Minutes from March 9, 2020

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 27^th, 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.

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.