Minutes from December 12, 2022

 

Minutes from December 12, 2012

The meeting was called to order at 6:30 by president Joseph Klingelhutz.

New members were introduced. Welcome!

Treasurer’s report: Current balance, $1401.16. Dues will be collected in March for 2023.

Secretary’s report: A new member sign-up sheet was passed around. Members were reminded of our mentorship program and new members encouraged to sign up.

Iowa Honey Producer’s Annual Conference: (James Miller)

Pesticide use and the residue in the beeswax from years of using miticides was a topic at the conference. Negative effects on the colony have been observed, from smaller queen attendant bees to less fertile drones. Cycling out old frames would help rid the colony of some of this residue. State apiarist Andy Joseph indicated that, statewide, beekeepers were seeing less nosema, fewer cases of European Foul Brood and mite counts have been lower than average. There were sessions on various methods of producing comb honey and a discussion of the biology of bee mating was interesting. Some speakers for next year’s conference will include Jamie Ellis, Marla Spivak and, virtually, Tom Seeley. He also mentioned the youth scholarship program, and one can find information about that on the IHPA website. James expressed how interesting the conference was and encourages all to try to attend one.

Introduction to Beekeeping: Dr. David Peck

Dr. Peck is director of research and education at Betterbee in Greenwich, New York, and spoke with us virtually about what considerations one needs to make when thinking of becoming a beekeeper. The following is a summary of his presentation.

H e said it’s important to start with one’s goals for becoming a beekeeper. Is it for better pollination, to acquire quality food (honey), or simply a desire to get back to nature? The goals can help a decide how to proceed with planning.

He gave a brief history of man’s knowledge of bees and working with bees, dating back as early as 8000 years ago with evidence of managing bees as early as 655 BCE. He went on to talk about bees and the makeup of a colony, how bees gather nectar and pollen. On a chart, he demonstrated how, throughout the season, there are “booms and busts” of nectar and pollen for the bees and that the beekeeper needs to manage around these peaks and valleys.

Within the natural hive, typically a hollow in a tree, honey stores are at the top, with the brood comb and bee bread in the lower part. The entrance is usually located near the bottom. Dr. Langstroth, who discovered the concept of “bee space”, created a hive with linear frames, in a wooden structure, to somewhat mimic the natural experience.

Practical considerations: Hive components can be wood or polystyrene. While there are benefits to each, either are acceptable. The beekeeper needs to make sure there are components for expansion as the colony grows. In addition to the traditional Langstroth hive, there are Apimaye hives, Flow hives (not recommended for beginners), top bar hives (again, probably too difficult to manage initially) and observation hives, which are best for special circumstances rather than as a singular hive.

Hive size is a consideration—8 versus 10 frame, and deep brood boxes versus mediums and combinations of each. There is no one ideal configuration and the weight and management of each configuation can be a determining factor in choosing which to use. The same applies to frames (wood, plastic, wood w/plastic) and foundation. Plastic foundation is probably better for a beginner to work with. Betterbee sells a synthetic comb called BetterComb which is another option.

Tools that are indispenible are a smoker and a hive tool. Which style to select is probably not as important as selecting one and learing to use it well. Dr. Peck doesn’t recommend a bee brush for beginners, as it can irritate the bees. Protective clothing is a personal choice and he suggests that one go with the type of outfit, from full suit to just a veil, that one feels comfortable with.

Of the three choices available to most for obtaining bees –nucs, packages or swarms—the best option is to purchase locally. Bees from California or Georgia simply will not be as adapted to northern climate as locally bred bees and queens. Additionally, the new beekeeper should not be as concerned as to the “breed” of bee—Italian, Carnialan, etc. How many colonies should the beekeeper begin with? Two colonies double one’s cost but also doubles experience, increases chances of survival and allows exchange of materials and resources between the colonies. Starting with 15 colonies, though, is not recommended. Honey harvest should be secondary to learning to manage bees, the primary management objective being to control mite populations, and there may be no honey for the beekeeper in year one or even year two. Successful beekeeping is a mindset of constant learning.

Dr. Peck pointed to resources available on the Betterbee website, Betterbee.com, and encouraged members to subscribe to their newsletter. He has an article in the next edition about extended release oxalic acid. Betterbee also has a Youtube channel.

Honey Queen report: Rachel Vakulich Rachel reported on her experience at the IHPA annual conference, where she was crowned Iowa Honey Queen for 2023. Congratulations, Rachel! She encouraged members to let her know of any upcoming events she might attend. We’re excited to have Rachel representing not only our area of the state but all of Iowa.

Open discussion: Randy Hahn talked about how quickly his colonies have been losing weight already this fall. He has been weighing them regularly. Others indicate they had noticed similar weight loss. There followed some conversation about how to weigh them. Just learning to lift them and become accustomed to how they should feel can be helpful.

Beekeeping classes Will Swain is teaching several classes this winter and spring. Information about them can be found on his web page, iowacitybeekeeping.com. Bob Wolffe mentioned the classes taught by Indian Creek Nature Center. Local classes will be listed on our club’s website as well.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:15. Thanks to all for coming.

http://eastcentraliowabeekeeping.blogspot.com

Note:  As often is the case, we had more to talk about than we had time for.  Winter preparation and management is one of the most important aspects of the beekeeper's tasks.  Ed St. John did a great presentation on winter prep and management a couple years ago.  To view Ed's slide presentation, you can click here.

Agenda December 12, 2022

 

Agenda

December 12^th, 2022 meeting

East Central Iowa Beekeepers Association

Hello!  Below is the agenda for our December 12th meeting.  Are your bees all bedded down snug and warm, ready to make it through the coming winter? Hope so.

We will again meet at the Urban Acres Realty facility in Coralville (see map below)

Doors open at 6:00

Meeting will begin at 6:30, ending by approximately 8:15 pm

Introductions

Welcome New members

Treasurer’s report

Secretary's report

President's report

Iowa Honey Producer’s Annual Conference report—James Miller

Guest Speaker—Dr. David T. Peck, Director of Research and Education at Betterbee in Greenwich, NY

There are so many questions to answer when one takes up beekeeping: What are my objectives? How many colonies? What type of bee? What equipment does one need, and what will that cost? Dr. Peck will talk about these considerations and more. Come with your questions!

Winter Management—Will Swain and Joseph Klingelhutz

ECIBA Honey Queen report—Rachel Vakulich

Adjournment

Reminder: If you did not receive an agenda either in the U.S. mail or via email, that means you have not paid dues the past two years.  You can continue membership by coming to the meeting and paying dues or send a check for $20, made out to ECIBA, to:

Jean Stallman

11247 Scotch Grove Lane

Fairfax, Iowa 52228

Thank you and hope to see you at the meeting!

Attention New Beekeepers and "Wannabees"!

Our December meeting date is approaching rapidly.  This should be a great meeting for those just beginning with beekeeping or thinking about becoming a beekeeper.  Look for the agenda and meeting information to be posted here next week.

All members:  We have cut down our membership list to those who have paid dues the past couple of years.  We tried to make this cut as accurate as possible, but if we've made a mistake regarding your membership status, please don't hesitate to let us know and we apologize. You can email me, Jim Davis, and let me know if you have been removed from the list by accident.  If you do not get an email agenda this coming week of November 27- December third, your contact information has been removed from our database. 

If you can't attend the December meeting but would like to pay your dues, you can mail cash or check ($20) to:

Jean Stallman

11247 Scotch Grove Lane

Fairfax, Iowa 52228

December Meeting

 If you have been thinking about joining the beekeeping community, our December meeting could help answer a lot of the questions you undoubtedly have about keeping bees.  Join us as we discuss what it takes to get started in beekeeping, from equipment, hive configuration, protective clothing, location, and any other questions you might have.  Helping with the conversation will be Dr. David Peck, director of research and education at Betterbee Honey Farm, one of the premier beekeeping supply companies (see David's bio below).  David will join us via zoom and will share his perspective as a researcher, beekeeper and member of a supply company.  

Stay tuned to this page for the agenda for the December 12th meeting and be sure to add this to your calendar.

Speaker Bio:

David T. Peck, Ph.D.

Dr. Peck is the Director of Research and Education at Betterbee in Greenwich, NY, where he assists in product development and research, and also teaches classes and develops scientifically-sound educational materials. His doctoral work in Cornell University's Department of Neurobiology and Behavior was supervised by Professor Tom Seeley. His dissertation research focused on the transmission of mites between bee colonies, as well as the mite-resistance traits of the untreated honey bees living in Cornell's Arnot Forest.

After earning his degree, he has continued to research varroa/bee interactions, including fieldwork in Newfoundland, Canada (where varroa still have not arrived) and Anosy Madagascar (where varroa arrived only in 2010 or 2011). He has served as a teaching postdoctoral fellow in Cornell's Department of Entomology, and is still affiliated with Cornell through the Honey Bee Health program in the College of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Peck has kept bees for more than a decade, though his home apiary is often full of mite-riddled research colonies so he doesn't usually produce much honey. 

Minutes from September 12, 2022

 

East Central Iowa Beekeepers Association Minutes

September 12, 2022

--The meeting was called to order at 6:30 by president Joseph Klingelhutz, who introduced the club officers. He then asked for attendees to introduce themselves and tell a bit about their bee experience. It appears to have been a good season for the bees, with a stronger than usual fall flow. Randy Hahn brought samples to share of early and late season honey.

Wilbur Collins spoke of a woman who lives between Cedar Rapids and Mt. Vernon who has bees in need of a cut-out and Floyd Otdoerfer spoke with a local person who is giving away three live colonies of bees.

--Jim Davis indicated the Iowa Honey Producers Association annual conference will be in Ames this year, November 11^th and 12^th. Several very good speakers are scheduled over the two days of the conference. James Miller indicated he would go and present at our December meeting. The mentor program was also mentioned for anyone who wished to sign up.

--Rachel Vakulich gave a summary of her recent experiences as our honey princess, and she has been quite busy over the summer. She asked the group for any information about presentation opportunities, which she very much enjoys. She will again be vying for the role of Iowa Honey Queen at the annual conference. Good luck, Rachel!

--Joseph introduced our guest speaker, Atreya Manaswi.  Atreya is a tenth grade student

 

at Orlando Science School, a STEM school in Orlando, Florida. Atreya spoke with us via Google Meet. His topic was the small hive beetle (SHB) and his research over the past several years on the control of the beetle, which has in recent years made its presence known in the midwest, though it is a more serious threat in the southern half of the United States. Several club members commented on their experience with the beetle though none appear to have lost colonies to the insect. 

 The following is a summary of his talk:

SHB’s originated out of sub-Saharan Africa and appeared in the US in the late 1990’s. They are small, dark beetles, 4 to 6 mm long, that hide in crevices and avoid the light.

As with wax moths, it is the larva that do the damage in the colony, which includes damaging wax capping and spoiling the honey, damage to comb and stress on the colony.

Evidence of small hive beetle damage includes a rotting citrus odor and run-out of honey from the hive. Unlike wax moth larvae, which produce cocoons and webbing across the frames, SHB larvae will cause “slimeout”. The larvae are significantly smaller than wax moth larvae.

Good practices include removing old frames and boxes which can provide cracks and areas for the beetles to hide and lay eggs, extracting honey within two days of removal from the hive to prevent spoilage, and exposing the hive to sunlight as the beetles don’t tolerate the sun and heat well.

Treatments include chemical and organic/biological methods. Products such as Checkmite+ are available for purchase but may have deleterious affects on the environment and the bees as well. Other methods for control (and Atreya emphasized the SMB cannot be eliminated from the colony, only controlled) include beetle traps using an attractant such as apple cider vineager and oil to kill the beetle, diatomaceous earth and nematodes. These methods do not harm the environment nor the bees and are typically much less costly.

Atreya then described his research to determine the most effective substance to use in beetle traps. Comparing cider vineager, beer, mango/cantalope puree with boric acid, ACV, peanut/grapeseed oil and yeast, he found that beer was significantly more effective than the rest. He then proceeded to do tests to determine what substances in beer were the most important in attracting the beetles. An oil blend with beer proved the be the most effective, and work continues to find a way to produce this. While this is not available, it’s clear that using beer with an oil in a SHB trap can be an effective method for keeping the beetle population under control, when combined with other good practice as mentioned above.

Atreya then addressed several questions from the group. Thanks, Atreya, for a fine presentation. He will be giving an online address at the IHPA annual conference.

--Joseph began a conversation about fall varoa mite treatment. Randy Hahn demonstrated a vaporizer for oxalic acid that works very quickly, using a rechargeable battery (Milwaukee brand or DeWalt). A treatment can be applied to a colony in only 30 seconds, compared with 15 minutes in a vaporizer attached to a 12 volt battery.

The meeting was ended shortly after 8 pm, with some time for members to socialize.

Thanks again to Rob McCain and Urban Acres for letting us use the facility.

Next meeting is December 12^th.

Respectfully submitted,

Jim Davis, Secretary

http://eastcentraliowabeekeepers.blogspot.com

Look for our Facebook group : East Central Iowa Beekeepers

Please note: If you have not attended a meeting or paid dues the past two years, this will be the last delivery from the club. You can still follow activities on the web and facebook,

Agenda for September 12th

 

Agenda

September 12^th meeting East Central Iowa Beekeepers Association

Hello!  Below is the agenda for our September 12th meeting.  Hope you have had a “bee-utiful” summer! Come tell us how your summer has gone with your bees.

Hope to see you at the meeting. We will again meet at the Urban Acres Realty facility in Coralville (see map below)

Doors open at 6:00

Meeting will begin at 6:30, ending by 8 pm

Introductions

Welcome New members

Treasurer’s report

Secretary's report

Honey Princess report

President's report

Guest Speaker—Atreya Manaswi --11^th grade student at Orlando Science High School in Orlando, Florida. Atreya will give us an online presentation on small hive beetles.

See below for more information about Atreya

--short break (10 minutes)--

Late summer/fall varroa treatment—Joseph Klingelhutz

Open discussion

http://eastcentraliowabeekeepers.blogspot.com

also on Facebook-- look for the public group East Central Iowa Beekeepers

Atreya Manaswi

Atreya Manaswi is a 10th grade student at Orlando Science High School in Orlando, FL. He has been involved in university level laboratory academic research since the age of twelve and has won regional, national, and international awards for his extensive honey bee conservation research. In his four years of honey bee conservation research, the USDA, and University of Florida (UF) have funded his novel research projects. In 2021, he was recognized as one of the nation’s leading top 30 youth scientific minds in the prestigious Broadcom MASTERS STEM Competition amongst 10 million students across the country each year. Amongst this pool of top 30, he was recognized as the 1st place national winner in the category of Scientific Research. In 2022, he was selected as the winner of the At-Large BioGENEius Challenge (as one student from across the entire US) and qualified for the 2022 International BioGENEius Challenge where he was named the highest honors awardee. He is also a very active public speaker and actively uses STEM as a catalyst to make positive reform in the community. Atreya is also an enthusiastic actor and performing artist having been involved in countless theatrical productions since the 3rd grade, often starring as the lead antagonist role. Recently, Atreya played the lead role in a play at his school which focused on mental health/suicide awareness. He is also a practiced acoustic guitarist, having played for 5+ years, and enjoys playing for his community. He holds a 2nd degree black belt in Taekwondo which he has pursued for the last 8 years. All in all, Atreya is a high-energy, dedicated, motivated, and passionate individual with a willingness to grow and share his experiences with others. He takes pride in being a youth STEM leader with a fervent belief in the power of science and the youth’s ability to transform our globe.

Read an article about Atreya from Bee Culture Magazine here.

Minutes from June 13, 2022

East Central Iowa Beekeepers Association

Minutes from June 13, 2022

President Joseph Klingelhutz opened the meeting by having everyone introduce themselves and talk briefly about where they’re from and how their bees are doing. Welcome new members!

Treasurer’s report: Jean stated we have $1213.57 in our account. She indicated she would take dues and donations as well. Bob Wolff mentioned he had some items for sale from a former beekeeper who passed away. You can contact Bob at 319-310-4143 for information about these items.

Secretary’s report: Jim passed around a sign-in sheet and a sheet where people could indicate if they would like to work with a mentor and those who would be willing to work as a mentor. Rachel, our bee queen, gave a report on community outreach activities she has beebnn involved with. Jim mentioned two events for Earth Day at which we had a presence and Joseph mentioned another activity at which he gave a talk about bees.

President’s report: Joseph mentioned it is important to talk with people about bees and we’d like to see our group grow.

Johnson County Fair: Joseph talked about the fair and a sign-up sheet to volunteer at the fair, July 24-27 at the Johnson County Fairgrounds. There was some discussion about having an observation hive, with Rachel saying she could possibly provide one if it wasn’t too hot for the bees.

Main Speaker: Adam Ebert of Ebert Honey

The following are some highlights of Adam’s talk. Thanks, Adam, for sharing your perspectives on your family’s adventures in the bee business.

Figure 1: Adam, his father and brother

Adam’s father began the business in 1980. He showed some photos from the early days of the business, using just a 4 frame extractor and about 20 hives near Fairfield. Over about ten years, the business grew to about 50 colonies. In 1996, they built their first building and moved the business out of the house. Once Adam began working as a professor, he worked hard with the bees and colonies expanded to about 500. Today he works solely with the bees.

Ebert Honey currently has around 1000 hives in this area and another 700-800 in central Iowa.

The business expanded from primarily selling honey to bottling honey (theirs and others), beeswax distribution, nucs and package bees, queens, bottling supplies and transporting bees to California for almond pollination. Typically, they produce around 2000 pounds of wax. Adam said it takes around 7 pounds of honey for bees to produce a pound of beeswax, so it is a costly activity for the bees. They buy wax from midwestern states and distribute it. It has gone up in price since there was a shortage of honey last year, resulting in less wax cappings. He feels this will be a good June here in Iowa with warm temperatures and adequate moisture. Due to the slow spring, he feels his colonies are about a month behind normal.

Adam says they count hive losses from peak to low, from July to April. This resulted in about 30 percent loss this past year, while in their central Iowa hives, which did not receive the same mite treatment, suffered about 80 percent loss. A bonus to that was having plenty of resources from the dead-outs to supplement the winter survival colonies.

They have stayed away from pollen since mold can be a considerable problem. Perhaps it might be a future venture for them. Similarly, comb honey is in demand but only comprises about 2% of their honey crop. The company also sells honey packaging.

One of Adam’s favorite things about beekeeping is raising his own queens, though now other aspects of the job take him away from raising queens himself. He will be hiring and training people to learn how to handle and package queens. Currently they get most of their queens from northern California.

California almond pollination: A hive needs at least 6 frames of bees but ten frames will pay a higher price. Costs are about $85 to $95 per hive for the transportation, and this has gone up with current high fuel costs. The beekeeper can earn about $150 to $225 per hive depending on the source. Ideally, about 325 to 400 hives per load is best. When they arrive in the winter in California, the bees are fed sugar water and each colony given several pounds of pollen substitute, which stimulates brood rearing so colonies increase about 25%. Bees are treated for mites at that time, then, which is easier since the hives are so close together. The last couple of years they have moved the bees to a holding areas and did splits, and with the close proximity they have been able to quickly split a lot of bees. Back in Iowa, Adam hoped to do some apple blossom pollination and build up hives to do splits but the apple blossom time was quite short.

Treatments: some have not been working as well as in the past. Apistan and checkmite were used years ago but stopped working. Apiguard is used some, though several applications are needed. He uses MAQS primarily in the fall. They test vigorously now post-treatment. In the past, oxalic acid dribble was used but now have been experimenting with extended release OA on sponges. Those treated with sponges showed much more healthy colonies.

(Thanks, Adam—great talk!)

Central Iowa Beekeepers Winter Seminar-- Paul Hain attended the meeting and gave a summary. Small hive beetles—difficult to kill, and can travel up to 200 meters from the hive. Diatomaceous earth can be spread around the base of the hive; the beetles will put a slime on the frames. Stronger colonies are better able to keep them under control. State apiarist Andy Joseph spoke about transitioning into sideline beekeeping—a step up from being a hobbyist, where the beekeeper sells honey and bee products though not on a commercial scale. Dr. Carol Fassbinder-Orth spoke on the topic of bee decline and how to recognize when a colony is failing. Mites, honey stores, are some of the things to observe. Dr. Tom Seeley spoke about how honey bee swarms and how they find their new home. Paul also spoke about the importance of water sources for the bees.

Floyd Otdoerfer-- Floyd recently had Andy Joseph inspect his 25 nucs. Basically, he looked through the nucs looking for signs of disease such as deformed wing syndrome. James Miller commented that anyone can call Andy to have colonies inspected. Floyd said it isn’t necessary to have colonies inspected every year but if you are selling bees, you should do it every several years at least. Joseph also commented on the importance of getting your bees registered.

Meeting was adjourned shortly after 8 pm

Important notice: Our membership list includes dozens of people who have not attended nor have paid dues in well over a year. We will be cutting that list down to members who have been in attendance and/or paid dues in the past two years. If this applies to you, you will no longer be receiving notices about meetings. If you wish to remain on active status as a member, please contact Jim Davis (davisjk@southslope.net) or send your dues to Jean Stallman at 11247 Scotch Grove Lane, Fairfax, Iowa 52228

Visit our FACEBOOK page by searching for east central iowa beekeeper or visit our blog at

http://eastcentraliowabeekeepers.blogspot.com

Thanks to all who attended!

Agenda June 13, 2022

 

Agenda

June 13^th meeting East Central Iowa Beekeepers Association

Hello!  Below is the agenda for our June 13th meeting.  Hope you are having a great spring and bees, if you have them, are building up strong as we are even now in a good honey flow.  Hope to see you at the meeting.

Doors open at 6:00

Meeting will begin at 6:30, ending by 8 pm

Introductions

Welcome New members

Treasurer’s report

Secretary's report

President's report

Johnson County Fair-- sign up sheet

Report from CIBA Winter Seminar

Report on IHPA Summer Field Day

Bees for sale? Floyd Otdoerfer

Guest Speaker--Adam Ebert from Ebert Honey-- Perspective on commercial beekeeping in Iowa and transitioning beyond honey

(15 minute Break)

Randy Oliver’s spreadsheet for varroa treatment--Jim Davis

Open discussion

Spring Has Sprung

 Yes, mid-summer, formerly known as spring, has finally arrived!  Hopefully, we can sometime return to seasonal norms and get a few nice 70 degree days in before the real heat and humidity make their presence.

Reminder: just a few things to keep in mind during this critical time of the year:

--Manage for swarms.  This is the peak swarm season.  Look for queen cells, make splits, set up swarm traps, make sure bees have space to expand

--Add supers.  There is a lot blooming right now and it will only get better.  Bees are bringing in nectar so give them space to put it so the queen has space to lay

--How are queens laying?  Evidence of a variety of brood?  Good laying pattern?

--Check for mites.  The deadline for the Bee Informed Mite Check is this Sunday.  If you haven't checked, try to do so this month.  Staying on top of the mite load is critical for long term survival.  If you have a count over 2 per hundred at this stage, consider a knock-down treatment.

--Plan ahead.  Have additional supers ready for when the strong flow begins.  Make sure you've finished cleaning up any deadouts from last year.

This will be coming soon.

Get out and enjoy your bees!!

====================================================================

The Illinois Queen Initiative is hosting a free online zoom presentation next week.  48 Hour Queen Cells will be explained and discussed by an experienced beekeeper.  Pre-registration is required.  Find the link to their site here.

 

East Central Iowa Beekeepers Association Minutes

March 14, 2022

(Note:  I overlooked an important bit of information supplied by James Miller.  He spoke about the Bee and Butterfly Habitat Fund, which allows private landowners an opportunity to plant some of their property in pollinator plants favorable to butterflies and bees.  For more information on this project, please visit Bee and Butterfly Habitat. )

Welcome new members and visitors!

The meeting was called to order at 6:30 by president Floyd Otdoerfer. Floyd began by having everyone introduce themselves, tell a bit about their beekeeping and winter survival if they had bees this past year. Though some experienced significant loss, many had well above 50% survival. Some discussion ensued as to why there were losses and what some did to help keep bees alive. Floyd pointed out that March is a deadly month and food stores need to be closely watched as populations are rapidly increasing and brood production requires more resources. Various methods of feeding were discussed, such as putting sugar on newspaper on top of the frames or making sugar cakes, adding pollen patties, using frame feeders that replace a frame or two, and putting out entrance feeders. It probably is too early for liquid feed above the hive but liquid inside should stay warm enough. Joseph mentioned a method of putting sugar syrup in a plastic bag on top of the frames, which should allow bees to feed when warm enough. If using a frame feeder, be sure to have support for the bees to climb on to minimize drowning. If hives seem low on weight and you aren’t seeing a lot of honey in the top box, add frames from a dead-out or saved honey frames to the hive. It isn’t adviseable to put liquid honey into a frame feeder. Honey can be diluted with water and added, however.

How should hives be reduced in the spring? If supers were put on for extra feed over winter, those should be removed until nectar flow begins. Some keep bees in two deeps, others may add a third or at least a super for extra feed. When to remove wraps in the spring? Some are removing insulation already, since we have an extended warm period coming up. James Miller has removed his already, expecially since he had to move some hives. He also mentioned he has done away with upper entrances, since bees in nature do not typically have them. Floyd pointed out that removing insulation now might result in chilling the brood. Top insulation is important. Hive reversal, Joseph suggested, is good to do around the time dandelions start blooming, When to put supers on? When bees are making new, white wax. Mid-to late May. If it is a new or young hive, don’t rush to put supers on until comb is drawn out fully in the brood boxes. They need to first begin to fill out the frames in the lower boxes. Julia McGuire’s book says when the clovers begin to bloom is a good time to add supers.

Treasurer’s report: We have currently $1148.37 in our treasury. 2022 are now due.

Election of officers: Will Swain was elected vice-president. Jim Davis and Jean Stallman will remain as secretary and treasurer respectively, though each will be willing to step aside if someone would like to assume those responsibilities. Terms will run through March, 2024.

Special thanks to Floyd Otdoerfer for his service a number of years as vice-president and lastly as president.

Floyd presenting at our 2021 field day

News/Events:

Central Iowa Beekeepers are holding a winter seminar Saturday, March 19^th at Grimes, Iowa. There is a good list of speakers who will be presenting. CIBA is the largest regional club in the state. Floyd remarked that we have sufficient funds in our treasury to support having members attend. Members who attend and report at our June meeting will be reimbursed the cost of registration.

Earth Expo will be held Sunday, April 3^rd at the Terry Trueblood Recreation Area, south of Iowa City. As in the past several years, we will have a table at the event and sponser a small activity about pollination for children. Public is welcome.

 McGuire’s Annual Beekeeping Planner was handed out to members. Thanks to Julia for doing the work to put this together and to make it available freely to club members.

Dave and Mary Lou Cook, former members, are no longer keeping bees. For several years, they have hosted a table at Noelridge Park Easter weekend and Mother’s Day. They have educational materials about bees and typically sold over 100 bottles of honey at these events. They are willing to give the contact information to anyone wanting to take this over. Please contact Mary Lou at 319-364-4449. (Please let me know if you plan to do this so I can follow up with them. We will take their materials for use at our table at the Johnson County fair if no one want to do this.)

Where to buy bees? Paul Gardner is selling packages and will make two runs to Georgia, bring them back here in one day. Paul is located at Homestead. His prices are very competitive. Contact Paul at (319) 400-4228.

Jim Davis gave a talk about making splits. A split involves taking frames of brood, pollen and honey from a strong hive to create one or more new hives. Typically, this is done in the spring with strong, overwintered hives. The split can be put into a full sized box or a nuc. A nuc is a nucleus, or small colony of two to five frames. It will contain frames of young brood, capped brood and resources including pollen and honey. Timing is important.  If you are having the bees make a new queen, there needs to be sufficient drones available for her to have successful mating.  In Iowa, mid-May is typically a time when there would be enough drones, which means mid-April would be the time to do a split.

Make sure nights are warm enough (50 degrees) so there are enough   bees in the split to cover the frames and  keep the brood warm.  This is critical.

Be sure to shake enough bees into the new split.  Remember than some will drift back to the original hive, so shake more in than you would think you would need. Another option is to move the split colony three to four miles away.

There are many types of splits. Below several are explained. Looking online, you can find many videos showing all types of splits.

Walk Away Split

Procedure:  Pull frames from the original hive that contain eggs and young larva.  Shake the bees off the frames and  place them in the center of the new box.  Add honey frames and pollen frames on the sides if you have them.  Leave space between frames so queen cells have room to develop and frames can be moved with less chance of damaging the queen cells.The split can be  placed fairly close to  the original or moved further away if  desired.  Either leave the hive alone for several weeks or add another frame of eggs/brood in a week, just for insurance.  Whichever you do, move frames with care so you don’t damage any queen cells.  

Advantages:  You don’t have to find the queen.  It involves minimal invasion into the colony.  You don’t need to buy a new queen. Though not 100% effective, it is a commonly used method of splitting.

Disadvantages:  This takes a little more time for the colony to become queen-right, which means a slower growing colony.  You also need to be able  to spot and identify egg cells or very young larva.  Doing  this on a bright, sunny day will help.

Bee Shake Split

Procedure:  Pull frames with capped brood and larva to put in the new box.  Shake all the bees back into the original hive.  Put a queen excluder on top of the original hive and place the split box on top of that. The nurse bees from the original colony below will move up right away to cover the frames.  The second day, pull the split off and set on a new bottom board.  Add a  new, mated queen to the split, either that day or the next.  Or add a frame with a queen cell on it if you have one.

Advantages:  Because you shook the bees into the original box, the queen will remain in the original colony.  The new queen is added to the queenless split.  With frames of capped brood and a mated queen, the split should develop quickly.

Disadvantages:  You do need to go into the hive on consecutive days to do this split.  If you don’t have a frame with queen cells, you will need to buy a mated queen

Vertical Split

Set the original colony off to the side. Place an empty split box on top of the bottom board. Prepare the new split box like you would in a walk-away, with frames of eggs/young larva, pollen and honey.  Put a double screen board, also called a Snellgrove Board, on top of the split box.  Have the entrance for the board face opposite the entrance on the box below and open to the upper box, which sits on top of the double screen board. Put the original box on top of the screen board. In 8 days, rotate the entire colony 180 degrees. After another week or so, remove the top box and place it on a new bottom board. *Be sure the queen remains in the original box!

Advantages:  Because of the heat rise from the lower box, this split can often be done earlier in the spring.

Disadvantages: This takes a little more time for the colony to become queen-right, which means a slower growing colony.  You also need to be able  to spot and identify egg cells or very young larva.  Doing  this on a bright, sunny day will help.

Queen Excluder Split

Procedure:  Make sure each brood box has capped brood and/or larva.  Place a queen excluder between each brood box.  In 10 days, return to the hive and see which box has eggs or young larva.   That will be the box with the queen.  Remove the box(es) that do not have a queen and use it for the split.  Add a mated queen or frame with a queen cell.

Advantages:  You do not have to find the queen, since you will know where she is by finding her offspring.  

Disadvantages:  You will need to go back into the colony after a period of time to locate the box that has the queen.  This is a bit slower progress than the bee shake method.  You also need to buy a mated queen or have a frame with a queen cell.

Floyd’s Split

Find the queen and place her in a nuc with a frame of brood, honey and pollen with enough bees to cover the frames.  In 10 days, the original hive should have made replacement queen cells.  Use these frames to make splits, adding frames with brood, honey and pollen.  After splitting, return the queen and the frames from the nuc to the original colony.

Advantages:  This has the potential to make a number of queen cells that can be used to start several splits.

Disadvantages:  Since the bees will be making new queens, this method will result in a slower buildup of the split colonies.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:05

Thanks again to Rob McCain and Urban Acres for letting us use the facility.

Next meeting is June 13^th.

Respectfully submitted,

Jim Davis, Secretary

http://eastcentraliowabeekeepers.blogspot.com

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