Participate in an online event sponsored by the South Western Ohio Beekeepers Association (SWOBA)
October 27, 2021. 6:30 Central time
Speaker: Dr. Michelle Flenniken
Topic: “ The impact of viruses on honey bees at the colony, individual, and cellular levels".
Cost: Free
Where: Online through Zoom, please find the FB link below.
Please, feel free to share the fb link with your local FB group!
https://fb.me/e/1eOGQg9j0
Or
https://www.swohiobeekeepers.com/m-27-october-2021
Special thanks to SWOBA president, Yaser Almusawy, for the invitation to their event.
Minutes from September 13, 2021
The meeting was held at Hilltop Shelter at S.T. Morrison park in Coralville. Approximately 20 members attended. The meeting was called to order by President Floyd Otdoerfer.
Officers were introduced.
New members introduced themselves and were welcomed to the club.
Jean Stallman gave the treasurer’s report. We currently have $912 in the bank. Jean reminded members that, due to COVID, we are counting 2020 and 2021 as one year as far as dues are concerned but members may pay dues at any time.
Our East Central Iowa Honey Princess, Rachel Vakulich, gave a report on her activities of the summer, which included attending the Johnson County Fair and the Iowa State Fair. Rachel is trying out for the position of Iowa Honey Queen, which involves demonstrating a thorough knowledge of bees as well as an ability to communicate with others about honey bees.
--Joseph Klingelhutz led a discussion about mite treatments and winter preparations. Methods discussed included Apivar and Apiguard, Formic Acid variants and oxalic acid sprays. Some methods, such as Formic Pro or MAQS can be used with honey supers on and are affective in killing mites within the capped cells. One needs to be mindful of temperature limits with some of these. Oxalic acid currently is legally limited to application without honey supers. It is very effective in killing mites that are moving freely within the hive. Joseph said he treats a couple times with oxalic acid, around Thanksgiving and then again later in early winter, when brood production is very low. Other treatments are applied in summer months. Oxalic acid may also be applied via dribble, but only in warmer weather. Protection against fumes from OA vaporization was stressed by several. “Is wood bleach ok to use or does one need to use pure oxalic acid? “ was a question posed. Consensus appeared to be that wood bleach works as well.
Joseph explained that winter preparation can include insulating the hive, providing ample food supplies, mite management, providing ventilation and working to control excessive moisture in the hive. James Miller suggested one reason for so many hives lost last winter was due to the fact that the bees will not leave the brood area, and so can starve even when there is ample food in adjacent frames.
Joseph demonstrated the shims he places above the frames on the top box, which have ventilation holes in them. In that shim he places a soundboard, which is very good at absorbing moisture. Insulation can then go on top of that. Members then talked about the ways in which they wrap hives. Charles Hoehnle uses polystyrene hives. Others wrap with tar paper or stiff styrofoam. Craig Aldrich talked about how the use of candy boards is integral in his winter setup and described his method of making them, which doesn’t involve cooking but simply adding enough water to the sugar to make a firm paste, which goes in a shim on top of one-inch hardware cloth covered by thin paper. Others suggested the Walter Camp method of simply putting sugar on top of newspaper on the frames.
--Floyd queried the group about the possibility of holding a swap meet day. At this time, with a relatively small turnout for the meeting, there was not a strong feeling for the need to have an event like this at this time.
--Johnson County Fair: Those who volunteered to work the fair expressed positive feelings about the event, in spite of the heat. They did feel the indoor location worked well and James Miller said he told the organizers that the site worked well, so hopefully we can get that spot again. Once more, thanks to those who gave time to serve at the event.
--Polly Ferguson asked about what to do about hive beetles. There are traps that can be used that uses a small bit of fruit or even cider vinegar with mineral oil to drown the beetles. Don’t allow the bees to have more space than they can defend to help keep the numbers down. Frames that are affected can be frozen or put in garbage bags to kill them.
--The use of queen excluders was brought up as a topic. Mixed reactions, though a general rule is there are good times to use them and other times when it’s better to not use them. James Miller said timing is very important, and putting them on once bees are building in the super, especially during a honey flow, is a good idea. Floyd emphasized they can be a valuable tool for isolating a queen.
--Honey production this year: most members felt honey production was down this season. Stewarts said their honey was “less than good.”
--Joseph talked about his experience trying some grafting this season. He had some success. He described his process. Floyd talked about the importance of pulling the old queen out and working quickly to get the new grafts into the queenless hive before they dry out. Charles described a method of cutting out a strip of young larva from a frame and attaching them hanging down on the top of a frame.
--Matt and Patty Stewart generously provided treats for the meeting. Yum!
The meeting ended around 7:30. Next meeting, if it can be held in person, will be December 13th.
Also, if you go on Facebook, please visit our group presence at :
https://www.facebook.com/groups/376373703651116
or search on Facebook for East Central Iowa Beekeepers. This is a public group and you are invited to join. This is a good place to share ideas, ask questions and show off what you’re going with bees.
Respectfully submitted 9/14/2021,
Jim Davis, secretary
