7828
Ray Nash
Gig
Harbor, WA 98335
West
Sound Beekeepers Association
Volume 9, Issue 1
Buzzword January
2006
January
Refreshment Schedule
NEXT MEETING Tues., January 17, 2006 7:00 P.M. Stedman’s
Bee Supplies Silverdale
Basil
Gunther
360-297-5075 George
Purkett
360-895-9116 Chanetta
Ludwig
253-884-2293 Joe
Grubbs
360-871-8091 Barbara
Stedman
360-692-9453 Roy
& Vickie Barton 360-613-0175 George
Purkett
360-895-9116 Jerry
A. Hominda
253-858-6372 E-mail: goldenbee@juno.com Meeting date and contacts Next meeting topics
2 Editor’s Corner
2 Presidents message
2 Minutes Last Meeting
5 Bee Manager’s Note
6 Jay Miller
253-857-6417 Al Twidt
253-884-1038
OFFICERS AND COMMITTEES
President
Vice President
Secretary
Treasurer
Educational Materials
Librarian
Webmaster
Newsletter Editor
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Program Committee
EDITOR’S
CORNER:
By Jerry Hominda
I am open for any topics, information, and idea sharing from any members. If you have a thought you would like to include in the newsletter you can e-mail me or send it by postal mail. I would be more then happy to include it.
I look forward to hearing from anyone in the future.
My e-mail address is: goldenbee@juno.com and my mailing address is:
7828 Ray Nash Gig Harbor, WA 98338
Message
From
the President:
Hello
Everybody!
In just a few short
days even the hard-liners will have to admit that
Winter is here! Here for a good ninety-one and a quarter
days. Days that will test each and
every honeybee colony in the land...and beekeepers as well. Some colonies will come through loud and
strong, some will barely make it on their own, some will have to be
nurtured,
and some... well...I won't try to explain Winter cluster dynamics- Paul
Lundy
will undoubtedly cover it superbly in his Bee-ginner talks (held before
every
meeting at 6:30). Perhaps our excellent
"Bee Manager" will discuss moving stores to where bees can get them,
but I won't. No, this month's column is
dedicated to those colonies that must be fed in order to survive winter
and the
beekeepers who must do the feeding.
Every winter colonies
die, but I believe many that could have lived,
perished by a lack of
timely assistance by the beekeeper.
Died because the beekeeper didn't keep track of the stores,
overestimated them, or sat back with fingers crossed, casting fate to
the
wind. Maybe they didn't know to feed in
the winter. Maybe they didn't know
how. It's a crying shame!
There will be many days in Winter-warm
enough to peek inside the hive and see what things are like, so be sure
to look
once in awhile!
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@iiiiiiiiiiiiii„„„„„„„„„„„„
Now I know most of
you probably pulled your hives out of the mountains in late August and
topped
them off with syrup in September. Your
Varroa-free colonies weighed in about 200 pounds on October first and
you've
got plenty frames of sealed honey stashed in your giant freezer in case
any of
your hives drop under 125 pounds...Well, you folks may wish to skip
ahead. Bees that need feed in the winter
need to be
fed. Here's what I know about it.
Some beekeepers put
dry granulated sugar around the hole on top of the inner cover. The bees come up and get it, mix it with
water and consume it. The beekeeper can
add more easily and without chilling the bees.
It's easy to see if they need more.
If it gets really cold they may not be able to reach it and
there may
not be water available to mix with it.
A small cluster has more difficulty than a larger one with this
method. Some beekeepers make it easier
on the bees by putting the sugar on the top bars, but it is easier to
chill the
bees this way and sometimes the sugar gets wet and out of hand. Many beekeepers save their colonies feeding
dry sugar. There are beekeepers that, using the usual methods, feed
syrup in
winter. Syrup can ferment if not eaten soon enough and cause dysentery.
Syrup
is often hard for the bees to reach.
Perhaps its worst feature is that it increases hive humidity and
condensation which most of us will agree is a bad thing.
Some beekeepers are undoubtedly successful
with liquid feed but I'm not recommending it.
Another option, candy feed is my favorite. The
simplest method is to purchase 50-pound blocks of fondant
from a bakery.
Fondant is a soft
candy, creamed icing, and usually made from high fructose corn syrup
and cane
sugar. Don't get fondant with
stiffeners or additives. Slices off the block can be put in one-gallon
plastic
bags. In the field, slit an X, open the
flaps and slap it on the top bars. If
it's a thick slab you might need a spacer between the hive body and the
inner
cover.
If you decide to make
your own candy you can make a mold any size or shape you like. Some beekeepers use wooden molds or rimmed
cookie sheets greased with Crisco.
Others leave the Candy in the mold that exactly fits the top of
the
hive-a kind of inverted tray filled with hard candy -the so-called
"candy
board". The idea in all these
candy cases is that
when the Winter cluster works it's way through it's stores and to the
top of
the box, instead of starving it will be smack against a great food
source. Hive moisture is absorbed by the
candy and actually
helps the bees assimilate it!
Here's the classic
fondant recipe: (Get a candy thermometer at the
grocery store). 5 pounds sugar to 1-pint water.
Heat mixture to 242
degrees F and pour
into mold. If you want creamy fondant
let cool to 110 degrees F and knead like dough on a hard surface before
packing
the molds. This adds air.
I can't say if the bees get any added
benefit from creamy fondant. Some
beekeepers run screws into the candy portion of the candy boards so it
will
stay put. With full size candy boards,
figure 3 pounds sugar per 1/4 inch-I've read of beekeepers using 3-inch
candy
boards. 36 pounds-Wow!
The
downside of candy making is that it can
be harder to clean than
George Purkett's
paraffin dip tank. The molten candy is
very hot and
will stick to you
like glue and burn you so bad you might feel like you
were dipped in
George's tank. Wear appropriate
clothing and keep a
bucket of ice water
nearby. Did I mention molten sugar is
flammable? Be careful! If the mold or
candy board leaks or is not level, molten candy can run out and make a
mess
that's harder to
clean than a honey
spill! Hopefully that'll help get some
more bees through the coming winter. To
get beekeepers through the winter, I suggest attending our Annual
Holiday Banquet,
Auction and Honey Taste-Off! See you there-Basil.
Minutes
From the
November
15, 2005, Meeting
Held 7-9 PM at Stedman’s Bee Supply
Submitted By:
Secretary Chanetta Ludwig; chanettal@yahoo.com
Basil
Gunther,
President, presided at the meeting.
Treasurer’s Report
·
Joe Grubbs gave the
treasurers report $2216.49 in
checking,
and $2792.47 in savings.
Old Business
·
Program
committee was not present
New Business
·
Discussion on having
a place to take bees to the
mountains for Fireweed in the summer
Show and Tell
·
George Purkett
brought a sample of small hive beetle
slime.
Door Prize Winner:
·
Joe Grubbs,
Congratulations!! He won honey bear
containers!!!
Program:
·
Discussion on the NW
Beekeepers Conference held in
Newport Oregon.
Queen introduction, how long a queen should be kept in the
mating nuc
boxes before we receive them. An
optimum of 28 days would be best. A May - June is a better
queen.
·
Formic Acid
,Tyleson,m and Oxalic Acid with sugar
water
were discussed
·
Small hive beetle
·
Races of bees
·
Pollen patties. Bee Pro Pollen Patties from Mann Lake
are
favored by Paul Lundy
Grease
Patties, 2:1 Ratio Pwdr sugar/ veg oil
used in
the
fall before they cluster
Hey, buds below, up is
where to grow,
Up with which below can’t
compare with.
Hurry!
It’s lovely
up here! Hurry!
Alan Jay
Lerner 1918-86:
‘It’s
Lovely Up Here’ (1965)
Bee Manager’s Note:
By Jerry Hominda
Well it is the end of
the year-some would argue the peak of the winter solstice the day after
our
banquet. If your bees were not healthy,
well fed, medicated, plenty of stores, strong population of younger
generation,
viable queen, etc. they may not make it through
the winter-oh
well. What is the worst that can happen
if they do not make it through the winter you try it again with a new
package
or a split from what you perceive as a healthy colony.
Quite honestly physically there is not much
you can do with your colonies during this time of year, but mentally
you can
begin preparing to be more successful as a bee manager in 2006. Read-Read-Read-network-network-network with
other bee keepers through out the world if you have Internet access. The problems we experience are similar to
problems other beekeepers experience at a global level.
Many of those beekeepers have a lot more to
loose than hobbyist, therefore they are more committed to finding
solutions to
problems and often those solutions are publicized on the web.
Furthermore, there
are many books that have been created discussing various aspects of bee
keeping. From queen rearing, diseases,
parasites, medications, new hive construction ideas, bee species
options, etc.
this is the time of year you should bee reading and preparing for the
new
year. Of course this is always a good
time of year to bee working on equipment and getting ready for the
swarms that
you will be experiencing from your healthy hives that survive the
winter.
HAPPY
HOLIDAYS
AND HAVE A SAFE AND HAPPY NEW YEAR.
??????????????Have
fun working bees??????????????