April 2015

Club News

in this issueApril meeting:Tuesday, April 14, 2015Social starts at 7:00 p.m.Meeting starts at 7:30 p.m.

LoCAtioN:

Wake County Commons Building, 4011 Carya Drive, Raleigh 27610

) Our April meeting will be held at the Wake County Commons Building and will feature state apiary inspector Nancy Ruppert showing us how to read the hive for pests and diseases.

) Club Membership: Per our club constitution, WCBA membership renewals are due by the end of March each year. To borrow club equipment, you must be a current paid member. The club has been relaxed about this, but continued damage to and/or disappearance of club equipment means that we will have to enforce these conditions more strictly. While we will send reminders about and links to renewal forms at the club website, it is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to keep your membership up-to-date. Starting this year, those who have not renewed for 2015 will be dropped from the club announcements list at the end of April.

) Bee School a Success! Our beginner beekeeping workshop went well on March 28, as did the rescheduled hands-on session held April 11. See page 2 for a more complete report.

) Hands-on Sessions to Resume: The club now has two colonies in place at the Historic Oak View County Park on Carya Drive, and Ben Crawley will lead guided sessions in the hives at 1 p.m. on the third Sunday of each month, starting April 19. If weather or holidays force cancellation, make-up sessions will be held on the fourth Sunday.

) Pollinator Garden Workshop: Debbie Roos of the Chatham County Extension Service will be offering a 3-hour pollinator conservation workshop and garden tour on two dates in May. The workshop costs $20 and pre-registration is required; register early since class size is limited. More information and registration forms are available online.

) NCSBA Summer Conference: Will take place July 9 - 11 at Lake Junaluska, and is hosted by the Haywood county chapter. Advance registration closes June 20. NCSBA members can register online. Click here for more information.

) WCBA Swarm List: An updated swarm response map will be posted to the club website shortly - please check the “Help - I’ve got bees!” link from the main page.

April program: Nancy Ruppert — Reading the hive for pestsand diseases 2

2015 Officers / Bee School summary 2Announcements, Requests & Reminders 3Calendar of events 4New equipment - and new controversy - from Australia. 4

WCBA Newsletter / April 2015 page 2

April program: Nancy Ruppert on “Reading the hive for pests and diseases”

2015 Bee School a success!

Beekeepers in most of the U.S. continue to face unsustainable losses most years. Nancy’s program covers how to read your hive for early signs of pests and diseases to enable you to take corrective action while there is still enough time to manage the problem. State apiary inspector Nancy Ruppert has worked for the NC Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services since August of 2010, covering 17 counties in south-central and southeastern North Carolina. A registered nurse since the 1980’s, Nancy worked almost 20 years as a family nurse practitioner before changing to a less stressful occupation. An active beekeeper for 16 years at her residence in Montgomery county, her particular apiary interests include hive pests and diseases, honey bee nutrition, and reducing honey bee stress.

On Saturday, March 28, we held our annual beginner beekeeping workshop at the Raleigh Police Club in Knightdale. Forty-one eager new beekeepers attended, thirty-eight of whom stayed to take the written test part for the Certified Level Beekeeper certification from NCSBA. Club President Ricky Barbour welcomed everyone to the class and introduced the various speakers, instructors, and class assistants. Kim Underhill then talked about the NCSBA. James Knox discussed getting started, reviewing hive components and tools and their uses, and generally sharing his encyclopedic knowledge. Vice-President Mike Childers then followed with a more detailed explanation of installing a package into a

hive, and shared other practical tips and tricks for successful beekeeping. Sarah Myers and Secretary Kate Hanser presented their detailed honey bee biology lecture, and Charles Heatherly followed with a presentation on enemies of the hive. After a review session, the written test was administered, and all who took it passed. Sgt-at-Arms Tom Underhill took care of A/V needs, while Dan Brubaker and Susan Benton handled lunch and room set-up. Treasurer Margie Gurganus collected funds from several late registrants.

March weather forced rescheduling of the practical session to Saturday, April 11, which fortunately was a beautiful day. Ben Crawley, Charles Heatherly and Susan Benton led twenty-three new beekeepers in examining the two club hives at Historic Oak View County Park. All who took the practical test passed.Special thanks to Helen Yoest and Kevin Miller for sharing photos.

2015 offiCeRSPresident: Ricky BarbourVice President: Mike ChildersSecretary: Kate HanserTreasurer: Marjorie GurganusProgram Chair: Marc LarinSgt-at-Arms: Tom Underhill

Board of Directors:Sarah Myers (3 yrs)Sue Carson (2 yrs)Ken Cobb (1 yr)

Officer contact information is available at the club’s website:

www.wakecountybeekeepers. org/about

WCBA Newsletter / April 2015 page 3

Announcements, Requests, & Reminders

Connect with fellow Wake County beekeepers on Facebook: www.facebook.com/groups/BeekeepersofWakeCounty/

This open group is NOT WCBA controlled; simply ask group administrator Audrey Bowen to add you as a group member & join the conversation!

BEE YARD INSPECTIONSThe State Bee Inspector for Wake County is Will Hicks (919-691-0022). The club encourages members to take advantage of the amazing learning and educational experience of an inspection. To get the most out of this wonderful free service, it helps to prepare a list of questions in advance. Will brings great experience and knowledge right to your doorstep.

NAMETAGS & SIGN-INPlease bring your club nametag with you to every meeting! Wear it so we can easily identify each other. New members can collect their badges at the treasurer’s table.Also, please be sure to sign-in when you attend meetings so we can maintain accurate attendance records!

FORGOT TO RENEW? Per our club constitution, WCBA membership renewals are due by March 31 of each year. In order to borrow club equipment, you must be a current paid member. Anyone who has not renewed their membership for 2015 will be dropped from the club announcement list at the end of April.

Licensed to sell bees in NC!

NCDA’s Apiary Services maintains a list of individuals and businesses licensed to sell bees in North Carolina. Updated frequently - the current list is from April 2015 - it includes suppliers from across NC and out of state.Click here to see the most recent list.

2015 WCBA Meeting LocationsWake County Commons Bldg.

January 13March 10April 14May 12June 9July 14 - club pot-luckAugust 11November 10 December 8 - holiday dinner

NC Rural Development CenterFebruary 10September 8October 13

Local bees available!

Big Oak Bee Farm of Raleigh will have a limited number of packages available for spring of 2015, and will have queens and queen cells available throughout the season; please contact the farm at bigoakbeefarm@gmail.com or call Kim or Tom Underhill at 919-272-4450.

Hands-on sessions Resume

Gain experience working in a hive! Weather permitting, Ben Crawley will lead a small group in checking the club hives at Carya Drive on the 3rd Sunday of the month starting April 19. Sessions start at 1 p.m. at Historic Oak View County Park in Raleigh.

WCBA Newsletter / April 2015 page 4

Calendar of events

Controversial new equipment: flow™ Hive

April 2015Tuesday, April 14WCBA MeetingNancy Ruppert, “Reading the Hive for Pests and Disease.” 7 - 9 p.m., Wake County Commons Building, 4011 Carya Drive, Raleigh

Sunday, April 19Carya Drive hives workdayOak View Park, Raleigh1 p.m., weather permitting

May 2015Tuesday, May 12WCBA MeetingKeeping different types of bees: Q & A session., 7 - 9 p.m., Wake County Commons Bldg, 4011 Carya Drive, Raleigh

Tuesday, May 12 ~OR~Saturday, May 16Pollinator Garden WorkshopOverview of pollinator conservation, gardening principles & plant selection, followed a garden tour. Register by May 52 - 5 p.m., $20. Chatham Co. Extension Center, Pittsboro, NC

Saturday, May 1611th Annual Tour d’Coop & Hive Hike 10 a.m. - 4 p.m., Raleigh area

Sunday, May 17Carya Drive hives workdayOak View Park, Raleigh1 p.m., weather permitting

June 2015Tuesday, June 9WCBA MeetingPeter Trodtfeldt of the Bayer Bee Care Center in Mannheim, Germany, updates the club on honeybee health in Europe 7 - 9 p.m., Wake County Commons Bldg, 4011 Carya Drive, Raleigh

Wednesday, June 10Pollinator Garden tour, 5:30 - 6:30 p.m., Pittsboro, NC

Sunday, June 21Carya Drive hives workdayOak View Park, Raleigh1 p.m., weather permitting

For more information, visit the club website:www.wakecountybeekeeprs.org

Several club members shared online news items about the Flow™ Hive, which purports to ease honey harvesting on both bees and beekeeper. The key concept is that once the bees build out and fill the frames, honey can be extracted from outside the hive by opening a spigot connected to tubes along the bottom of the honey frames, theoretically minimizing disturbance to the colony. Product crowd-funding on indiegogo.com created an internet sensation, as the product has raised over $10 million

- their original goal was only $70,000 - in less than two months. With a price range of $280 - $460 per hive, that’s a lot of hives sold.Reactions from the beekeeping blogosphere remain mixed, if not overtly hostile. Shrill rhetoric aside, some valid points come up. The device is plastic, and no matter how “eco” it is, putting plastic components in hives entails trade-offs. Harvesting honey becomes more mechanized and perhaps less sensitive to colony condition - taking honey is simply too easy. Cappings wax isn’t harvested. And while bemoaning the loss of stewardship and rewards for laziness may be overreacting, there are real concerns about this device adding one more layer of disengagement between beekeeper and honeybee.To their credit, the Australian inventors note that this invention does NOT absolve the beekeeper of their responsibility for checking the hive to assess colony health. But ultimately, the main question remains: will this invention help - or harm - the bees?

Inventor Cedar Anderson and his father, Stuart, postharvest.