CENTRAL COAST BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION

Transcription

1 CENTRAL COAST BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION CCBA Monthly Meeting Notes Date: Monday, June 12, 2017 Location: Kathy Longacre s Apiary, Edna Valley CA Attendance: 34 Practicum: Hive Inspection by John Hupp Purpose of inspections is to GATHER INFORMATION OPENING THE HIVE Check lid first to ensure queen is not on the lid about 1% of time queen may be on lid. Even if there is a queen excluder, still a good idea to check for queen in case excluder is bent (plastic excluders tend to bend) Optimal set up is inner cover with telescoping outer cover this creates bee space under the lid and also makes it easier to pry open Place lid upside down on ground then place supers on box so you don t have to place supers on ground When smoking try not to use too much smoke or may add smoke flavor to honey, use sparingly in small puff PURPOSE OF HIVE INSPECTION Ideally you would like to determine that bees are functioning regularly nectar is being brought in, there are no pests, there is brood so need to check all portions of the hive John Hupp preparing to open the hive The more careful you are not to squish bees, less alarm pheromone will be released, less likely bees are to get aggressive and sting

2 Cross comb being built on foundation is re- purposing for drone comb (larger cell size for male bees). Since there is a queen excluder in this hive, its possibly that the brood chamber is full It is good to number frames in the event you need to put them back in same positions. In some cases you may want to change order but is wax is drawn out unevenly, sometimes important to place them back in exact same order Keep a bucket to collect extra wax that you remove from hive this can be used for candles or re- purposing back into hive for Hold frame vertical to ground so that nectar won t drip out then turn like a book. This puts least stress on foundation and bees less likely to fall off, and also nectar. John H. demonstrating how to hold frame Two different foundations plasti- cell and wired wax. Wired wax is preferred by bees but For harvesting want to have AT LEAST 2/3 of the frame as capped honey OR could have too much water content in honey and then risk fermentation due to water content being too high (ideally at 17%) o To get bees to cap you can sometimes turn the frame around and place toward the center Parking a super how to avoid crushing bees or hurting your back o Best to place down with edges off- set to minimize crushing of bees Moving supers full supers can be heavy, so if necessary, move half of frames out to a holding place, then move super FRAMES AND FOUNDATION In honey frames there is a choice to use 9 frames in a 10- frame super this allows the bees to draw out the comb more and add more honey. There are 9-2

3 frame spacers that cam be purchased. This is done in honey supers, not in brood supers It is possible to place frames without foundation into hives so bees can draw out their own wax foundation. If doing this in a langstroth hive, need to put foundationless frames between fully drawn frames so that they draw down the wax on the frame so that it will still fit with the hive. With foundationless frames, just be vary careful how you hold them carefully as foundationless frames are very fragile Using a 9- frame spacer can be used in 10- frame hive in HONEY SUPERS, this makes the bees draw the foundation out deeper and makes it easier to cut with knife. DO NOT PLACE 9 FRAMES IN THE BROOD CHAMBER ONLY IN HONEY SUPER When wiring wax, make sure to tuck in wires so you don t get stabbed when working in your hive Plastic queen excluder on top of brood chamber BROOD AND QUEENS When removing queen excluder make sure to check underside for queen Look for solid pattern. If there a few empty cells, in an otherwise solid pattern, these open cells are likely snack bars, place where food can be stored so that house bees feeding larvae do no have to climb up to top of hive or heater cells. Discerning drone from queen drones are rectangular, have wings longer than body and big goggle eyes Completely plastic frames cause a lot of problems the bees try to make extra comb to offset DO NOT USE IF YOU CAN AVOID 3

4 Mites tend to be on drone brood break some open and inspect Mites on drone brood POST MORTEM ON A FAILED HIVE Sunken or perforated could be foulbrood o Smell it may smell bad or maybe not Salt and pepper pattern of worker brood is left Stick test to probe bottom of cell stir to bottom, do you have ropey, coffee- colored goo? Different from dead pupae American foublood produces SCALE it will be in the gravitational bottom of the cell (not the back against the foundation). Look down from the top bar into the bottom BLEACH DOES NOT KILL FOUL BROOD SPORES but fire does, heat your tools, be sanitary. Or Oxy- Acetic Acid product that can be sprayed on and will kill in contact (similar product is typically used in restaurants not expensive) 4

5 Inspecting failed hive Foulbrood and typical dead larvae smell is different get to know it John C believes this hive just died of mites although it has some European foul brood Foulbrood are gut diseases European is an early stage disease, so will show as larvae that are tan and twisted (stomach ache position). American foulbrood is a late stage disease, spore forming and more diasterous to the hive, spores can get in the honey, the propolis, the wood so all must be destroyed. 6 7/8 spores can compromise a bees immune system and take hold If a hive dies of American foul brood robbers will take the honey with spores and spread them to their hive and then kill it. Dead hives need to be destroyed or can boil in lye, but best is to destroy by digging a hole, burning in hole and then covering up the hole LOOK FOR SUNKEN AND PERFORATED CAPPINGS, AND COFFEE COLORED ROPEY GOO (similar smell to socks) Test kits can be ordered from Mann lake (similar to a pregnancy test for positive). Old bee keeper test Holts Milk Test (use skim milk) introduce contents of cell to milk. If it curdles the protein and clears the milk that is positive. European foulbrood is a bacterial disease (but not spore forming), usually in a declining hive (such as one succumbing to mites). Sometimes good nutrition and control of mites can resolve European foul brood. Standard approach is for the bee keeper to create a shaken swarm remove the 5

6 frames shake out and make the bees move to a new hive. BEST APPROACH IS TO CONTROL HIVES. Mite control should occur AUGUST 1 each year. For European foulbrood burn the frames, and at least scorch the supers on the inside. IT IS OK TO HARVEST HONEY FROM A HIVE WITH FOULBROOD. It does not affect adult bees or humans, so you can harvest the honey before you destroy the diseased hive equipment. NEVER GIVE A HIVE HONEY FROM AN UNKNOWN SOURCE could pass spores into your hive OTHER INFO Putting supers back together place with offset to edges then smoke the offset and slide into place When moving a hive, moving backward is better than moving forward When bees are becoming aggressive and you need to move away, hold your breath and it is harder for them to find you Queenless hives with laying worker creates undulating pattern of drone brood Robbed out hive may also have chewing where robber bees have chewed out honey cappings Clean your tools regularly scrab off propilis, then scrub with scotch brite and dish soap, THEN heat up with stove or torch to sterilize GUEST SPEAKER Saba Ashgary Cal poly sustainable environments class Offering to help us update our website John Hupp points out there is problem with city codes restricting bee keeping in most cities in SLO county In Santa Maria they allow up to four hives on a residential lot 6

7 CLUB BUSINESS Leadership Team Anna President Bruce VP (not here tonight) Meg Henry Secretary, does meeting notes they get posted to CCBA website and Facebook page Cynthia communications tech Sarah treasurer Financial Report Club cash balance about $ Anna has ordered a new projector for the club to use at public education presentations it cost about $300 Anna also recently purchased some materials for public education Networking Swarm List: - if you want a swarm connect with Mike for north county and Bruce for south county We also need people who will do bee removals does anyone want to do this? Note when bees are in habitable space, technically you should have a pest control license so one way is to work with a pest control company and split fees. Public Awareness UPCOMING EVENTS Avila Apple Festival September 2017, exact date not yet set, but maybe Sept 23 Golden Oak Honey Festival (Paso Robles), October need team to plan and organize need to get team started soon o Meg wants to organize raffle fundraiser please contact her to help with getting donations with raffle items o Jodi suggested putting a donation out on the table at our booth ********************************************** NEXT MEETING Monday July 17, Sue Hulsmans house, 1535 Kiler Canyon Rd, Paso Robles Adjourned: 8:10 pm 7