December 2015
Nelson County Beekeepers nelsconcountybeekeepers@gmail.com
What’s The Buzz
Volume 1, Issue 8
December
What’s Happening Inside The Hive? At this point all should be quiet. Bees coming in and out to catch some fresh air before the real cold air settles in.
Officers President-Doug Brink Vice Pres.—David Donathan Secretary-Pat Swartz Treasurer-Susan Zhunga
Robbie Smith County Extension Agent for Horticulture Inside this issue: General Meeting Minutes
2
Fall Flow Wild Flowers &
3
Nancy’s Lip Balm Recipe
3
Oxalic Acid: Effective & Easy on Bees, But . . .
4
Smoker Maintenance
8
Honey-Quinoa Breakfast Bake
6
Meeting Notice
6
Bee School
7
Beekeeper Chores Entrance reducers or mouse guards put on, if this is something that you use. Feed put inside. Sugar, Winter Patties (AP23) or what ever combination of winter feed has worked for you. Boxes need to be tested for winter by “tip test” lifting slightly to check the weight, making sure that there is plenty of honey stores. A two deep 10 frame box should weigh between 50 to 60 lbs. If the hive is light, all is not lost, you can supplement with heavy feeding, like winter patties (AP23) and bulk sugar. Observations and Ideas Make sure bees are protected from the wind if possible. Some sort of wind break would help to keep them from freezing. It appears the the wind does more damage the just the cold air. This is also the time when we need to be thinking about potential orders of bees for next springs. Some losses are inevitable. http://www.nkybeekeepers.com/uploads/beecalen dar.pdf