What's The Buzz April 2021

Nelson County Beekeepers

What’s The Buzz

Volume 7 Issue 3

Nelson County April 2021

MEETING April 15, 2021

There will be a regular meeting starting at 6:30 pm on April 18th, 2021. A box meal will be provided, so PLEASE call the Extension Office (502-348-9204) if you plan to attend. We need a head count so we can purchase the correct amount of food.

Officers President-Steve Hutchins Vice President-Darrell Hester Secretary-Carolyn Hurd Treasurer & Editor-Susan Zhunga Hospitality-Monthly Volunteers Newsletter Publisher– Georganne Collins

We will have a Steering Committee meeting at 5:30 pm prior to the regular meeting. Please try and attend. We will be discussing the future of club events, and programs.

As per regulations, Masks will be required.

PROGRAM

Inside this issue: Dues & Nuc Payments

2

Financial Statement

3

Bee Calendar

4

Extractor Rental

7

A round table discussion headed up by Steve Hutchins (President) along with other club members. Bring your problems and questions to the table, lets see if we can help. Also, we have a lot of new beekeepers that have joined our club, so mentoring would be helpful to get them on their way.

Robbie Smith County Extension Agent for Horticulture

Page 2 Minutes From meeting held on March 17th.

Steering Meeting. Topics covered: April road clean up, Feed American – Ask for Volunteers. Find out about the Arts & Crafts Fair in October.

Meeting: There were 29 people in attendance. Zoom guest speaker was Rebecca Westwick from the University of Kentucky, Entomology Dept., and researcher of Honey Bee Behavior. Her contact info is rwestwick@uky.edu.

Topic for the meeting was the dilemma of Laying Workers.

1. They tend to lay 2 or more larva in a cell 2. Erratic egg positioning in the cell. On the rim or on the pollen.

Do not requeen when you have a laying worker hive.

Preventions: Check for missing queens and missing eggs. You might try adding eggs and brood in the hive every 5 days if problem caught early in the process, before the period when the laying workers starts to lay her unfertilized eggs.

Door prizes were awarded to the following: Jeremy Blaine, David Donathan, Floyd Hester and Shari Weber.

Page 3 Financial Statement FINANCIAL STATMENT 3/31/2021

Opening balance 1/1/2021

Gross Income Food Donations/Dues

$ 2134.25 $327.00

Net Expense New Extractor/Food

Bank Balance

$614.58

$ 1846.67

BEEKEEPING ITEMS FOR SALE 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.

Page 4 Honey Harvesting Tools A Guide for Beginners Dr.Thomas Webster Honey harvesting tools. These tools are either necessary or very useful. All are sold by beekeeping supply companies: Uncapping knife. The wax cappings on honey frames must be removed before the honey can be extracted. This is done with an electric uncapping knife. The knife contains a heating element that gets it hot enough to melt wax. The beekeeper slices the cappings off of the honey frame just before putting them in the extractor. If you have only a few frames to uncap you can get by with a capping scratcher (below) or any stout knife. Extractor. A honey extractor is a large centrifuge that spins the frames so that the honey is thrown out of them. The honey collects at the bottom where a gate can be opened. Alternatives to an extractor are described below. Filters. As the honey comes out of the extractor, it is then filtered to remove bits of wax and other foreign material. A good system is a pair of stainless steel filters which nest together and rest on a plastic bucket. The honey then goes through a final filter of 80-mesh cloth.

WHAT’S NEXT? Give yourself about two years to become familiar with the basics of beekeeping. When you are confident with your understanding of the seasonal cycle and the most common activities and problems, you might be ready to take another step. More hives: You will soon have a feeling for how much time and resources are needed for a few hives. More hives may seem like a natural progression. If you are efficient and the hives are all in one apiary, the additional time and equipment for 10 or 20 hives will not be very intimidating. The largest investment for those harvesting more honey will be in extracting equipment. See beekeeping supply catalogs or web pages for specifics.

Page 5 What’s Happening Inside The Hive? APRIL

By April, the bees have made it over the hump. The problems they faced in March have not completely disappeared, but a healthy hive needs only a little nurturing now. Brood rearing should really increase through this month. If it does not, your hive has serious problems. As the warmer weather comes, look for many bees returning with pollen loads. The stronger hives will have a significant amount of drone brood in preparation for the mating season.

Beekeeper Chores; In particular, keep an eye on the 5-day weather forecasts. A week of cold rain could really hurt the brood rearing. Feed the bees if you see this coming and the hive does not have at least a frame or two of stored honey. Add a second deep hive body when the brood, pollen and honey have nearly filled the first body. This extra space will help reduce swarming. The loss of productive bees in a swarm is your main threat in late spring. Remove the varroa mite treatments according to when they were installed in February or March.

This is a good month to requeen your hive, if the queen you have now is weak or is at least two years old. If your queen is only a year old, watch the brood pattern develop through the spring months. If the amount of brood is considerably less than it was last year at this time, think about possible causes : mites, nosema or bad weather. If you can rule out these causes, look closely at the queen. Is she long and fat, or about as small as the worker bees? A good queen will be considerably longer than a worker bee once she has started to lay eggs. Does she move all of her legs normally as she walks across the comb? An injured queen must be replaced. If she is shiny, small and “bald” she has been attacked by the workers who have chewed the hair from her. Such a queen must be replaced as soon as possible. Observations and Ideas If you are pollinating strawberries, pears, cherries or apples in April, a strong hive is much better than a weak one. Remember that bees collect pollen for brood rearing. A hive with four or five frames of uncapped brood will need the pollen from one blossom to another — the essence of pollination.

Page 6 THINGS TO DO WITH OR KNOW ABOUT HONEY •

Use honey to sweeten your dressings or marinades.

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Stir honey into coffee or tea.

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Drizzle honey on top of toast or pancakes.

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Mix honey into yogurt, cereal, or oatmeal for a more natural sweetener.

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Spread raw honey over whole grain toast and top with peanut butter.

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Good emergency food supply because it is a perfect emergency food. First, it never spoils… archeologists have found edible honey in Egyptian tombs! Second, it provides quick energy in its perfect balance of glucose and fructose. Finally, it contains beneficial vitamins and live enzymes.

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Small amounts of pollen in the honey supposedly builds up an immunity to the pollen… like an allergy shot.

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Honey is antibacterial, contains antioxidants, and can heal burns.

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Honey is naturally sweet and a healthier alternative to white sugar.

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Help for digestive issues.

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The Antioxidants in It Can Help Lower Blood Pressure

Page 7

ATTENTION

ATTENTION

There are 3 extractors complete with all that you need to extract honey. There is only one refractometer to test your honey. You will need your own gated bucket for your extracted honey.

1. First extractor is a plastic table top 2 frame hand crank – Rental @ $5.00 for 3 day maxium.

2. Second extractor is a 2 frame hand crank - rental @ $10.00 for 3 day maximum.

3. Third extractor is a 4 frame electric – rental @ $15.00 for 3 day maximum.

Either extractor can be picked up and delivered back to Susan Zhunga @ 555 King Road, Cox's Creek, KY. Call for availability 502-507-8789. All equipment must be returned in good, clean condition.

All members are encouraged to join us on Facebook. Ask questions, show your progress, and share your pictures on our “Nelson County Beekeepers” Facebook page. We would love to hear from you.

RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

Bardstown KY 40004

317 S Third St

Nelson County