carroll county beekeepers association the...
TRANSCRIPT
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .by FRED SYPHER
Our booth at the Carroll County 4H Fair was again a popular spot for folks who wanted to “see the bees.” The portable observation hive attracts young and old alike. While most visitors are fascinated, there are always a few who are truly afraid of bees, and all our assurances do nothing to overcome their fear. Brad Criddle did a great job of getting our new booth ready. We had a new banner thanks to Larry Fritz and a new bee hive table cloth thanks to Anna Polladian-Prior. Larry Truchon and Margo Cocchetto had beeswax candles, old fashioned glass Muth jars of honey and some good-looking baskets filled with bee- friendly products for sale. We also had a good selection of Ross Rounds and a wide selection of one-pound jars of “Carroll County’s Finest.” A special thanks to all the members who worked the booth. It’s a nice opportunity in today’s digital socialization frenzy to have a couple of hours to just talk with fellow club members.
We have two more events to support in August. On August 15th we will have a booth supporting “Farm to Fork” at the Finksburg Library at 2265 Old Westminster Pike from 2pm to 4pm. At 6pm there will be an adult event—a local wine and beer tasting with special guest Al Spoler, the host of Cellar Notes and Radio Kitchen on Baltimore’s NPR station, WYPR. Live music will be provided by Standard Delivery Combo. On August 28th we will staff the always busy Honey Sales booth at the Maryland State Fair in Timonium, Maryland. We’ll be there
from noon to 10pm. Again, thanks to those who volunteered to support these events.
The dates for the spring 2015 Short Course at Carroll Community College are set. The course will be presented on five consecutive Wednesdays from February 18th to March 18th with a field day on Saturday, March 28th. Wednesday, February 18th and Wednesday, March 18th are CCBA meeting dates. Our meeting will be combined with the Short Course class on those nights. Mark your calendars!
The August 20 CCBA meeting will have Joe Lewis as our guest speaker. Joe published an article in the December, 2013 issue of the American Bee Journal titled “Beekeeping 2.5.” Joe’s presentation will be about how keeping just two hives and a nuc can provide beekeepers with the resources and flexibility to maintain healthy bee colonies indefinitely. This is a timely presentation considering the adventures we have had replacing queens this year.
Finally, start thinking about who you want as President and Vice President of the Carroll County Beekeepers Association in 2015. Discuss it with your fellow beekeepers at the next three meetings so we are prepared to elect new officers in November.
(Editor’s Note: Both Fred and Larry believe term limits are healthy for organizations. New officers will bring fresh ideas and keep the club moving forward)
CARROLL COUNTY BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION
THE CARROLL BEE http://www.carrollcountybeekeepers.org/ August 2014
Carroll County Beekeepers Association meets at 7:30PM on the 3rd Wednesday of the month at Bear Branch Nature Center | 300 John Owings Rd | Westminster, Maryland 21158 | (410) 848-2517
To contact us or to become a member, e-Mail - [email protected]
Family membership is still only $15 per year. Lifetime membership is still only $150.
PHOTOS FROM 4H Fair
Brad Criddle
The Observation Hive Fascinated Everyone
Becky Strong and Laura Conaway
Cliff Schillcutt and Frank DiSanti
Georgi daughter of Luke & Rebecca. Sunday the 27 th Carroll County Fair. Georgi will probably be a master Bee
Keeper or a honey tester. Very enthusiastic about the Bees and their honey! Look at her expressions!
Pointing to the honey she wants to try.
Yummy!!
“They gave permission to reproduce their images.” . . . . Karen Steele
http://www.spiritofchange.org/publisher-s-blog/august-16-is-national-honeybee-day
August 16 Is National Honeybee Day August 01, 2014 by Organic Consumer Association
Photo via Flickr Love bees? Want to see them protected? Want to protest the companies that are killing them? Or just learn more about the critical role they play in sustainable gardening? On Aug. 16, beekeepers, gardeners and activists will gather in cities from coast to coast—and everywhere in between—to celebrate National Honeybee Day. Urban beekeepers will lead an event in Los Angeles. Visitors to the Jimmy Carter National Historic Site in Plains, Ga., will get to tour recently added hives—just like the ones Carter’s father used to keep. From Portland, Oregon to Portland, Maine, there are great opportunities to take action for honeybees on August 16.
You can join in. And if you do, we’ll send you “Plight of the Honey Bee” flyers and “Give Bees a Chance: Go Organic!” bumper stickers (while supplies last). Sign up here Complete list of National Honeybee Day beekeeper events Bee Against Monsanto protests against producers of chemicals responsible for Colony Collapse Disorder
Get your “Plight of the Honey Bee” flyers and “Give Bees a Chance: Go Organic!” bumper stickers while supplies last Related Articles Earth Talk: Attract Bees and Butterflies To Your Garden Picture A World Without Honey Bees
This is What Our Grocery Store Looks Like Without Bees
August To-Do List
1. Feed 1:1 sugar syrup (1 pound sugar to 1 pint water) until you have 2 to 3 medium boxes or 1 to 2 deep boxes of honey storage.
2. Do a Varroa Mite check and take appropriate action if necessary – see article later in this Newsletter. 3. Do a thorough hive inspection to determine the condition of your colony.
a. If the brood pattern is poor or if there are lots of drone brood, consider re-queening ASAP. b. How much honey have they stored for the winter? Do I need to start feeding? c. Remove frames with foundation (undrawn comb) d. The bottom box may have mostly empty comb because the Queen has migrated 1 or 2
(medium) boxes upward. Move the box with the Queen to the bottom. Next should be the box with the greatest amount of empty comb, followed by the box with the next greatest amount of empty comb. This gives Her Majesty lots of room to lay eggs that will become the over-winter workers.
http://www.xerces.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/NeonicsInYourGarden.pdf
CCBA WEBSITE FORUM BY THE CCBA FORUM TEAM Anyone interested in joining the CCBA forum, please reply with your email address to mailto:[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. You are only a click away!! http://www.carrollcountybeekeepers.org/db/
Read more . . . http://us1.campaign-archive1.com/?u=5fd2b1aa990e63193af2a573d&id=c455c83056&e=8975d57db0
OUR BEES, OURSELVES
Bees and Colony Collapse By MARK WINSTON
NY Times JULY 14, 2014
Credit Katie Scott
VANCOUVER, British Columbia — AROUND the world, honeybee colonies are dying in huge numbers: About one-third of hives collapse each year, a pattern going back a decade. For bees and the plants they pollinate — as well as for beekeepers, farmers, honey lovers and everyone else who appreciates this marvelous social insect — this is a catastrophe.
But in the midst of crisis can come learning. Honeybee collapse has much to teach us about how humans can avoid a similar fate, brought on by the increasingly severe environmental perturbations that challenge modern society.
Honeybee collapse has been particularly vexing because there is no one cause, but rather a thousand little cuts. The main elements include the compounding impact of pesticides applied to fields, as well as pesticides applied directly into hives to control mites; fungal, bacterial and viral pests and
diseases; nutritional deficiencies caused by vast acreages of single-crop fields that lack diverse flowering plants; and, in the United States, commercial beekeeping itself, which disrupts colonies by moving most bees around the country multiple times each year to pollinate crops.
The real issue, though, is not the volume of problems, but the interactions among them. Here we find a core lesson from the bees that we ignore at our peril: the concept of synergy, where one plus one equals three, or four, or more. A typical honeybee colony contains residue from more than 120 pesticides. Alone, each represents a benign dose. But together they form a toxic soup of chemicals whose interplay can substantially reduce the effectiveness of bees’ immune systems, making them more susceptible to diseases.
These findings provide the most sophisticated data set available for any species about synergies among
pesticides, and between pesticides and disease. The only human equivalent is research into pharmaceutical interactions, with many prescription drugs showing harmful or fatal side effects when used together, particularly in patients who already are disease-compromised. Pesticides have medical impacts as potent as pharmaceuticals do, yet we know virtually nothing about their synergistic impacts on our health, or their interplay with human diseases.
Observing the tumultuous demise of honeybees should alert us that our own well-being might be similarly threatened. The honeybee is a remarkably resilient species that has thrived for 40 million years, and the widespread collapse of so many colonies presents a clear message: We must demand that our regulatory authorities require studies on how exposure to low dosages of combined chemicals may affect human health before approving compounds.
Bees also provide some clues to how we may build a more collaborative relationship with the services that ecosystems can provide. Beyond honeybees, there are thousands of wild bee species that could offer some of the pollination service needed for agriculture. Yet feral bees — that is, bees not kept by beekeepers — also are threatened by factors similar to those afflicting honeybees: heavy pesticide use, destruction of nesting sites by overly intensive agriculture and a lack of diverse nectar and pollen sources thanks to highly effective weed killers, which decimate the unmanaged plants that bees depend on for nutrition.
Recently, my laboratory at Simon Fraser University conducted a study on farms that produce canola oil that illustrated the profound value of wild bees. We discovered that crop yields, and thus profits, are maximized if considerable acreages of cropland are left uncultivated to support wild pollinators. A variety of wild plants means a healthier, more diverse bee population, which will then move to the planted fields next door in larger and more active numbers. Indeed, farmers who planted their entire field would earn about $27,000 in profit per farm, whereas those who left a third unplanted for bees to nest and forage in would earn $65,000 on a farm of similar size.
Such logic goes against conventional wisdom that fields and bees alike can be uniformly micromanaged. The current challenges faced by managed honeybees and wild bees remind us that we can manage too much. Excessive cultivation, chemical use and habitat destruction eventually destroy the very organisms that could be our partners.
And this insight goes beyond mere agricultural economics. There is a lesson in the decline of bees about how to respond to the most fundamental challenges facing contemporary human societies. We can best meet our own needs if we maintain a balance with nature — a balance that is as important to our health and prosperity as it is to the bees.
Mark Winston, a biologist and the director of the Center for Dialogue at Simon Fraser University, is the author of the forthcoming book “Bee Time: Lessons From the Hive”.
THE BUGONIA BUGLE July 2014 Issue Hi everyone, hope your research is going well! This is the first edition of the Bugonia Bugle, which provides updates on the progress of research projects hosted on Bugonia.com. Big News! Bee Culture Magazine is graciously offering a 3 month online subscription to every beekeeper that finishes one or both of the 2014 studies! Links for the free subscriptions will be sent out when the studies are complete. And to up the ante, Bugonia.com will be awarding a brand new observation hive to the club with the highest study completion rate across both studies (clubs must have at least 5 participants to be eligible). We'll announce the winner later in the year! We're happy to report that we have more than 200 researchers participating in Bugonia this year. You all represent more than 20 bee clubs and 15 states, ranging from Missouri to Virginia and Alabama to New York! This far exceeds what we hoped for and we thank you all for being a part of this effort. Website Updates
We've made two noteworthy changes to increase the usability of Bugonia.com: Weekly e-mail reminders A weekly e-mail digest of your upcoming tasks for the week and overdue tasks on Bugonia.com is now being sent out. Reminders for all of your research hives and projects are aggregated into one e-mail to cut down on inbox clutter. Shiny new button for marking research tasks as complete If you notice that tasks are showing up in your weekly e-mail reminder that you already completed, this means that the task is still marked as scheduled rather than completed. We've added another, more obvious option for marking a task as complete which should help in avoiding this problem. Also we'd like to send a big thank you out to everyone who has provided feedback on the website! If you have any issues when using the website or general suggestions on how to increase its usability, please do not hesitate to send an email to [email protected].
Project Updates Project 1: Beekeepers Using Nematodes for Controlling Small Hive Beetles (BUNCH) Wow, we couldn't have picked a worse year for doing a small hive beetle study, huh? We're receiving reports from many research participants of the extraordinarily low number of small hive beetles sightings in their hives this year. This is a function of the long, harsh winter that prevented many of the beetles from overwintering. On the flip side, it is clear that many of you are still dealing with large beetle populations despite the cold winter. We are starting to see an uptick in beetle populations as the soil temperatures have warmed up, so keep an eye out for them. If you applied nematodes and are seeing adult beetles, this doesn't necessarily mean that the treatment didn't
work--the real measure is whether or not the population was reduced relative to if no nematodes were applied. As a reminder, in addition to your small hive beetle counts, please don't forget to complete your beekeeper, hive, and site assessments by the end of July. These assessments are critical to the study as they'll be used in statistical models that will explore what factors impact the efficacy of nematodes against small hive beetles. Links to each of these assessments are located in your task box when you log into bugonia.com. - Izzy Hill, Center for Urban Bee Research ([email protected])
Project 2: Testing the Efficacy of IPM Programs for Controlling Varroa destructor The harsh winter was rough on the bees; however, summer arrived just in time and the bees have made a strong recovery. It has been a busy, yet successful summer for beekeepers and their bees. Honey production is high and colonies are thriving. The research project has had great support from beekeepers. I have only just begun processing data from the Bugonia database, but after speaking with local beekeepers, there does not seem to be many problems with colony assessments. However, the assessments can be tiring; I was exhausted after assessing my colonies last week and had to add supers to many of my colonies that are already 4-5 stories tall. Here at the University, we have already
had one honey extraction and are due for another by the end of the month. I have received several e-mails from beekeepers who are having difficulty with swarm prevention. Swarming should be easier to manage now that the swarming season is coming to an end and the bees are beginning to prepare for winter. Mite numbers are still low, although from data that I collected last year it was not until mid-August that I noticed a jump in mite numbers. We appreciate your support and look forward to sharing the results with you.
- Katy Ciola, University of Delaware ([email protected]) That's it for now! Thanks again for all of your hard work, we greatly appreciate your participation! Best, The Bugonia Team
Research by the beekeeper, for the beekeeper
Web Site: http://bugonia.com/ and http://bugonia.com/how-it-works
IT’S VARROA MITE MONITORING / TREATMENT TIME . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . BY LARRY FRITZ
Late August and early September is a critical time for beekeepers to monitor varroa mite levels in their colonies and take corrective action if necessary. High mite levels are thought to be a major factor in absconding fall colonies, and in winter deadouts. How many of us have opened a hive on the first warm day in late winter only to find dead bees and lots of frames loaded with honey and pollen? High varroa populations in the fall is a likely cause. We need a large, strong, and healthy population of workers if our colonies are to survive the long cold days of winter. In addition to weakening bees by their parasitic action, varroa mites have now been shown to be a vector for several diseases. By checking mite loads this time of the year there is still time to take corrective action (chemical treatment) before the queen begins laying eggs for the workers that will sustain she and the colony until the dandelions bloom in the spring. If chemicals are needed, the beekeeper has by now removed honey for human consumption. NEVER treat before this honey is removed!!
The issues are facing the beekeeper are threefold . . 1. How do I monitor the mite levels in a hive? 2. What is the threshold for treatment? 3. What treatment options are available?
As always, there are many answers to these questions, and most of them are correct. A lot of articles have been written to address question 2 and 3. I will provide a couple of answers along with the source.
1. How do I monitor the mite levels in a hive? 1.1. Sticky boards – a thin sheet of rigid board is
coated with cooking oil and inserted under the bottom board screen. After 24, 48, or 72 hours the board is removed and the mites trapped in the oil are counted and the average drop per 24 hours is calculated. In my experience I have difficulty distinguishing a mite from a piece of debris. Using a magnifying glass helps, as does a
toothpick to pluck a “mite” from the oil. I’ve learned that if I think I see legs, then there is a very high probability that the “thing” is a mite.
1.2. Powder Sugar Roll – I find this method the easier of the two to perform. If the inverted jar is shaken over a plate of water, the sugar dissolves, leaving mites and debris floating on the surface. Very little debris will be dislodged and the floaters are almost always varroa mites. Bill Troup proved a detailed description of the PSR that follows this article.
2. What is the threshold for treatment? 2.1. Sticky Board (Reference – “Ask Phil”, Bee
Culture magazine, August 2013). Treatment required if 24 hour drop exceeds:
15 for a small colony
30 for a large colony 2.2. Powder Sugar Roll (Reference – American
Bee Journal, August 2013, page 817). Thresholds based on 300 bees (1/2 cup):
6 (2%) – acceptable, no treatment required
15 (5%) – chemical treatment required
45 (15%) – colony survival unlikely even with treatment
3. What treatment options are available? There are several products available. The reader is encouraged to do their own research and form their own opinion. However, the most important thing is to EXACTLY FOLLOW THE MANUFACTURER’S INSTRUCTIONS TO THE LETTER. 3.1. Jennifer Berry, “More Natural”, Bee Culture,
September 2013 – “We recommend ApiLife Var, a Brushy Mountain Bee Farm product, or Api Guard, a Dadant & Sons product”.
3.2. Jerry Hayes, “The Classroom”, American Bee Journal, December 2013 – Jerry recommends, in order, “Apiguard” and “Apivar”.
Editor’s Note: I made a large funnel out of aluminum flashing, where the opening is wide enough to accommodate about 3/4 the length of a medium frame. I shake a couple of frames of nurse bees into a wide-mouth container containing powder sugar. This is much easier than shaking bees into a box and scooping up a half cup. If I counted over a dozen mites then I would repeat the test on ½ cup of bees from another brood frame.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/08/science/beehive-air-conditioning.html?_r=0
The New York Times
SCIENCE
BEEHIVE AIR-CONDITIONING JULY 7, 2014
Q. Why are honeybees drinking water from my birdbath? A. The birdbath may be closer to the hive than a natural source of water, said Cole Gilbert, a
Cornell entomologist. Or the bees may have discovered it while foraging for nectar and pollen, then returned when conditions in the colony changed. Bees collect water from many nonpure sources — even urine, by one report, Dr. Gilbert said — but prefer pure water, like that in a birdbath, when specifically foraging for it. The most important factor in a hive’s water requirements is temperature control in the area where larvae are raised.
Water is collected by the same means as nectar, by sucking through the proboscis, Dr. Gilbert said. It is stored in the honey stomach, a pouch where nectar is also stored. “When foragers return to the hive, the water is regurgitated and passed by trophallaxis, a fancy word for mouth to mouth, from the forager bee to a younger hive bee,” he said. While the hive bee smears droplets on the comb, other bees hang out near the hive entrance, fanning their wings to increase airflow through the hive. The vaporizing droplets remove heat. When extra water is needed, a hive bee signals to a forager bee by refusing to take her nectar for some time. When it is eventually accepted, the forager bee looks for water on her next foray. C. Claiborne Ray
A version of this article appears in print on July 8, 2014, on page D2 of the New York edition with the headline: Beehive Air-Conditioning.
CATCH THE BUZZ
The 12 Days Of Christmas Carol Contest!
On The First Day Of Christmas, My Bee Keeper Gave To Me, A Beautiful Italian Queen Bee
On the Second Day Of Christmas, My Bee Keeper Gave To Me, 2 Empty Supers and a Beautiful Italian Queen Bee
On The Third Day Of Christmas….
You know how this goes…send us the 12 days of Christmas, each with a beekeeping theme, and we’ll publish as many of the best entries as we have room for in the December issue.
There are only a few rules for this contest:
Every day has to have a beekeeping theme
Spelling, rhyme, rhythm and meter count
Your entry has to be sing-able (is that a word?)
It has to be original
Keep it in the spirit of the season – friendly and fun
All entries have to be here by Midnight, October 1, 2014, no exceptions
You can have as many as 3 different entries
We accept only electronic submissions. Each email must have the name, address, and phone number of the entrant and each entry MUST have 12 Days in the subject line, and each email must have only ONE (1) entry. And send every one of those entries to [email protected].
That’s it. All entries will be judged by a tone deaf Bee Culture staff after midnight that night who have been sampling some Christmas Cheer, kind of early, and maybe some other office folks. We’ll see who sticks around.
Prizes. YES there are PRIZES.
FIRST PRIZE – A Life time subscription to Bee Culture Magazine. Value…unknown, but probably more than a couple grand…maybe even more if you’re lucky, and young enough. But there’s more! We are going to put the winning entry’s lyrics ON THE COVER OF THE DECEMBER ISSUE SO THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF FOLKS CAN SEE AND SING YOUR SONG!
SECOND PRIZE – A five year subscription to Bee Culture Magazine. Value…about $125 or so, maybe more if the price goes up.
THIRD PRIZE – A three year subscription to Bee Culture Magazine. Value…over $100 anyway.
So songbirds, get busy. You have only until October First, 2014.
This message brought to you by Bee Culture, The Magazine Of American Beekeeping, published by the A.I. Root Company. Find us at -Twitter. Facebook. Bee Culture’s Blog.
Surplus Beekeeping Equipment For Sale
I have 8-frame (all assembled):
1 shallow, 6 medium, 2 deep $10 each 2 screened bottom boards $7 each 2 inner covers, $4 each 3 metal queen excluders, $4 each 1 bee suit, adult, for $30 1 smoker for $20
Contact Gene, 443-415-5175 or [email protected] Editors note – After Bill Troup visited Gene, Bill suggested that I purchase his 8-frame mediums each with comb frames. I did so.
SAVE THE DATES
August 15 (2-4pm) – Farm to Fork Program at Finksburg Library
August 20 – CCBA Monthly Meeting – Joe Lewis, Guest Speaker
August 28 – CCBA staffs the MSBA booth @ the MD State Fair *
September 13 – Pollinator Fest at Bear Branch Nature Center *
September 28 – Westminster FallFest *
February 18 – Beginning of Short Course at CCC
* - an opportunity for CCBA members to sell their honey and wax products
CCBA 2014 OFFICERS
President Fred Sypher [email protected]
Vice President Larry Fritz [email protected] Treasurer Jody King [email protected]
Secretary Stephanie Krome [email protected] Webmaster Trace Orf [email protected]
The Carroll Bee editor Larry Fritz [email protected]
Check out the CCBA Website
www.carrollcountybeekeepers.org/ To join the CCBA forum, please reply with your email address to [email protected]