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ocba - [ocba] January 2009 OCBA Minutes

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Subject: Orange County, NC Beekeepers

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  • From: "Lanette Fee" <fee AT sprintmail.com>
  • To: "john wallace" <jwllace AT hotmail.com>, "buddynannette parsons" <kitty AT triad.rr.com>, <buxndux33 AT yahoo.com>, "GAYLE YOUNG" <ngayle.young AT verizon.net>, "jim and betty wallace" <wd4ksz AT yahoo.com>, "joel and kathy wotton" <jkwotton AT worldpath.net>, "JUDY ADCOCK" <jadcock8 AT nc.rr.com>, "ken medlin" <beehivedr AT aol.com>, "levi wallace" <levitwallace AT yahoo.com>, "Margot Wilkinson" <mwilkinson14 AT nc.rr.com>, "marilyn and martin perkey" <mperkey AT goldtoe.com>, "nancy connolly" <nanconnolly AT gmail.com>, "Orange County, NC Beekeepers" <ocba AT lists.ibiblio.org>, "pamela" <pamelawt3 AT yahoo.com>, "peggy" <buckeyeladync AT yahoo.com>
  • Subject: [ocba] January 2009 OCBA Minutes
  • Date: Thu, 12 Feb 2009 17:05:08 -0500

January 2009 OCBA Minutes

 

Lewis brought the meeting to order and discussed the Behamen Ruritan Club Farmland Protection Program. We can set up a table at "farm day" Jan 31 from 9 a.m.-2 p.m.

 

Lewis spoke about some very good reference book for beginners and experienced beekeepers alike. Suggestions were the Beekeepers Handbook, The Hive and the Honeybee,, and Honey Plants of North America.

It’s time for dues! $5 for just the OCBA and $20 for both the state and local club. We had a presentation about the changes in the North Carolina State Beekeepers Association bylaws. Changes will allow for regional meetings and still state meetings each year. There will be changes in the number of regions the state is divided into and changes in the number of representatives per region. Go to www.ncbeekeepers.org and check out the changes!

 

Don Hopkins gave a wonderful presentation on Pests and Diseases.

 

He discusses of the Langstroth hive is that it allows the beekeepers to inspect the bees to look for diseases and not tear apart the hive. This allows for better management. It is important to pay attention to all life stages of the bees (egg, larvae, pupae, and adult) and their ratios in each season of the year. Brood pattern in early February will be concentric bands of varying age of brood - a rainbow effect is good at this time of year. (At this time it’s bad if there are only a few scattered brood. Look for eggs and look to see if the brood looks normal (a concave cap is a sign of trouble).

 

American Foul Brood (AFB) is identified by sunken caps, perforated caps, and scales. Do a stick test for stringy pupae. Look for prepupal tongue stuck to the side of the cell and for scales on the bottom wall of the cell. The scales is where the spores are. Each scale has 2.5 billion spores. It only takes 30 spores to infect a hive. Infection is spread when the colony dwindles and other bees start robbing the hive. Be sure when you switch frames between weak and strong hives that both hives are healthy. Use clean hive tools. If you suspect a disease in a hive, use fire -your smoker is a handy source - to kill any microorganisms. Burn the hive to control AFB.

 

European Foul Brood (EFB) is another disease that is suspected if there is a scattered brood pattern this time of year. Larvae are white or off color and can be alive or dead. Larvae turn yellow and die before they are capped. There is no appearance of scales. Caused by a nonspore-forming bacteria. Replace the queen to break the brood cycle. Terramycin will remedy EFB. Once treated, bees can clean out cells.

 

Neither AFB or EFB are very common any more. Good inspection and strong state societies, education is the key to these diseases.

 

Chalk brood- when there is a high concentration of brood. The bees cannot maintain enough nutrition and are more susceptible to diseases. Chalk brood causes mummification of the brood. Breaking the brood cycle will help.

 

Tracheal mites-discovered in Texas in 1987 and were in NC 3 months later. Effects bees most from January until March. Shortens the life span of the bees and this is extremely critical in the winter when there are no replacements being raised. Caused by the mite Apicaris woodi that lives in the trachea and leaves debris in the trachea. Although is are a very severe problem many years ago, most bees now can tolerate a low level of tracheal mites.

 

Nosema or dysentery is characterized by yellow-brown marks on the side of the hive. One strain of Nosema has no symptoms. In older bees, a dissection shows a drop of water in the abdomen. Nosema kills bees at a younger age. Treat with fumagillin/Fumadil.

 

Varroa destructor - It’s not a matter of if your bees have varroa mites, but how many mites a colony has. Mites reproduce with the pupating bees. They especially like drones since drones have a longer pupation time. 3-4 days prior to emerging, check drone brood in comb. You can see the mites on the pupating bees. This is especially easy with burr comb that has drone brood in it. Treat with Apigar/Apilife Var which are essential oils; Mite Away II which is formic acid; screen bottom boards; breeding more hygienic bees; minimizing chemical treatments so that mite don’t form a resistance to treatments. Treatments are 6-8 weeks long and they have a temperature window. With the beginning of February, look at treating any hives that need it. All mitocides are pesticides and might do damage to bees. If young bees have deformed wings, treat now - this is deformed wing virus spread by the varroa mite. Use early detection such as sticky boards and sugar shakes. All treatments should be out before the honey flow.

 

Mites take over and weaken a colony, then Small Hive Beetles move it. In a very strong colony, the bees remove eggs and larvae. In a weak colony, the hive beetles can take over. Pollen, honey and brood are the hive beetles favorite food. Decreasing hive space so bees can patrol the area better will also help reducing small hive beetles.

 

Wax Moths are a problem with very weak hives.

Rarely ants, specifically fire ants, can come in and devastate a hive.



  • [ocba] January 2009 OCBA Minutes, Lanette Fee, 02/12/2009

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