NEXT MEETING WHEN: Thursday, Jan 28th, 6pm WHERE: Emporia/Greensville Extension Office 105 Oak Street Emporia, VA 23847

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1 SOUTHSIDE BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT, LUCKY STREICH ** VICE PRES, BRYANT STARKE ** TREASURER, WAYNE FETKO PROGRAM COORDINATOR DONNA ROGERS ** SECRETARY, AMY STREICH January 2016 board. On warm days, other bees might drag out their dead sisters. If snow covers the ground, you will notice more dead bees around your hives. This is normal. Don't panic! It is a sign of a strong hive when they drag out dead bees. But, if you don't see anything, don't panic either. It just means they will probably do this later on. NEXT MEETING WHEN: Thursday, Jan 28th, 6pm WHERE: Emporia/Greensville Extension Office 105 Oak Street Emporia, VA JANUARY AND THE BEES: The bees are in a tight cluster staying warm and consuming very little food early in the month. On days when the wind is calm and the temperature rises near 50 degrees, you'll probably see a few bees flying out taking a cleansing flight. Since bees do not go to the bathroom inside their hive, they fly out on warm days and this is called a cleansing flight. Winter bees live a little longer than summer bees, but remember bees live short lives. Many of your bees will die during the winter, just from old age. When bees die during the winter, they fall to the bottom of the hive. In the summer, dead bees are immediately carried outside the hive by their sisters. But, in the winter, when the hive is clustered, the dead bees accumulate on the bottom JANUARY AND THE BEEKEEPER: Monitor your hives to make sure winter winds have not disturbed the tops. Also, make sure that if it snows, that the openings are cleared of snow so that the bees can continue to get enough air, and move freely in and out of the entrance on warm days. URGENT!! ORDER BEES AND EQUIPMENT IN JANUARY BEES: Those who will be ordering your bees from package producers, the package producers will typically be prepared to take your orders for package bees and nucs beginning late fall and may be completely booked by the end of January. Call early! EQUIPMENT: Andy Westrich of Andy s Woodenware based out of Hampton, VA will be speaking at the Intro to Beekeeping class in February. He will also be bringing his trailer stocked with woodenware and beekeeping supplies to sell. If you would like to place an order with Andy to pick up that night please contact Andy directly for pricing and information at (757) or at andy@hamptonapiary.com. PROMOTE THE INTRO TO BEEKEEPING CLASS TO YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS!! Make sure you join and attend your local beekeeping club, read up on beekeeping, and clean up your smoker.

2 BEE SURE TO PROMOTE THIS CLASS TO ALL OF YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS!!! Intro to Beekeeping Saturday, February 27th A partnership between Southside Beekeepers Association and the Agriculture and Natural Resources program of Virginia Cooperative Extension. This Beekeepers class for beginners will provide a short course on Beekeeping Equipment, Protective Gear, Honey Bee Biology and Colonies, Hive Management, and Honey Bee Pests and Diseases. Speakers: Keith Tignor Virginia State Apiarist Lucky Streich, President Southside Beekeepers Association, Emporia Pam Fisher, President Virginia State Beekeepers Association Andy Westrich Owner and Operator Hampton Apiaries and Andy's Woodenware $30 per adult - $10 for each child under 16 Lunch included with pre-registration Fee includes Beekeeping Basics Book and additional beekeeping information (One set of reference materials per household.) PLUS a FREE membership to the Southside Beekeepers Association from Feb 28 to June 30, Pre-registration required Limited Seating Deadline to register: February 21st 9:00am - 5:00pm at Greensville Ruritan Club, 370 Ruritan Drive, Emporia Adults Register HERE Child under 16 Register HERE OR Mail payment to : Greensville Emporia Extension Office 105 Oak Street, Emporia, VA Make Checks Payable to: Southside Beekeepers Association For more information contact (434) Equipment will be available for sale If you are a person with a disability and desire assistance or accommodation, please notify the Greensville/Emporia Extension Office at (434) during business hours of Monday Friday 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. *TDD number is (800) Virginia Cooperative Extension programs and employment are open to all, regardless of age, color, disability, gender, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, veteran status, or any other basis protected by law. An equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Virginia State University, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture cooperating. Edwin J. Jones, Director, Virginia Cooperative Extension, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg; M. Ray McKinnie, Interim Administrator, 1890 Extension Program, Virginia State University, Petersburg.

3 (The Demaree method is a term used in beekeeping that describes a swarming prevention method. The method was first published by George Demaree ( ). It involves separation of the queen from the brood. However, it requires a great deal of labor and time. The objective is to separate the unsealed brood and eggs from the queen. Brood goes above the excluder and the queen below. This measure reduces overcrowding in the beehive and therefore the bees desire to swarm; this method makes it possible to retain the total colony population; thus maintaining good honey production. The technique has the advantage of allowing a new queen to be raised as well. It is important that the Demaree method is applied at the correct time. The timing will vary depending on each season and the rate of colony expansion and nectar source in the area.)

4 Getting to Know You A segment aimed at getting to know a little about your fellow beekeepers and SBA members. MEET SUE MOORE A little about Sue Sue Moore is a retired Safety and Occupational Health Manager for the Navy and Army Hospitals in Norfolk, VA. In her first life she was a Dental Hygienist. Born and raised in Norfolk she is married to Bucky Moore, she has one son and now resides in Waverly, VA. Hobbies and interests include naturopathy, she is a Certified Natural Health Professional and Certified Homeopath. Anything to do with natural medicine is her passion. What prompted you to get into beekeeping? We have eliminated sugar and any artificial sweeteners from our household so naturally we were drawn to the natural sweetener honey! We started consuming and using volumes of honey as a sweetener in coffee, baked goods, etc. and decided we better invest in some bees! How long have you been beekeeping? We got their first bees in June of 2015 and now have 7 hives. What do you enjoy most about beekeeping? I love going through the hives and seeing all of the brood and honey the bees are working. Would you be willing to help mentor other beekeepers? LOL sure it won t take long to tell them everything I know! Do you make/sell any beekeeping supplies or bee products and if so what? Not making/selling anything at this time but plan to in the future! Contact Information Address: Beaver Dam Road, Waverly, VA Phone: (804) sbmoore07@hotmail.com Club Member Since: June 2014 Birthday: December 16 th *********************************************************************************** This is a new section to the newsletter featuring YOU! Each month we will feature one of our members in the newsletter. This will help everyone to get to know each other. So far we have only received a few entries. This is a form of networking you never know when your occupation or special skill or products may come in handy to one of the other members. Please fill out a form available at the monthly meetings and give it to Amy at one of the meetings along with a photo (I may have a photo of you just ask)

5 The Beekeepers Guild of Southeast Virginia is offering a 3 day Beekeepers Introductory Course. If interested click on the picture below to be redirected to their website.