What’s The Buzz
Spring is on its way. There have been reports of some early flowers blooming!
Officers
President-Steve Hutchins
Vice President-Randy Weber
Secretary/Treasurer-Susan Zhunga
Hospitality-Randy & Shari Weber
Editor-Shari Weber
Newsletter Publisher–Georganne Collins
Our February meeting will be held at the Nelson County Extension Office on February 16 at 6:30. I have heard they are working on a speaker but it has not been confirmed as I write this.
This is your club and member input is important, please, please pass along ideas for topics and/or speakers for future meetings! There are so many things to learn about beekeeping whether you are a newbie or a veteran. You can tell us at a meeting, send a message on FB, Messenger, or email me, Shariw5@gmail.com , or even leave a message at the Extension Office.
Robbie Smith County Extension Agent for Horticulture
ATTENTION PLEASE!
Call the Extension Office at 502-348-9205 by February 13, to let us know if you will be there. If you are on Face Book, you can leave a message there.
REMINDER!
There are still some that have not paid their dues yet. They must be paid by March 1st to maintain your membership, receiving the newsletter and access to Facebook. Either pay at a meeting or mail to Susan Zhunga at (Continued on page 2)
555 King Rd, Cox’s Creek, KY 40013. Make checks payable to “Nelson County Soil Labs.” The yearly dues are $12.00 are due for 2023.
It is that time again! Are you interested in being a club officer??
Please considering serving as a club office. The nomination time is here and the election will be soon. If you are wondering what they do, just ask them! Our current officers are doing an awesome job, but I bet they might enjoy a little break.
If you have any information for the newsletter OR ideas for articles, please have it to Shari Weber by the 3rd of each month. Shariw5@gmail.com or message me from our Facebook page.
BUY, SELL, TRADE
Anyone having items to sell or looking to buy or trade are welcome to post here in the newsletter or post on the Nelson County Beekeepers page.
If you are a member of our Facebook group, please check for questions from our new beekeepers! Please join us!
We all read magazines, books, YouTube, and articles on the internet, please share!
You can post on our Facebook or send me an email at shariw5@gmail.com – please put Beekeepers in the subject line so it doesn’t get lost in all the junk emails!
Maple pollen and sap is coming on so this is some of the first protein that bees can collect in nature. Do you know what that means? Bees will begin to brood up. Stronger colonies are in fact building up now.
It's important to ensure there is honey accessible to the cluster so that the bees can more readily move on to it. Perhaps, a candy board would be appropriate? We still have some cold weather in front of us... and if bees are building up, that means more food consumption. It's a tricky time of year.
Here is what is happening inside the hive and what the bees do when they are stuck inside a tight cluster for 1-2 weeks on end?
When the ambient temperature drops to 64F (18C), a healthy hive will start to form a cluster or a ball of bees which cling tightly together. As the temperature drops, the cluster will keep contracting; not because the number of bees are decreasing but because they are getting closer together to conserve heat. The following table shows an example of the number of frames that a hive of bees may hypothetically cover as the ambient temperature drops.
This contraction explains why the bees can die surrounded by honey during a really cold winter or when over-wintering hives with small populations. The bees simply cannot leave the cluster to get to the food. It also shows that when the temperature fluctuates tremendously as it does in late winter and early spring, it is possible for the bees to spread out as the temperature warms and then accidentally form a tight cluster in the wrong spot, with no nearby food, as it cools.
What a beekeeper should be doing in February:
• This is the prime time for starvation. Check your food sources and add emergency supplies if it is needed. Ideally, you will do this on a warmer day!
• Do the bees have pollen? The queen can start laying eggs in February and pollen will be needed as a brood food source. Be careful about feeding pollen too early though. Doing so can cause a variety of problems. Pollen stimulates brood production and cannot only exhaust food supplies prematurely but also cause the queen to lay eggs beyond the cluster... keeping many bees outside the cluster to keep newly laid eggs warm. In cold temps, bees outside the cluster will die. In addition, pollen causes bees to defecate. Late winter weather may not allow for cleansing flights, increasing the likelihood of dysentery which can quickly lead to a nosema infection.
• Check for dead-outs. If you think the hive is dead, wait for a warmer 40-degree day and peek in the top to make sure. Do autopsies and decide if the hive succumbed to queenlessness, starvation, or disease?
Beekeeping in January - A Day of Winter Bee-Work
• Clear bottom entrances of dead bees and other debris.
• Count your surviving hives and verify that you have enough honey supers. A good rule of thumb is to have at least 2 supers per hive when the dandelion blooms.
• Is your equipment ready for the year?
• Do you know where you are getting your bees for spring increases or replacement?
• How many swarm traps will you need for spring?
• Keep an eye out for maple tree buds. This will be one of the first pollen sources available. If pollen is actively being brought into the hive, this generally indicates a healthy queen and hive.
• Wax moth activity dramatically picks up as the temperatures rise. Keep an extra eye out for stored frames. Moth crystals (paradichlorobenzene) can be used for control, as well as freezing the frames, or exposing the frames to light.
• If you need to medicate for American Foulbrood, European Foulbrood, or Nosema, start creating your plan because most have a 4-week withdrawal period between treatment and the first marketable nectar flow.
• Spring usually brings some of the wildest and windiest weather. Make sure the lids are secured after you break the seals.
• Brood production also brings mite production. Determine your method for counting mites, your threshold, and control method.
• Go to bee school!
The season will start to speed up from here! Prepare to get into your hives at least once a week if a nice day allows it.