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Subject: Orange County, NC Beekeepers

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Chronological Thread  
  • From: "Brian&Lanette Fee" <fee AT sprintmail.com>
  • To: "Lewis Cauble" <lewis AT hivebody.com>, "NC Beekeepers Orange County" <ocba AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [ocba] Minutes of the March 2009 OCBA meeting
  • Date: Wed, 13 May 2009 17:25:37 -0400

OCBA minutes for March 2009

 

The meeting was called to order by Lewis at 7:32 p.m. Lewis welcomed new members and invited people to borrow the movie “Tails from the Hive” if anyone was interested.  We discussed some interesting and informative books that might be helpful to new and veteran beekeepers alike. 

 

Bee Sex Essentials – Discusses the importance of drones.

Africanized Honey Bees

Backyard Beekeepers

First Lessons in Beekeeping

Hunting Wild Bees (Bee lining) or tracking down wild bees

Orange County Pamphlets - available online

 

The Swarm Patrol is on a list serve now.  Sign up to be on the list if you wish.

If you want bees be sure and get on a list for that as well.  Jack only has 30 packages left.

Thin about entering things in the fair.  The premium book is out.

 

NCAHB.com has Africanized bee information.  Cornell University has a nice website on bee diseases.

 

We have new business cards.  Take some and hand them out.

 

Field Day Update – Lewis went to check out the hunting lodge and there was no bee activity so we will need to find an alternative.  Angie Frizzell has a friend with bees in a barn.  That might be an option.  Liz has bees in a tree.  If we do the bees in the tree we will do a joint meeting with Pearson and Orange county clubs.

 

David Langham discussed the NC Museum of Life and Science Magic Wings event on April 18th.  Sign up and help out.  It will be fun.

 

The Chapel Hill Winery wants someone to sell honey.

Breeze Farm is participating in the Orange County farm tour and asked the OCBA to set up a table and observation hive and an empty hive for people to look at.  It is 1-5 p.m. on April 25-26.

Keep in mind even if you are new, you can talk with the public.  You know enough to help out.

 

Connie is the Lewis appointed State Fair Czar.  She viewed who we have to beat next year at the state fair and has some goals to aspire to.  We need honey and wax to win – also lighting and tools.  She wants everyone to make candles and come up with ideas.  Ideas must be NEW ideas!  No yellow and black colors.  The curtain is black.  Next year we want everyone to copy us!!!  We are scored on educational value, originality and attractiveness, and quality.

 

Bee School

     Jerome and David have volunteered to help out, but we need more volunteers.  Plan for 100 people.  Think about where to have it and content.

 

Zoo report – Dedication will be June 26.

 

Thursday, April 9, pick your bees up from Busy Bee.  They will be teaching installation and recommend the method of Keith Dellaplane.  No more shaking.  His method is much nicer to the bees.  Don’t wait to get equipment.  Plan ahead because supplies get short.

 

Review of NC Beekeepers State Meeting

 

Beekeeping in America

There were once 5 million hives in the U.S. and today there are 2.4 million.  Since CCD has hit the country, there is now more research into bees.  Other challenges are wax moths, hive beetles, and whatever’s next.  There are 2 types of Norseman.  Stresses increase the propensity for the disease.  Monoculture crops general add a lot more pesticide use.   Wax is a sponge for pesticides.  Change out old wax more frequently.  Beekeepers take pride that they are farmers and are important for agriculture.  Eat local, shy away from monoculture crops.  Avoid calling ourselves hobbyists, but instead part/time beekeepers.

 

Kim Flotham – Forgotten, but not gone,

Get back to basics.  Feed swarms and packages.  Keep records.  Maintain your bee yard.  Requeening – consider raising your own.  Don’t use pesticides.  Don’t use old foundation.  Put in new foundation after 5 years.  Form a bee truck accident team so beekeepers with proper equipment can help out if there is an accident with bee hives.  Extension agent Karen McAdams has a list.  Market your honey.

 

Bart Smith – Beltsville Bee Lab

Services for beekeepers.  They handle 3000 samples of bees to be tested for diseases.  The website has a guide for recognizing diseases.  In 2007 their sample load increased 60% and increased 75% in 2008.

 

David Tarpee – James Bond Beekeeping

Living with Mites.  Control Varroa with pesticides when needed, but use other methods first.  Consider new strains that may be more resistant.  Natural selection is going to be our best bet over time.  Research in Arnett Forest indicated that isolated colonies had less virulent mites.  When you use a pesticide, you kill the less virulent mites and only leave the most virulent ones in the colony.  Get away from pesticides, especially indiscriminate use of them.  Just knock the level down.  Queen failures are often due to pesticides in the hive and in wax.  The Eastern Apiculture Society 2009 meeting focus will be on nonchemical-natural beekeeping.  This will be the focus on the Wilkesboro NCBA summer meeting as well.  Scientists are mapping bee genes and will use the information to breed a better bee.

 

Deborah Delaney – Feral bee colonies 

Visit the website “Save the hives” which coordinates feral bees.  They will track AHB in feral colonies and survival of colonies.  This will be a good resource for future breeding.  They have 100 bee traps in Duke Forest.  Expand genetic diversity.  In 2004/2005 less than 500 queens produced 1/3 of all our queens.

 

Jerry Hayes – AHB

AHB has not come over the land mass.  It’s entry into Florida was via a ship.  Here in North Carolina some AHB has been caught from ships.  Beekeepers are part of the education.  AHB swarms are as gentle as European honey bee swarms.   

 

Recommendations if you disturb an AHB nest; run ¼ mile and get in a closed area.  The Florida Department of Agriculture has recommendations for Best Management for Maintaining a European honey bee colony.  Maintain strong colonies.  Requeen yearly with a marked queen.

 

Jennifer Perry at University of Florida – Studies chemicals in the hives.  They found that with an increase in chemical use there was less brood in the hive.

 

Stan Snider – UNC Charlotte found that worker bees contain the behavior of the queen and drones.  The bee shakes another bee.  They also do piping and make a noise.

 

Kim Flotham - Artisan Honey. 

Advertise local.  The more local, the better

 

 

 

 



  • [ocba] Minutes of the March 2009 OCBA meeting, Brian&Lanette Fee, 05/13/2009

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