2016 06 Buzz News

June 2016

Nelson County Beekeepers nelsconcountybeekeepers@gmail.com

What’s The Buzz

Volume 2, Issue 6

Meeting

June 16th @ 6:30 p. m.

POT LUCK – BRING YOUR FAVORITE CASSAROLE. A Dessert casserole is also a great treat. Use your imagination.

PROGRAM – Open Forum – Q & A Subject – Problems? Maybe we can help.

Officers President-Doug Brink Vice President-David Donathan Secretary-Pat Swartz Treasurer & Editor-Susan Zhunga Hospitality-Debbie Ritchie

SALE TABLE We will keep the “For Sale” table open each month for after the meetings. If you have something for sale Beekeeping related, bring it, price it, and/or barter at the end of the evening.

Spring Harvest Salad Ingredients 5 cups torn spring leaf lettuce 2½ cups spinach leaves 1½ cups sliced strawberries

Robbie Smith County Extension Agent for Horticulture Inside this issue: Reminders from Dr. Tammy Horn Potter

2

Meeting Minutes

3

Beekeepers: Report honey adulteration to Food Safety

4

Summer Bee Flowers

7

1 cup fresh blueberries ½ cup thinly sliced green onions Dressing: 4 teaspoons lemon juice 2½ tablespoons olive oil 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar 1½ teaspoons Dijon mustard 2 teaspoons Kentucky honey ½ teaspoon salt ¼ cup feta cheese crumbles ½ cup unsalted sliced almonds Servings: 8, 1 cup (Continued on page 7)

Page 2 Reminders from Dr. Tammy Horn Potter's BEELINE June 2016 JULY 1 is the deadline for honey, wax, bee gadgetry, and honey culinary entries to the Kentucky State Fair.

Folks who want to sell honey at the Kentucky State Beekeepers Association booth, please email KSBA President Ray Tucker Jr. at ray@solarplacefarm.com.

Also, pay attention to the moisture standards. Last summer was the fourth wettest summer on record, and several entries were automatically disqualified because the moisture was too high. Pay attention to the category. If you enter honey in the “light honey” category, you may change it to amber when you arrive at the Fair, but you have to request the change. Once it is entered, I cannot change the category.

Since this is the State Fair, I would love to see more entries from around the Commonwealth. If you cannot make the trip to Louisville, your local beekeeper association officer or the local extension agent may make a delivery of association entries if the individual tag is attached to the item. Obviously, if the tag is missing or the item does not show up by the

times/days entries are to be received, the State Fair cannot be responsible.

What the label must include



The identity of the product: HONEY



Net quantity: For honey this is customarily stated in weight ‒ ounces and grams ‒ not volume.



A one-pound jar label should read Net Wt. 1 lb.

(454 g).



A two-pound jar should read Net Wt. 2 lb. (908 g).



A one-pint jar should read Net Wt. 22 ounces (624 g) or Net Wt. 1.37 lb. (624 g).



A one-quart jar should read Net Wt. 44 ounces (1.2 kg) or Net Wt. 2.75 lb. (1.2 kg).

Name of manufacturer: This is your name or your company’s name. If you are bottling honey purchased from another producer, the words “Bottled by”, “Distributed by”, or “Manufactured for” are also required with your name.

Address of manufacturer: Your complete address,

including street address, city, state, and ZIP, are required. AnnHall Norris, Kentucky Department of Food Safety, reviews honey labels. If you intend to sell honey at the State Fair at the Kentucky State Beekeepers Association booth, you may want to have her review your label to make sure it complies with the state regulations.

Email AnnHall.Norris@ky.gov.

INSIDER INFO

FOR SALE The Club has NCB T-Shirts $11.00 Hooded Sweatshirts $23.00 Janet Brown is selling NCB Hats and Visors for $10.00. The club gets $2.00 from each sale.

Larry Marks is selling the Marks' Frames for $12.00 for a set of three frames. Comes with instructions.

Gene Englert is selling Hive Beetle Vacuum's made to order see Gene for pricing.

Mike Vittitow is selling 2 Double Deep Hives with Bees for $225.00 each.

Page 3

Nelson County Beekeepers Minutes Nelson County Bee Keepers May 2016 38 people present with 2 new members and 1 renewing member. Dr. Dena Fitzpatrick, Dennis Higdon, and Ben Burks. Guest joining us for the evening were: Buddy O'Brien, Brice Eli and Glenn Goodlett.

Darrell Hester won the 2016 Chili cook off (yet again). Presented him with the engraved hive tool.

Booth for the garden tour, asked for volunteers to man it. Sandy Coy volunteered but we need more volunteers to help her. From 8 until 2 0r 3 pm. June 11.

Pollinator program – was approved and everything has been donated and work will begin soon.

Swarm list – the published phone number is incorrect. We discussed various things relating to our bees. Meeting was an open forum.

Pat Swartz Secretary

Financial Statment As Of 5/30/16 Start

$2799.21

Expense

706.85 Added food for cookout

Income

631.00 - Dues – T's & Hats

Balance

$2723.36

Treasurer Report Susan Zhunga

Page 4 Beekeepers: Report honey adulteration to Food Safety Many beekeepers are concerned about honey adulteration. If you have a concern or complaint, please contact the Food Safety Branch of the Kentucky Department for Public Health. I (Dr. Tammy Horn Potter) cannot accept samples because of the “chain of custody” issues involved. It is quite difficult to prove adulteration, but the Food Safety Branch can send an inspector to investigate a honey kitchen.

The Food Safety Branch works with the FDA on serious cases. The primary contact person for adulteration issues is Mark Reed, R.S., MPA, MPH, manager of the Food Safety Branch. Mark Reed, 275 East Main St., Mail Stop: HS1C-F, Frankfort, KY 40621. Phone (502) 5647181. Email Mark.Reed@ky.gov

activities can be organized at your public library, farmers’ markets, grocers, and other locations. For example, each of the past two years, Dr. Tammy Horn Potter has coordinated a honey tasting at Whole Foods in Lexington, along with Lucky Frost. Let us know what you’re doing, and send us photos after! Info from BEELINES State Apiarist Dr. Tammy Horn Potter.

Upcoming event that folks should attend: “Heartland Apicultural Society returns to the Bluegrass State”. July 14 – 16, meeting will come to Bowling Green, Kentucky.

Details will be given as we receive them or just go to http://www.heartlandbees.o rg.

June Beekeeping Calendar What’s Happening Inside The Hive?

UP COMING EVENTS What are your club’s plans for National Pollinator Week, June 20-26?

All kinds of quick, easy

This month is much like May, except the hive will have more bees. The honey and pollen flows continue.

The days are long enough that the bees can fly for 14

to 16 hours a day, and they will. There is now plenty of drone brood, which is ideal for varroa reproduction. It’s too early to treat for varroa, but it’s good to look for these mites by uncapping and examining the capped drone brood cells. (See the KSU publication “The Varroa Mite: an external parasite of honey bees”.)

Beekeeper Chores Inspect the hive weekly if possible. Provide extra honey supers as needed.

Watch for queen cells and destroy all that you find.

The brood should now fill many of the frames of two hive bodies. An overcrowded brood nest can stimulate swarming.

To provide space you can spread the brood frames apart, and insert one or two empty frames. It’s warm enough now that there is no danger of chilling the brood. The queen is looking for empty cells all the time, and she will quickly fill these frames with eggs. If you are going to increase the number of hives you have by making divides, May or June is the time to

Page 5 do it. Observations and Ideas Walk the roadsides and fields, looking for flowering plants with honey bees on them. If the bees are collecting pollen, note the color. Taste, smell and observe the color of the honey which the bees have just placed in the supers. Over the years you will learn the seasonal cycle of bee plants.

Info from KENTUCKY STATE UNIVESITY - COOPERATIVE EXTENSION PROGRAM.

Hive and Apiary Inspections The State Apiarist's Office provides free hive and apiary inspections for Kentucky beekeepers. The State Apiarist will inspect apiaries and hives for the presence of honeybee diseases and pests.

Specimens for laboratory examination will be collected if needed. After the inspection the beekeeper will be provided a written report listing any diseases, pests or other problems found and a listing of remedies for correcting these problems.

(See The Importance of Late Summer/Early Fall Inspections).

General Policy for Apiary and Hive Inspections:

Beekeeper must be present during requested inspections.

Beekeeper will open hives and remove frames for inspections.

Attempt will be made to conduct inspections as soon as possible after request but inspection dates and times subject to State Apiarist's schedule.

To schedule an apiary and hive inspection, or for more information about this service contact our office.

Info from http://www.kyagr.com/state vet/honeybees.html

the biological basis of beekeeping practices. He has authored a number of extension publications; a series of slides sets, a video program (which he also appeared in and directed), two scientific proceedings (as editor), and scientific articles. He served as editor of the EAS Journal, Honey Producer Magazine and Bee Science. He has written a book called Increase Essentials. He followed up this volume with Queen Rearing Essentials and Bee Sex Essentials. Info from Dr. Connors personal Bio.

FUTURE PROGRAMS. Robbie Smith is working on a Q & A Webinar (interactive) with Dr. Larry Connors. Dr. Roger and Mary Lou Morse, and have published over a dozen titles dealing with bees, beekeeping, queen rearing and pollination.

Dr. Connor is currently a regular contributor to Bee Culture and the American Bee Journal magazines, with emphasis on queen and drone biology and management and beekeeper interviews. Recently he began a series of articles on

DON’T FORGET TO JOIN US ON FACE BOOK!!

Page 6 Summer Bee Flowers Sunflowers (Helianthus annuus, annual): Nothing attracts and feeds bees like good old sunflowers. Their massive and prolific blooms come in shades of yellow, gold, red and orange and give way to lots of oil-rich seeds enjoyed by seedeating birds and humans alike. There are literally hundreds of varieties to choose with various flower colors, heights and flower sizes. The dwarf varieties ‘Little Becka‘ (image below; 3-4’ tall with gold and brown flowers) and ‘Big Smile’ (1-2′ tall with classic golden

flowers with black centers) are choice selections for any garden.

Blue Giant Hyssop (Agastache foeniculum,perennial): The pretty spires of purple flowers produced by the giant hyssop become simply covered with bees. A native across the northern regions of North America, this

fragrant perennial in the mint family it tough and very hardy. The hybrid Agastache ‘Blue Boa’ (image above by

Terra Nova Nurseries) is an exceptional variety from Terra Nova Nursery that is exceptionally beautiful.

Horsemint (Monarda punctata, perennial): Few garden perennials draw bees as efficiently as the long-blooming horsemint. A native of much of the United States, this sun-lover produces tiers of unique pink to white bracted flowers through much of summer and into fall. The blooms of these fragrant plants last a long time and become completely covered with pollinators. Plant in very well

-drained soil for best performance.

Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea, perennial): The popularity of purple coneflowers and their many hybrids serves as a testament to their beauty and resilience. All are a favorite of bees, and like the pale purple coneflower, seed-eating birds enjoy the seedheads that follow. The purple-pink daisy flowers begin blooming in summer and will easily continue into late summer and even fall

if the old flowers are removed. Some of the better new variants for big, long-blooming flowers include ‘Dixie Belle’ (above, image by Terra Nova Nurseries) and the super heavy blooming ‘Pica Bella .

Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia spp., annual or perennial): Nothing says

Page 7 summer like a beautiful black-eyed Susan, and bees appreciate their prolific flowers just as much as we do. One to seek out is the

heavy blooming dwarf ‘Little Goldstar’ (Rudbeckia fulgida var. sullivantii‘Little Goldstar’). Info from http:// fafard.com/terrific-flowersfor-honey-bees/

Gardening for Bees Honey bees are amazing insects that not only produce honey, but through pollination, also help produce one-third of the food we eat.

A single bee colony can contain up to 60,000 bees, including worker bees, drones, and a queen. Each type of bee serves a specific role. The drones mate with the queen to produce new worker bees, and the worker bees perform all of the labor tasks like gathering pollen

and nectar from flowers. edu/design/gardening-withYou can make your garden wildlife/gardening-for-bees.html safe for honey bees by using pesticides only when needed. Don't spray when (Continued from page 1) plants are flowering or in the mornings when bees Directions are most active. Read more 1. Combine leaf lettuce and in "Bees and Pesticides." spinach leaves with sliced A garden that attracts strawberries, blueberries and pollinators will include a green onion in a large salad mix of annuals, perennials, bowl. herbs, shrubs, and trees.

2. Prepare dressing by whisking Honey bees prefer yellow, together the lemon juice, olive white, blue, and purple oil, balsamic vinegar, Dijon flowers; they can’t see the mustard, honey and salt; pour color red. They like daisyover lettuce mixture and toss to like flowers with broad coat. petals that offer a large 3. Sprinkle salad with feta landing pad. Native bees, cheese and sliced almonds. which don't produce 4. Serve immediately. honey but are important Yield: 8, 1 cup servings. pollinators, prefer fruiting Nutrition Analysis: 130 calories, trees and native plants and 9 g fat, 1.5 g sat fat, 240 mg shrubs. Info from sodium, 12 g carbohydrates, 3 http:// g fiber, 7 g sugar, 3 g protein. gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl. Credit: Plate it Up! KY Proud.

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Nelson County 317 S Third Street Bardstown, KY 40004

University of Kentucky

Cooperative Extension Service

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