Minutes from September 14, 2026
President Joseph Klingelhutz called the meeting to order at 6:30.
New members/visitors were recognized. Welcome to ECIBA!
Brie Marshall, honey queen for the Back to Basics bee club in SE Iowa, talked a bit about the IHPA queen program and other programs for youth. She mentioned the scholarship program for youth ages 13 to 16 offered through the state organization, though the deadline to apply for 2027 has just passed. She also enouraged our club to sponsor a honey queen as well, who would ultimately vie for the postion of state Honey Queen. We currently do not have a honey queen for our club. One benefit of having a queen representative she said was it can bring in new members for the club. A honey queen attends numerous events such a AG associations and advocates for honey bees. It can also have the benefit of helping to allow urban beekeeping in areas where it has been resisted.
Camden Milton, a student at Iowa City West High school, announced that he has started a bee club at his school, with a focus on education and awareness of bees. Thanks to both of these young folks for sharing.
Jim Marshall, director of Iowa Honey Producers district 1, reminded members of the upcoming annual IHPA conference, which will be held in Cedar Falls November 6 and 7. Visit Iowahoneyproducers.org for details. They have put together another good, diverse lineup of speakers.
Treasurer Diane Kuhlman indicated we have over $2000 currently in our account after costs for the summer field day and funds received from the silent auction sale. She also passed around a sheet that listed information about the club such as meeting dates and also how to reserve the oxalic acid vaporizer.
Our guest speaker, Becky Masterman, began by sharing her background working with the University of Minnesota Bee Lab. Today, Becky does a variety of things bee related including monthly contributions to Bee Culture magazine and co-hosting a weekly podcast called Beekeeping Today Podcast. And she continues to be a beekeeper.
The following are some high points of her talk:
--Getting through northern winter requires having a healthy queen, honey and pollen stores, a good population and a well-insulated hive.
--Insulation may involve wrapping the hive but definitely involves providing top insulation.
--Today, in contrast to the past when colony winter loss was much lower, beekeepers often make the mistake of trying to overwinter weak or sick colonies.
--Not understanding varroa control contributes to winter losses. Maintaining a low mite count throughout the year is far preferable to mitigation that knocks down high mite loads.
--Be cognizant of the breed of bees and the line of queens you are working with and how the various sub-species can affect the type of management required.
--If your colony in late summer has adequate stores of pollen and honey, no need to supplement. Let the bees do their thing.
--A very good nutrition guide can be found at: https://honeybeehealthcoalition.org/nutritionguide/
--Another resource, this one about varroa mite control: https://honeybeehealthcoalition.org/resources/varroa-management
The memorial for James Miller has been completed and is in place in Wellman at the site downtown where their farmer’s market is held. Many thanks to Max Kipp, a senior high scout from Mid-Prairie, for making this as his project.
Thanks to Becky Masterman and other speakers for their presentations.
Our next meeting will be Monday, December 14th. Hope to see you then!
Comments/corrections to: Jim Davis, Secretary davisjk@southslope.net
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To reserve the club's oxalic acid vaporizer, go to this link to get started.
