What's The Buzz

Nelson County August 2019

Nelson County Beekeepers

What’s The Buzz

Volume 5, Issue 7

Meeting

August 15th @ 6:30 pm

Guest speaker for the evening will be Chuck Collins, owner operator of the Bee Barn in Paducah Kentucky.

Officers President-Steve Hutchins Vice President-Darrell Hester Secretary-Bennie Hite Treasurer & Editor-Susan Zhunga

The Bee Barn, LLC. 4445 Clinton Rd. Paducah, KY 42001 (270) 519-4772 support@beebarnshop.com.

Hospitality-Monthly Volunteer Newsletter Publisher– Georganne Collins

Inside this issue: Fair Results

2

Extractor

3

Chuck will be bringing his truck with some supplies for purchase. If you want to pre-order items, he will be happy to bring them to the meeting. His topic will be:

Items Available for Sale 3

Mite Control

4-7

Robbie Smith County Extension Agent for Horticulture

Page 2 NELSON COUNTY FAIR HONEY CONTEST

1st place for Light – Susan Zhunga 2nd place for Light – Doug Brink 3rd place for Light – Debbie Brown 1st place for Light Amber – Jason Hagler 2nd place for Light Amber – Chevas Barnes 3rd place for Light Amber – Benny Hite 1st place for Amber – Benny Hite 2nd place for Amber – Ernie Sharp 3rd place for Amber – Randi Weber All of the Dark Amber water content was too high and therefore disqualified.

FINANCIAL STATEMENT 5/30/2019 Opening balance

1/1/2019

$2,125.37

Gross Income

$733.00 Due/Extractor

Net Expense

$-838.00 Speakers/Pollinator Plot

Bank Balance

$2,020.37

Page 3 Attention Attention There are 2 extractors complete with all that you need to extract honey. It comes with a refractometer to test you honey. $10.00 for usage, with a 4 day maximum.

All members are encouraged to join us on Facebook. Ask questions, show your progress, and share your pictures.

“Nelson County Beekeepers”. We would love to hear from you.

ITEMS AVAILABLE FOR MEMEBERS ONLY Test kits for American Foul Brood (AFB) and European Foul Brood (EFB) are available for purchase from Extension Office for $14.00 each. Please call me (Susan 507-8789) for availability.

If any member has beekeeping items for sale, list them in the newsletter and/or bring them to the meeting. We can do some bartering after the regular meeting is over. Good time to save some money on necessary items. Be sure and bring items in good clean condition. Make sure they are priced and have your name. We will set up special tables for your items.

Mike Johnson – Will make wooden ware to order. Boxes, frames and wax dipping. Contact Mike for information and pricing @ 502-2492007.

The Club - has NCB T - Shirts Prices are: $8.00 for children $10.00 for Adults and $12.00 for Adults 2x & 3x.

Page 4 HERE IS THE LATEST IN MITE CONTROL PRODUCTS Why treat against Varroa mites?

If you don't treat a colony that is infested with Varroa mites effectively, you are condemning it to certain death, within a year in many cases.

These mites weaken the bees by feeding off their haemolymph (blood). Bees become far less resistant to other diseases, their lifetime is greatly shortened and their wings become atrophied. Fewer forager bees can fly to find pollen and nectar to feed larvae in the brood, and weakened, their return flight to the hive becomes more and more difficult. The colony produces less and less honey and becomes unable to feed the new bees, which causes the weakness (in spite of the laying activity of the queen) then the colony collapses.

Moreover, it has been proven that the higher the rate of infestation, the shorter the duration of life of honey bees. That is a real issue for wintering bees that are infested during their development and not able to go through winter and take part in colony development in spring.

Potassium Salts of Hops Beta Acids - Hop Guard Varroa Mite Treatment FDA – EPA REPORT SUMMARY: This regulation establishes an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance for residues of the biochemical pesticide potassium salts of hops beta acids in or on honey and honeycomb for the control of Varroa mites in accordance with label directions and good agricultural practices. Interregional Research Project Number 4, on behalf of Beta Tec Hop Products, Inc., submitted a petition to EPA under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), requesting an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance. This regulation eliminates the need to establish a maximum permissible level for residues of potassium salts of hops beta acids in or on honey and honeycomb.

Overview of Potassium Salts of Hops Beta Acids K-HBAs are derived from the resin components of the cones of female hop plants Humulus lupulus. The three major components of K-HBAs are Lupulone (30-55% with an isopropyl side chain), Colupulone (20-55% with an isobutyl side chain), and Adlupulone (5-10% with a secbutyl side chain); the components differ only in the R-side chain attached. K-HBA is classified as a biochemical pesticide because it is naturally occurring (found in Humulus lupulus plant), has a non-toxic mode of action against the target pest, and has a history of exposure to humans and the environment demonstrating minimal

Page 5 toxicity. There is a long history of safe use of HBAs via the oral and dietary exposure to humans from its use as a preservative on meats (estimated range 4.4 milligrams/kilograms (mg/kg) of cooked meat—5.5 mg/kg of frankfurter) and its presence in the beer brewing process. Due to its long history of exposure, KHBAs are considered to be generally recognized as safe (GRAS) by FDA. Conclusion Based on its assessment of potassium salts of hops beta acids, EPA concludes that there is a reasonable certainty that no harm will result to the general population, or to infants and children, from aggregate exposure to potassium salts of hops beta acids. EPA is therefore establishing an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance for residues of potassium salts of hops beta acids for the control of Varroa mites in or on honey and honeycomb, in accordance with label directions and good agricultural practices.

Optional Varroa Mite Treatments Some info from Randy Oliver, ScientificBeekeeping.com and other reliable sources.

Apiguard is thymol in a slow-release gel used to control varroa mites in honeybee colonies. Apiguard is a product suitable for use in organic farming in the European Union.

Apiguard can be applied at any time of day but for best results treat colonies in the late afternoon or evening when the temperature is lower and the bees are in or returning to, the hive. If the Apiguard can be applied when it is cooler, the rate of sublimation of the gel and the activity of the bee colony is lower and the bees will become accustomed to the odor more readily than if the product is applied at the hottest part of the day when the bees are most active.

Apiguard is best applied in summer or autumn, outside the period of honeyflow. The external temperature should be above 15°C (60°F), which means that the colony is active. Distribution of the Apiguard gel depends on the bees transporting it around the hive during the process of hive cleaning and this activity increases as the external temperature rises. Application during nectar flows should be avoided in case the honey becomes tainted.

Thymol is a phenolic monoterpene extracted from garden thyme. We all are familiar with its antiseptic odor from Listerine® and similar products. Thymol is sold as a white crystal, which is relatively safe to handle if there is good ventilation, and nitrile gloves are worn. The standard dose is 8 – 12g of pure thymol, applied in dishes on the top bars, repeated two to three times. Unfortunately, the evaporation rate of pure crystals is extremely temperature dependent. They can (Continued on page 6)

Page 6 evaporate too quickly in warm weather, and kill bees and brood, since the lethal concentration of thymol to bees is only some 2-4 times that which kills mites. Use of pure thymol is not registered in the U.S., although many kitchen chemists have developed home recipes that mix thymol with shortening, vegetable or mineral oil, and perhaps other essential oils, and apply the concoction on a saturated shop towel or bar coaster.

FORMIC ACID Nature’s weapon Formic acid not only protects against mites; the chemical, which was first extracted by scientists from some ants species, is produced naturally and used by the ants as a defense spray to ward off their enemies. The larvae of the puss moth can also squirt formic acid up to 30 centimeters when it feels threatened. Other creatures such as jellyfish, scorpions and beetles employ the substance to defend themselves, too. Even plants exploit the power of the chemical: The urticating hairs of stinging nettles also contain formic acid.

Unlike the synthetic miticides, whose modes of action are well determined, that of formic acid on varroa is less understood, although it apparently affects a metabolic pathway, resulting in tissue suffocation (Keyhani 1980) or respiratory inhibition (Imdorf, et al 1999). Formic acid is the simplest organic acid, and due to its small molecular size, readily evaporates at room temperature. Once in vapor form, it can be used as a fumigant within the hive to kill varroa. Easily said, but as usual, the devil is in the details. Formic fumigation comes with a variety of issues: Update: formic acid at high enough concentration can kill nearly all the mites in capped cells. When I uncap cells after treatment, I find half to nearly 100% of the mites dead, depending upon the dose. In order to achieve high in-cell mite mortality, you need to apply formic at a rate that may cause the mortality of some queens. This may be mitigated by using an extended-release application (MAQS, MiteGone, Nassenheider, Ziplock bag with holes).

Oxalic acid Oxalic Acid has a 97 percent efficiency rate, and applying it does not require you to open up your hive. ..Oxalic acid will not control varroa mites in capped brood, so it's important to treat over the course of several weeks as the brood hatches.Use in late fall and early spring to minimize amount of brood present.

How can oxalic be applied? Oxalic can be applied several ways: drip (trickle), vaporization and spraying. It can be used on existing colonies, packages or swarms. The two most popular are the trickle and vaporization method. The trickle or solution method is taking the acid and mixing it with a warm 1:1 sugar-to-water solution. Next, the solution is drawn into a syringe and 5 ml is trickled (scientific term for “dribbly drop�) down the seam between each

Page 7 frame and directly onto the bees; the maximum dose is 50 ml per colony (5mls per seam). It doesn’t matter whether it is a nuc or a hive with a single or multiple brood chamber, but reduction in dosage for smaller colonies obviously.

The vaporizer method is only to be used on colonies outdoors. And, what ever you do, do not inhale the vapor! Basically, you use a vaporizer which is a metal wand with a plate at one end and a cord which connects to a battery at the other end. One gram of oxalic acid is placed on the metal plate. The plate is then slid into the entrance of the colony. The entrance opening and any other cracks and crevices are then sealed with the vaporizer in place to avoid the gas from escaping. Once connected to a battery, the heat from the plate causes the oxalic crystals to melt and turn into a gas (sublime). The vapor will permeate the hive. When it contacts the mites, it kills them. Each vaporizer is different. Some take only a few minutes to activate the acid, while others take a little longer. Since you don’t have to open the colony in order to treat, this seems to be the easier of the two methods to implement, especially on cold, rainy days.

Why use oxalic? It works. It has been used for years in Europe. According to numerous studies, it’s 90-99% effective at killing the mites with minimal damage to the bees and brood.

Apivar What is the effect of high and low temperatures on the treatment efficacy?

Spread of amitraz into the colony is the result of the contact between the honey bees and the strips. As a consequence, this diffusion is not directly linked to the external temperature. This mode of action is different from other devices used to treat against Varroa such as thymol-based products whose diffusion by vaporization changes in relation to the hive's atmosphere. This diffusion is blocked at a low temperature or dangerously increased at a very high temperature.

Regarding amitraz, temperature has no effect on the product itself. Nevertheless, we can consider that at low temperature, activity of bees is lowered and contacts with the strips can decrease.

RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

Bardstown KY 40004

317 S Third St

Nelson County