen shown is a commercially manufactured device I purchased years ago.
They are also easy to make with some #8 hardware cloth, and many beekeepers do so. The key to the screen’s success is the top entrance. The bees inside the hive quickly figure out where the new entrance is and use it to go in and out of the
Robber screen, note door on top, and two doors on the bottom.
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hive. Robbing bees will continue to come to the screened front of the hive and seek entrance there, to no avail.
Robber screen in place. Note: bottom doors closed, top single door open. Note the large number of bees on the screen, seeking entrance to the hive.
A Virginia beekeeper friend, who has used such screens for years, told me that robbers only want to enter straight ahead, not up and down. I don’t know if that is a factor – I just know that they work. I think the bees go directly to the entrance drawn by the smell of the honey, and stay on the screen since they can see the entrance. Though you can also install regular entrance reducers, at the onset, or threat of robbing, robber screens do not reduce air flow through the hive. This is a very important factor in hot weather.
Note: Due to continued robing I also closed the top entrance, preventing any bees from entering hives. I felt that some robbing bees were making use of the top entrance. Later in the day I closed it, after robbing had subsided. The next day after all robbing had ceased, I opened all the doors, but left the robber screen in place.
Another way to stop robbing that is already underway, is temporarily sealing the entrance completely. Burlap placed in the entrance works well for this. Grass can be used as a substitute, but bees will remove grass fairly quickly. Remember to reopen the entrance at the end of the day, after the bees stop flying. When robbing is interrupted, it often does not resume the next day, but keep the entrance reducer or anti-robbing screen in, just in case, when you open the entrance back up.
SIGN UP FOR PHIL’S EMAIL LIST!
Want to hear from me when I have new information that you might be interested in? It is easy to sign up to receive my emails.
Click here to open the sign-up form in a new page. This also tells me, a little about you, when you contact me with a question.
If you change your mind it is easy to unsubscribe.
You can also email me at: [email protected], I'm happy to respond to email questions.
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WHO’S PHIL CRAFT?
When asked for a biography by groups which I address at beekeeping meetings and other events, this is what I provide:
Phil served as the Kentucky Dept. of Agriculture’s State Apiarist from 1999 through 2011. He is a graduate of Oberlin College in Ohio (BA in biology), and the University of Kentucky (BS in civil engineering). He is a past president and past chairman of the Heartland Apicultural Society, past program chairman of Eastern Apicultural Society, and past president of the Apiary Inspectors of America.
A native of the mountains of Eastern Kentucky, he now lives out in the sticks in the Bluegrass Region of Kentucky near Lexington with his family, a very old dog, and some bee hives.
(Editor – read Phil’s column, “Ask Phil” appearing every month in the Bee Culture magazine!)
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Honey Bees on Echinacea, a.k.a. Cone Flower
Photos courtesy of Bill and Terri Hemelt
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BILLY DAVIS' ROBBER SCREEN Reference: http://beekeeperlinda.blogspot.com/search?q=+robbing+screen
Billy says for the screen to be effective the hive entrance must be about four inches from the edge of the screen. This hive has an entrance reducer on it (as do all my hives this year) and the opening is under the bees clustered on the screen.
Who is Billy Davis?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7phJVQDDWBI
Published on Jul 30, 2013
Billy Davis, one of the original founders of the Sustainable Honeybee Program in Northern Virginia, a Master Beekeeper and Master Gardener tells us a little about where he is from and how he came to be involved so deeply in the education of beekeepers and how to keep bees successfully. Filmed in Northern Virginia in July 2013.
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COMMERCIAL ROBBING SCREENS Brushy Mountain Bee Farm
http://www.brushymountainbeefarm.com/10-Frame-Moving-and-Robbing-Screen/productinfo/517/
Mann Lake
http://www.mannlakeltd.com/beekeeping-supplies/product/WW-176.html
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HOW LONG BEFORE YOU SEE BROOD? Reference: Kelly Beekeeping August Newsletter “X•Y•Zs Advanced Beekeeping” by Dennis Brown
Dennis Brown writes a monthly column in the Kelly Beekeeping monthly beekeeping. This month he answers a reader’s question “. . still confused about whether to introduce a mated queen, virgin queen, using a queen cell or letting the hive raise their own queen.” Brown provides a chart and an explanation of each line that is summarized below.
1. Using the existing queen brood in 21 days with no interruptions
2. Introducing a mated, laying queen brood about 26 days
3. Using a virgin queen brood about 29 days
4. Queen cells will produce brood in about 32 days
5. A queen from brood takes about 41 days
Notes by above line number:
1. Fastest.
2. About 5 days for caged queen to be released and settle in.
3. About 8 days for mating flights. Hopefully she makes it back home w/o
successfully.
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Honey Bee on Calendula Flower on Tower Garden
Photo courtesy of Teri Hemelt
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LOCALLY PRODUCED NUCS AVAILABLE IN MEDIUM OR DEEP FRAMES, FOR IMMEDIATE DELIVERY
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FOR SALE - BEEKEEPER STARTER KIT Date: Mon, 10 Aug 2015 19:22:12 +0000 From: [email protected] I have a beekeeper starter kit need to move out (too much stuff to move, nowhere to put it): 1 hood w/strings 1 pair elbow gloves (XL, but snug on me) 1 smoker w/smoker fuel 1 bee brush 2 hive tools 1 entrance feeder 1 youth hood
$75 for the bunch sound reasonable?
Thanks, Chris
BRUSHY MOUNTAIN END OF SUMMER SALE
It's that time of year! Our END OF SUMMER SALE has begun!
Get some amazing deals on some of your favorite supplies as well as some brand new products! Deals on everything from harvesting & extracting tools to hive treatment to craft kits!
Check out our amazing deals or look through the sales flyer.
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BRUSHY MOUNTAIN BEE FARM DISTRIBUTOR MARYLAND HONEY COMPANY, Inc.
BRUSHY MOUNTAIN BEE FARM DISTRIBUTOR
FULL SERVICE BEEKEEPING SUPPLIER
BEES (PACKAGES OR NUCS)
WOODENWARE (TEN FRAME OR EIGHT FRAME) (UN-ASSEMBLED OR ASSEMBLED)
(ENGLISH GARDEN HIVES)
FOUNDATION PROTECTIVE GEAR (PLASTIC OR WAX) (BEE SUITS, VEILS, GLOVES)
BEEKEEPER TOOLS FEEDS & MEDICATIONS
(HIVE TOOLS, SMOKERS, ETC.)
EXTRACTING EQUIPMENT
(EXTRACTORS, UNCAPPING TANKS AND TOOLS)
HONEY CONTAINERS
(PLASTIC AND GLASS)
WE DON’T STOCK IT ALL, BUT WE CAN GET IT
STORE LOCATION:
6910 DAMASCUS ROAD
GAITHERSBURG, MD 20882
301-518-9678
Pricing is Brushy Mountain Catalog + 8% mark-up and sales tax (cheaper than shipping)
STORE HOURS:
SUNDAYS 10-4 TUESDAYS 12-5
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FOR SALE - CCBA T-SHIRTS -$20
(Navy Blue)
Available at CCBA meetings – see Anna
CCBA WEBSITE FORUM Anyone interested in joining the CCBA forum, please reply with your email address to: [email protected]. If desired, couples may each have their own access. If you have forgotten your password and can't successfully retrieve it, you can reply and a new password will be sent. Any members not signing on at least every 365 days will be purged but can rejoin at any time. Join and sign in to the forum.
Note: online registration is disabled. Please send in your request as shown above!!
You are only a click away to view the Forum!! http://www.carrollcountybeekeepers.org/db/
APIARY MAPPING SITE By Larry Truchon
We are building an apiary mapping site for our club members. It will show the appropriate location of participating member's apiaries with one, two and three mile rings. Only participating members will have access. To join please send:
Apiary name (example: Wild Acre Apiary)
Closest cross streets
Number of colonies (not Nucs)
Zip Code
Send above data to [email protected]
If you are a first year member without bees this year, send info with 0 number of colonies.
You will be sent log in info after you are entered into the database.
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SAVE THE DATES Aug 15– Farm to Table activity at the Finksburg – more information will be forthcoming
Aug 19 – CCBA Monthly Meeting
Aug 22 – NO OPEN HIVE DEMO THIS MONTH
Sept 16 - CCBA Monthly Meeting
Sept 26, 27 – Westminster FallFest – sell your honey & hive products
2016 Short Course at CCC - Our preference is to start on Wednesday, 2/10 with the following four Wednesdays - 2/17, 2/24, 3/2, 3/9. We would like to have 3/16 as our Snow Day so we don't have to wait until spring Break is over to make up the day. The Field Day at Hashawa would be on 3/19.
CHECK OUT THE CCBA WEBSITE
www.carrollcountybeekeepers.org/
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CCBA 2015 OFFICERS
President Fred Sypher [email protected]
Vice President Larry Truchon [email protected]
Treasurer Jody King [email protected]
Secretary Larry Fritz [email protected]
Webmaster Trace Orf [email protected]
The Carroll Bee Editor Larry Fritz [email protected]
