The meeting was held at the farm north of Iowa City where vice-president Joseph Klingelhutz keeps his apiary. Approximately 20 members attended. Several new members were welcomed.
President Floyd Otdoerfer opened the meeting shortly after ten a.m. Officers were introduced, as was Ed St. John, regional representative of the Iowa Honey Producers Association.
New members were welcomed and introduced themselves.
Treasurer Jean Stallman gave an account of the club’s funds at this point. We have over $1000 currently so are in good shape.
Our Queen Bee, Rachel Vakulich, gave a brief summary of the events she’s participated in and of upcoming events. She is doing this while going to school as well, and we congratulate her on her work and efforts.
Johnson County Fair—Members seemed to be in agreement that we should pursue having a presence again at the fair. Joseph volunteered to head the effort. James Miller agreed to assist. There will be a cost of $100 to participate. Jim Davis will set up a sign-up on the web site for people to volunteer to work shifts. Floyd reminded members that those volunteering may sell their honey at our fair location.
Floyd reminded members about the IHPA Field Day, to be held July 10th at the Ebert apiaries in Mt. Vernon. This is as close to our area as the IHPA has held a field day in recent memory.
Other discussion centered around winter survival and the cause of colony losses; how to respond to suspected poisoning; and possible problems surrounding various mite treatments.
Before breaking into groups for field events, Joseph gave a brief explanation of the farm we were meeting at, where he works after hours for a CSA organization. We give a big thanks to the land owners for allowing us to hold our event at their property.
There were three main events following the business meeting. A brief summary follows:
Floyd Otdoerfer gave a talk ab out using nucs to maintain a sustainable apiary. By making splits, particularly into small nucs, a number of queens and small colonies can be produced which can rapidly build up an apiary. Floyd told how he prepares and develops the nucs and the methods he uses for raising queens.
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| Floyd talks about making up nucs |
Ed
St. John gave a demonstration of how to perform a colony inspection,
from how to observe a hive before opening, how to open the colony, to
how to close it. Numerous frames were examined for assessing how
well the colony was growing.
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| Ed St. John leads a hive inspection |
Jim Davis gave a demonstration of several methods of inspecting for mites, including sticky boards, powdered sugar roll and alcohol wash. Both latter methods were performed on two hives, with no mites discovered in either!
For a summary of methods for testing for mites, see below.
Minutes submitted by Jim Davis, Secretary
Sampling for Mites
Select a frame from the brood chamber that ideally has a mixture of capped brood and open brood. Varroa mites will be concentrated near the brood, on nurse bees.
Sticky Board Method
Materials needed: Sticky board or homemade sticky board; colony with screened bottom board
You can buy commercially made sticky boards, usually with a grid printed on them for easier counting, or you can make one from white paper and spray a fine coating of cooking oil on them. Place it under the screened bottom board for three days. After three days, count the number of mites and divide by three to get the average number of mite drop per day.
Advantages: No need to open the hive and stress the bees. It is a quick method of assessing infestation.
Disadvantages: There is no standard quantification of the number of mites in this count that represents a concern. The count will vary dependent upon a number of factors, including the natural hygienic behavior of the colony, the size and age of the colony, the time of year, and other factors. The hive should have a screened bottom board. Requires two trips to the bee yard.
Summary: This method is best used to keep track of the increase in mite drop for a given colony throughout the season. It can be a signal that it is time to assess mite count using another method.
For the following methods, select a frame from the brood chamber that ideally has a mixture of capped brood and open brood. Varroa mites will be concentrated near the brood, on nurse bees.
Powdered Sugar Roll
Materials needed: Half-cup measuring cup or container with one-half cup marked. This is used to measure approximately 300 bees. Powdered sugar. Jar to shake bees in that has a number 8 hardware cloth screen on top. Tub to shake bees into. Spray bottle, towel.
Select a frame from the brood chamber. Be sure the queen is not on it! Shake the bees into the container. Tap the container down and use the measuring cup to scoop a half-cup of bees. Transfer them into the shaking jar and quickly put the screened lid on. Using the hive tool, put approximately two tablespoons of powdered sugar into the jar through the screen. Roll the jar around so all the bees are thoroughly coated. Set the jar in the shade for two minutes. This allows the mites to fall off the bees. After two minutes, shake the jar upside down onto a white surface. Do this for a full minute to make sure all the mites drop out of the jar. Count the mites. You may need to spray to dissolve the sugar in order to see the mites better. Divide the number of mites by three to determine how many per hundred mites are in your count. Return the bees to the colony where they can clean themselves and get back to work.
Advantages: Bees do not need to be killed. Fairly simple procedure that gives an estimate of the extent of infestation. Only one trip to the bee yard is needed. Immediate results.
Disadvantages: Generally not as accurate as the alcohol wash.
Summary: This method may not be as accurate but does not kill the bees. Also, like the sticky board, it can be used to assess the changes in level of infestation of a given hive throughout the season.
Alcohol Wash
Materials needed: Measuring device as above. Alcohol wash jar or quart jar with a screened lid. (If the latter, then an additional jar to pour the alcohol into to count the mites.) Isopropyl or rubbing alcohol
As with the sugar roll method, shake a frame of bees into a container. Scoop half a cup of bees and put them in the testing jar. Add half a cup of the alcohol. Swish the jar around gently for a minute in a circular manner. If using an alcohol wash jar, follow the directions on the jar. If using a jar with a screened lid, pour the alcohol into your second container. Count the number of mites floating in the alcohol. Divide by three to determine how many mites per hundred are in your colony.
Advantages: You can get a much more accurate assessment of infestation using this method. You can actually count the dead bees and divide your mite count by that number, then multiply that result by 100 to get the percentage of mites per hundred bees. For accuracy, you are sacrificing a relatively small number of bees. Only one trip to the bee yard is needed. Immediate results.
Disadvantages: You are killing bees to take your sample.
When to Treat for Mites
Generally, the decision about when to treat for mites depends on the time of the year, the size and apparent health of the colony and the data available to the beekeeper.
In general, in Spring, treat if the number of mites is greater than 2%.
In late summer, treat if the number of mites is greater than 3%.
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