OCTOBER 2014 NEWSLETTER

Transcription

1 CAPITAL AREA BEEKEEPERS NEWSLETTER CABA OFFICERS, BOARD OF DIRECTORS, AND APPOINTMENTS FOR 2014: President: Chris Frink Board Member: Jimmy Dunkley Vice-President: Billy Worsham Board Member: David Ferguson Secretary: Emily Taylor Board Member: Bobby Frierson Treasurer: Jacquie Hoover Board Member/Apiarist: Orie Henson Librarian: Louis Clements Board Member: Jack Lithgoe Newsletter Editor: Umar Bey CABA MONTHLY MEETING CALENDAR The Capital Area Beekeepers Association meets on the first Tuesday of each month at 7:00 PM at the Louisiana Resource Center for Educators (LRCE), 5550 Florida Boulevard, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. This month s meeting will be Tuesday October 7 th at 7p.m. The calendar below outlines topics for August. Tuesday, October 7 th, 2014 BEEKEEPING WORKSHOP Tuesday, November 4, 2014 To be Announced at the October Meeting Happy October Fellow Beekeepers! Autumn has arrived and prospects of a fall honey flow look hopeful with the abundance of golden rod in the area. Often times, honey collected in the fall is quite different from the springtime honey. It may appear heavier or darker. If you don t plan to collect fall honey, prepare your honey supers for storage and possibly install PABA crystals to prevent wax worm damage. If you haven t harvested your honey yet, now is the time to get it done. With the reduction of workers in the hive, the stored honey in the supers will cause an explosion of small hive beetles, eventually causing damage as wax worms. Although some beekeepers and honey producers will expect, and may collect a fall crop of honey, most of us will find it wise to begin downsizing those colonies that are less active and clean out that space where we store our extra boxes. This month s meeting features demonstrations on various beekeeping equipment. Vice President Bill Worsham announced that next month's meeting will have a trade show format with various demonstrations of beekeeping skills. This is always an exciting and educational event. Make sure you bring something for the door prize table. See you there! CAPITAL AREA BEEKEEPERS NEWSLETTER 1

2 CABA HONEY CONTEST JARS The Capital Area Beekeepers Association (CABA) will conduct our 13th Annual Honey Contest at our November meeting. The CABA will furnish members wanting to participate in this event with 8 ounce queen-line jars at our October meeting. Only 8 ounce queen-line jars will be accepted as entries for this contest. Only two entries per membership will be accepted in any two of three categories; light, amber, and dark. An extra light amber category may be added if deemed necessary by our judges. If members have jars from previous contests it would be helpful to use them. Entries will be judged on the following: 1. standard 8 oz. queen-line jars only, 2. uniform volume (honey must reach bottom of thick ring of jar neck), 3. freedom from crystals, 4. freedom from impurities (dirt, wax, bee parts, froth, etc.), 5. flavor & aroma, and 6. density / moisture (moisture % or less). Obviously, the least points deducted from a sample the better your chances in the contest. Moisture is a key factor, so don t turn in an entry with moisture above 18.5 %. Ribbons will be awarded for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place in each category. Please participate and good luck! 18th ANNUAL FIELD DAY AT THE USDA HONEY BEE LAB IN BATON ROUGE The USDA Honey Bee Breeding, Genetics and Physiology Laboratory and the Louisiana State Beekeepers Association will hold the 18th Annual Field Day on Saturday, October 11, The event will be held at the laboratory, located at 1157 Ben Hur Rd. This is near the intersection of Nicholson Drive (Hwy 30) and Brightside Dr., which is about two miles south of the LSU football stadium. The Field Day will include courses for beginners and more experienced beekeepers as well as workshops for those interested in a variety of topics. The beginning beekeeper course will begin with how to get started for those who do not yet own bees, then will progress to how to manage a few colonies. Topics will include equipment needs for the beginner, nectar producing plants, maintenance of colonies, pests, safety and etiquette in beekeeping, and hands on training in an active colony. The intermediate beekeeping course was a hit last year and it will be offered again with a variety of topics focused on the beekeeper with a moderate amount of experience that is now ready to take it to the next level. Topics will include anticipating equipment needs throughout a season, pest management, honey processing, and swarm catching. There will be a variety of focused workshops for those not attending the courses (typically the more advanced beekeepers), i.e., queen rearing, instrumental insemination, small hive beetle control, good honey plants and artificial nutrition sources. These workshops will represent both the USDA-ARS Bee Lab s research and beekeeper experiences. At the end of the day, the intermediate and advanced groups will come together over active colonies. Here they will have the opportunity to discuss a variety of topics and ask laboratory personnel and experienced beekeepers questions while viewing an open hive. Gates will open at 9:30 a.m.; activities are scheduled from 10:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. A nonrefundable preregistration fee of $30.00 is required for attendees 12 years of age and above. Children eleven and under, must stay with their parents at all times. You must pre-register by October 1, You may register on-line at labeekeepers.org and pay through PayPal or credit card or you may mail your registration form that is located on the labeekeepers.org web site and make your check payable to the Louisiana Beekeepers Association to: David Ferguson, P.O. Box 716, Brusly, LA If you do not pre-register by October 1, 2014, the cost will be $35.00 per person. The registration fee covers coffee, pastries, and catered lunch that includes Bar B Q Chicken Leg Quarters, Smoked Sausage, Dirty Rice, Bar B Q Beans, and Garden Salad with Dressings, Fresh Baked Honey Wheat Rolls, Honey Bee Cake, and Coke Products. Contact Dr. Lanie Bourgeois ( ), Sandra Hineman ( ), or Joe Sanroma ( ) for additional information. CAPITAL AREA BEEKEEPERS NEWSLETTER 2

3 WOOD DUCK BOX BEES Jimmy Dunkley, CABA Member, October 2014 On September 16 th Dr. Jose Villa sent me information on a honey bee colony inhabiting a Wood Duck box. Mr. Eugene LeBlanc of St. Gabriel had reported the bees and wanted them removed. Mr. LeBlanc is a nurseryman and his son Mark was assistant Director of Horticulture and Quarantine. I arranged to pick up the bees the evening of September 19 th and brought them to one of my apiaries. The bees were transferred into standard medium supers on the 22 nd and are currently being fed sugar syrup to stimulate brood rearing. I provide pictures below of the collection and transfer for the membership. EXPOSED COMB COLONY Jose Fernandez, Cajun Clickers, October 2014 Manresa retreat is a 130 acre site of 19 th century Jefferson College, a private school for sons of plantation owners. Between the Civil War and the Great Depression the Marist Fathers conducted the college as a Catholic school. The Jesuits Fathers purchased the property in 1931 as the site for a retreat house. Mr. Jose Fernandez took the pictures below of an exposed comb colony at Manresa in CAPITAL AREA BEEKEEPERS NEWSLETTER 3

4 CABA APIARY REPORT Orie Henson, CABA Board Member & Club Apiarist The club had a successful honey harvest, around 500 pounds, with all the honey sold to club members at wholesale price. During August, the brood boxes were treated for Varroa mites by Jimmy Dunkley and Jesse Erwin. The treatment used was Apivar, an amitraz-based control strip. In September, Orie Henson, Jimmy Dunkley, and David Ferguson removed the surplus medium honey supers from the hives and stacked them in the storage building. All boxes with drawn comb were treated with moth crystals. We lost a weak hive and now have six colonies. Overall, the colonies have good populations, plenty of honey and pollen stored for winter, and lots of brood. The fall nectar flow has begun, which will supplement the winter honey needs. CLUB VIDEO AND DVD RETURN The CABA has an informative library of videos and DVDs on beekeeping topics for members use. Please get in touch with Louis Clement at our next meeting to return or Borrow material. Contact Louis at ELECTRONIC NEWSLETTER The CABA electronic newsletter is available to members monthly via our club website. Please contact Umar Bey at ubeybees@gmail.com to provide articles to be published in our monthly newsletter, or constructive suggestions for improving our service to members. An online version of the past monthly newsletters is available in the Newsletter Archive of our website, BEES, BEEKEEPING EQUIPMENT, AND/OR PRODUCTS FOR SALE UTILIZE THE SPACE BELOW TO SELL YOUR BEE PRODUCTS & Support Our Local Suppliers! Beekeeping equipment/supplies for sale; call Ed s Shenandoah Hardware, 5715 Jones Creek, BR Beekeeping equipment/supplies for sale; call Gary Price, (C) or (H). Eight frame deep & medium supers, medium grooved frames & beeswax coated plastic foundation, telescoping tops, inner covers, queen excluders, screened bottom boards & entrance reducers, plus, 7 & 10 smokers, feeders, & varroa dusters contact Ernie Miller, (C). Raw Honey, Raw Beeswax and Clean Pollen for sale; call Doug Doremus at (H). Bee vacs for sale at $ each; call Tommy Frazier at (H). Honey for sale in various size containers; call Bobby Frierson at (C). Five frame nucs available for transfer into your equipment; contact Jimmy Dunkley at (C). Mated honey bee queens; five frame nucs ; Honey for sale in 5 gallon containers; David Ferguson Nukes $130.00; 5 gal. buckets of honey by the lbs.; Established boxes of bees with honey; Wax by the lb. Jesse Erwin *The Louisiana Apiary Law requires that all honey bee colonies and used beekeeping equipment be inspected before it can be sold. CAPITAL AREA BEEKEEPERS NEWSLETTER 4

5 JOIN THE CAPITAL AREA BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION TODAY! CAPITAL AREA BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION 2014 Beekeeper s Name No. Colonies Spouse s Name No. Yards Address Telephone City State Zip Address Annual membership dues are still only $ Please send your check payable to the Capital Area Beekeepers Association, c/o Ms. Jacquie Hoover, Weinberger Road, Ponchatoula, LA REGISTER ALL HONEY BEE COLONIES WITH THE LA. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE & FORESTRY! CAPITAL AREA BEEKEEPERS NEWSLETTER 5