Minutes from March 9, 2020
East
Central Iowa Beekeepers Association
Floyd
Otdoerfer, president, called the meeting to order at 6:30. Officers
were introduced. New members were asked to introduce themselves and
tell a bit about their beekeeping.
Jean
Stallman, treasurer, reported we have $30.20 currently in our budget.
Several
members passed away in the past several months. Matt Stewart
talked about Dave Campbell and Larry Spina, and Jim Davis mentioned
the passing of Ken Kuhlman. All will be missed and we wish the
surviving families all the best.
Floyd
brought up the subject of possibly increasing club dues. Initially,
an increase to $10 was suggested. Paul Gardner made a pitch for
higher amounts to be able to do more as an organization. After some
discussion, the club voted to increase dues to $20 per household per
year. Dues will generally be collected in March. Members can pay
at any meeting during the calendar year, however.
Jim
Davis passed out copies of a draft set of by-laws for the club to
consider. These were drafted by the committee of Paul Gardner,
James Miller and Jim Davis. The draft copy is also posted on the
website. Members were directed to consider any changes, additions or
deletions they would like to see and bring those suggestions to the
June meeting, at which time a final draft will be voted on.
Dan
Mahoney, with the USDA, spoke about an event coming up on Thursday,
April 2, called “Pollinators: Growing Rural & Urban Habitat”,
to be held at the Walker -Homestead, 3867 James Avenue SW, Iowa
City. Several will be presenting on topics related to pollinators.
(Note: Due to the COVID-19 virus, this event has been indefinitely
postponed as of this date.)
Ed
St. John, district representative of the Iowa Honey Producers
Association, talked about Iowa Field Day, June 27th,
at Dordt University in Sioux Center. Check the Iowa Honey Producers
website for information about speakers and events. The Buzz,
official newsletter of the IHPA, gives the requirements for state
fair entries in the latest issue. IHPA is investigating a potential
class action suit against large grocers who sell Midwest Honey.
Tests have shown that the honey is not strictly a midwest product
but contains pollens from South America. Ed also mentioned that his
hives are already getting yellow pollen brought in and other members
confirmed the same.
Floyd
asked the membership about having a continuing presence at the
Johnson County Fair. In the past, ECIBA has shared a tent at the
fair with Burr Oak Land Trust. We have had model hives, handouts,
and an observation hive. This involves setting up, taking down, and
manning several shifts for four days of the fair. James Miller
suggested it would be good to move to a better location at the fair
where there would be more traffic. Former president Dave Irvin owns
the tent that has been used and would be willing to sell that. A
Fair committee was set up with Will Swain, Mike O’Leary, Joseph
Klingelhutz and James Miller volunteering to participate.
Need bees? Paul Gardner of Precious Bees, Homestead, will be selling bees for $130 plus tax. Delivery dates will be April 19th and May 7th. Call Paul at 319-400-4228.
Need bees? Paul Gardner of Precious Bees, Homestead, will be selling bees for $130 plus tax. Delivery dates will be April 19th and May 7th. Call Paul at 319-400-4228.
 |
| Will and Joseph(foreground) |
Speakers:
Joseph Klinelhutz and Will Swain on the topic of spring management.
Highlights
of their presentation follows:
--Joseph
has been a beekeeper for several years and had experience working
with commercial beekeeping in New Zealand for 1 and a half years
Will
has been a beekeeper for over 30 years
--For
new beekeepers, Joseph recommends Honeybee
Biology and Beekeeping by
Dewey Caron and Lawrence John Conner
--Will talked about the
challenges that continue to face beekeepers, even when one has
extensive experience.
--Winter set-up is critical to
success in the spring. By mid-March, the queen is already laying
and brood is building up. Early and mid-spring are critical times
for colony survival.
--As
temps warm up into the 50’s, inspections for feeding are critical.
It is important to remember to not disrupt the brood area. Popping
the cover and insulation off is ok at 50 degrees but more
extensive intrusion should be done with much caution. If the hive
seems light on food stores, putting some crystal sugar onto a small
piece of newspaper on top of the frames can give essential energy.
Pollen patties can be put on the hives at this time. Pollen will
help increase brood production. Will pointed out that pollen
substitute can be used at this time as a supplement and bees will go
to the natural pollen as it becomes available. If you put out
pollen, be sure to continue to have it available because the larva
will die if the supply suddenly ends. Recipes are available on the
internet for a variety of pollen patties.
--Use a spacer on top of the
top box allows for extra room for patties, sugar, etc.
--When weather starts to stay
in the upper forties and fifties, it is good to check on hives about
once a week to make sure they have food. Liquid feed can be applied
at a 1:1 sugar/water ratio but make sure your hive has good moisture
control and temperatures are staying above freezing in the daytime.
Inner feeders are best at this time of year.
--Hive reversal was explained.
Although temps have been unusually warm already, this is generally
best to do in April. Do not separate brood or mess with the order
of brood frames. Bees should all be pretty much in the same box
to do reversals. Reversals help reduce the tendency to swarm by
letting the bees know there is space to move into. Older frames can
be culled out at this time, which helps reduce the possibility of
disease. Honey and pollen frames can be put alongside the brood
frames if the existing frames do not contain enough honey or
pollen.
--With
early warm temperatures, should winter insulation be removed already?
Will said he took off enough tar paper to be able to lift top boxes
to assess weight but has left insulation on the bottom. Joseph took
his off, but all suggest continuing to keep top insulation on the
hive.
--Why
has my hive died? Starvation (bees found dead with their abdomens
sticking out of the cells); population too small going into winter
to be able to maintain warmth; disease (such as deformed wing virus
or nosema); excessive humidity within the hive are the most common
issues. For moisture control, moisture boxes for the top of the
hive were explained. Keeping a hole in the spacer on top of the
hive, facing the opposite way of the hive entrance, can help keep air
circulating within the hive.
--Clean out and/or move dead
colonies away from the apiary to reduce the risk of disease spread.
--Use screened bottom boards
or tip hives so water cannot enter the hive.
--Keep good records! Record
what you observe and how you interact with the hives.
--Make sure bees have a good
water source available.
--Mid-to-late spring, maintain
good swarm control methods.
--Will:
“A swarm in May is worth a bale of hay, a swarm in June is worth
a silver spoon, a swarm in July isn’t worth a fly.” Swarms
control can help with varroa control as well. Hive splitting is very
important as a means of preventing swarms, increasing your colonies
and disrupting the varroa life cycle.
--Queen
cells—what to do with a frame with multiple queen cells?
Carefully remove all but two queen cells and place on a frame in a
nuc and let the other two decide which will survive.
--Prepare
for splits and new colonies by having equipment ready (nucs or
complete hives).
--Expanding your colonies:
nucs (with laying queen), packages (with fertilized queen)
Prices are generally high this
year, as high as $190 per package. Paul Gardner will be selling
packages he delivers directly from Georgia for $139.10, April 19 and
May 7. Italian/Carniolan cross. (Go to our web page for
information on buying packages).
--Early mite control is
essential for colony health and monitoring mite counts and
treating/disruption from springtime on will help decide how
successful/healthy your colony will be.
Next meeting: June 8, 2020
Minutes submitted 3/21/2020
Jim Davis, secretary
*******
Please let me know if you are no longer wishing to receive
communication from ECIBA. You can email me at jim.nwjh@gmail.com
Club
website: http://eastcentraliowabeekeepers.blogspot.com
********* To read a copy of the proposed by-laws, click here.
********* To read a copy of the proposed by-laws, click here.
