Minutes from December 12, 2016

East Central Iowa Beekeepers Association:

Meeting Notes from December 12, 2016

Special Thank You:

The ECIBA has had many members over the years that have volunteered their time, knowledge, or have donated beekeeping equipment to support this club and we would like to extend a heartfelt thank you for all you do. It’s harder and harder these days to get volunteers —but you made time in your busy schedule to step up. That means even more as every year gets busier. Thank-you!

Upcoming Events:

Iowa Honey Producers Meeting: January 22, 2017 DMAC, Des Moines, IA. 2 pm

ECIBA: Next meeting Monday March 13, 2017. Membership dues of $5 will be taken at this meeting. Please bring a sample of last year’s honey. We will be sampling and voting on the best honey of 2016 prizes will be awarded. Also Paul Gardner will be donating a hive for raffle. Big thank you to Paul.

Johnson County Fair: July 16-22, 2017.

Iowa State Fair: August 10-20, 2017.

Iowa Honey Producers Annual Convention: Will be held November 10-11^th 2017 at the Gateway Church of the Nazarene, Oskaloosa, IA. More information to come.

140 Gateway Drive, Oskaloosa, IA 52577

General Business:

Dave Irwin: Current funds $110.48. Johnson County Fair booth and insurance bill to be paid of $77.

Locations interested in having hives placed on their property:

Morning Glory - A Community Harvest Farm

681 Hwy 1 South Mount Vernon, IA Donna 563-451-6676

Bur Oak Land Trust: 5 Sturgis Corner Drive, Suite 1250, Iowa City, IA 52246 319.338.7030

Meeting Notes:

Dave Irwin: Gave an overview of the Iowa Honey Producers Annual Meeting held November 11-12, 2016 in Cedar Rapids, IA. Below are highlights of the meeting.

Jennifer Berry: For the past 17 years, Jennifer Berry has been the Apicultural Research Professional and Lab Manager for the University of Georgia Honey Bee Program. Her research objectives have focused on improving honey bee health, the sub-lethal effects of pesticides on beneficial insects and IPM techniques for varroa and small hive beetle control.

Her primary areas of research have been a queen breeding program and Integrated Pest Management work for varroa mite control. The breeding project is a long term program in which resistant stock is continually selected for as well as traits for honey production, brood production and gentleness.

James Tew: My professional interest is honey bee behavior and biology, with a strong leaning toward practical beekeeping.

Being a bee-friendly beekeeper: Within a wide range, each beekeeper maintains their colonies in ways suitable to their lifestyle and personal schedule. Some of us can allocate more time to our bees than others. As colony numbers increase, you should expect to spend less time with individual colonies. Beekeepers who rarely manipulate their colonies will most likely have

some, or even many, die. Alternatively, beekeepers who open their practically every day are also putting stress on their colonies. New beekeepers can be somewhat excused. They are still learning and are excited to explore their new bee world.

Andy Joseph: Reported that the number of new beekeepers in Iowa has increased 3x over the last 10 years but our bee population is still in decline. The average honey harvest was 80 lbs. per hive in 2016. High numbers for mite and wax moths reported across the state. One commercial producer reported up to a 50% loss due to mites. Iowa to introduce a new hive registration system in 2017. New IHP officers and director appointments: VICE PRESIDENT, Eve Vanden Broek, DISTRICT 2, Shane Bixby, and DISTRICT 3, Mary Wiltgen.

Topic Discussions:

• Oxalic Acid Vaporization: best times to treat and temperature control
• Oxalic Acid Drip: Is it better to use than the vaporization. If used you must use exact measurements.
• How much land is needed to support a colony?

Quest Speaker: Team Thunder FLL Team #5796 gave their presentation for their First Lego League project; The Thunder Hive.

First Lego League was founded in 1989 and based in Manchester, NH, FIRST is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit public charity designed to inspire young people's interest and participation in science and technology, and to motivate them to pursue education and career opportunities in STEM fields. This year’s project: Identify a problem when people and animals interact. Then design a solution that makes the interaction better for animals, people, or both. Then the team works to share problem and solution with others.

The team is focusing on helping eliminate CCD. The Thunder Hive will include a weight sensor, humidity sensor, thermal camera, vision camera, varroa gate, and hive heater. All data will feed into an app to be monitored by the beekeeper. The team would like to offer the Thunder hive for $450. If you have suggestions for this First Lego Team on their project please email FLLteam5796@gmail.com.

Buy Sell or Trade: The following members have beekeeping supplies for sale.

Paul Gardner: Hives, Packages, Queens, and other beekeeping supplies. 319-400-4228

Tim Wilbanks: Packages. 319-321-2494

Dave Campbell: Will be selling woodenware equipment at the March meeting.

Shane Bixby: Full line of equipment and packages. Beeapartbeetogether.com or 319-721-3493

Erin Miller

Secretary

East Central Iowa Beekeepers Association