VT Beekeeper’s Meeting. Saturday, July 30, 2005

King Arthur Flour, Norwich, VT

Minutes by Lorie Loeb

Mike Palmer started the meeting. There is a need for a new president and recording secretary. Jeffrey Hamelman will take over the post of Recording Secretary at the next meeting. Nobody volunteered to take over the post of President.

 

Treasurer’s Report – Lynne Lang

The checkbook balance as of July 30, 2005 is $6,355.89. That is an increase over the $4,059.07 from January 25, but the balance does not reflect the payment to AgriView of $12 per member nor the money we will spend on the cookbook printing.

 

Members are encouraged to provide email addresses for electronic newsletters. This will save considerably on the AgriView costs. Current members will get the printed copy until their membership expires. Then they will switch to electronic newsletters. Sharon Zecchinelli is the editor of the newsletter and webmaster. Members can also get the complete AgriView online at the Dept. of Agriculture website.

 

Inspector’s Report – Steve Parise

This has been a decent season so far with good to really good honey yields—better than last year. There is nothing unusual to report. It has been hot. Varroa infestation has not been bad. Steve had expected an increase due to the heat, but it hasn’t been as bad as he feared. No unusual chalk or foulbrood. Steve passed around pictures of some of the diseases and some frames with foulbrood for people to see and smell. The odor and scales usually give it away. Members were encouraged to call Steve if they are concerned about having foulbrood. He will come take a look.

 

People with bees need to register their beeyards with Steve. No need to report if the numbers of hives increases or decreases. There is information on the web with links to mite medications that are approved for use. Steve showed photos of mite-infested frames. The bees have tattered wings, there are pinholes in the brood and mites on the bees and larvae.

 

The Dept. of Homeland Security has information on their “Keeping Foods Safe” program and members are encouraged to read it and follow the instructions.

 

Mite medications:

 

1. Apistan – most mites have developed a resistance to it

 

2. Check Mite – discontinued because mites are resistant and there are better (safer products available).

 

3. ApiLife Var

 

4. Formic Acid pads

 

5. Supercide from Dadant. Mix with water, take out each frame and spray, 3X

 

 

Steve finds that beginners often don’t know how to get started. The key is to give sugar syrup with new nucs or package bees. Keep the bees in one box until all the frames are drawn out in the first box and then add another deep box and repeat. Add supers once brood chambers are drawn out and filled with brood, honey and pollen. Add one super box if there is only foundation, you can add 2 or 3 supers at a time if you are adding drawn out comb.

 

The bees like to draw comb over the brood, so once you put on new boxes, they will tend to go up instead of filling in the sides.

 

To know when to take the supers off for extracting, watch the bees progress and the flowers that are in bloom. Usually mid-August when the golden rod is starting to bloom.

 

There is a pumpkin grower in Windsor who needs some active hives to pollinate his crop. He will pay $50-75/hive. There followed talk of a database with information on beekeepers willing to travel with hives to farmers in need of bees. VT Fresh Networks could be a good resource for matching beekeepers with farmers. When putting bees in pumpkin farms (or any farm) it is important to know what pesticides are being used.

 

Mike Palmer showed the products on the table, including some ApiLife wafers and Bill Mares’ book.

 

Promotion Report – Lynn Lang

Cookbooks cost $1.50. The Addison County and Tunbridge Fairs are coming up. There are some colored pamphlets that can be given out at the fairs and people are needed to work the fairs.

 

Workshop Report – Lynn Lang

The northern workshop at the Intervale in Burlington has 6 hives. The northern yard is located at the Intervale in Burlington just past Gardener's Supply (between brick house and retail outlet).Attendance ranges from 6-15 people at the workshops. Good responses. Thursday afternoons there are beekeeping talks. Usually lasts 2 hours, but it can go longer and include hands-on workshops. Next one is August 20 for harvesting honey and mite treatments.

 

Southern workshops are at Bob Eastman’s apiary. 15-20 people attend regularly. Great feedback. He’d like to do it again.

 

A decision was made to donate the four hives from Addison to Bill Whitcomb because of his service to VT Beekeeper’s Association.

 

Fair committee

Bob Eastman reported on the Tunbridge and Addison County Fairs. We have one person, but we still need someone to be the Chair of the Fair. We could make as much as $1,000. We need 20 people to staff the table.

 

Mentor Program - Mike Palmer

The mentor program is a way to help educate new beekeepers and broaden the reach of the Association. We are looking for mentors. There will be a place to sign up on the website and some regulations will be set to make sure mentors aren’t bothered late at night or too often. This has been a great experience for those who are doing it as both a mentor and a person being mentored.

 

Mites and Treatments – Steve Parise

Mites go into all brood. The female goes into the cell before it is sealed, hides in the royal jelly and lays a male egg, then a female. She mates every 30 hours and then lays more eggs. So when a bee hatches a mature mite hatches with it and they start the process all over again, thus exponentially increasing the number of mites in a hive. Varroa mites feed on the pupae and drink the hemolymph, damaging or killing the bee and spreading a virus. This virus is what causes the deformed or smoky wings and is what makes mites particularly deadly.

 

In 1992-94 there were an average of 50 mites per square inch in local hives. Now it is much, much less. That’s the good news.

 

The deformed wings are the last symptom of a mite problem. They make it so the bee can’t fly and the hive dies. In severe cases, bees can barely get out of the cappings and shrivel up inside the cell.

 

Marrec.org has information on mite counts by year.

 

Chemicals are available to treat mites. Right now there are four approved in Vermont:

• Apistan
• ApiLife VAR
• Mite-Away II

Sucrocide

 

There are also 2 new treatments in process of being approved. They are:

• A fungus that kills Varroa
• A gel that uses essential oils and lasts 30 days.

 

But chemicals are not the solution. . .raising resistant bees is the way to go.

 

Russians seem to be naturally resistant, especially those that come from the certain Russian lines. Some queens are sold as Russians but aren’t from the direct line. SMR (Suppressive Mite Resistant) Bees are being bred by many beekeepers with some good success.

 

The key is to buy bees from local beekeepers or from someone who breeds mite resistant bees.

 

Information on how to apply mite treatments can be found on the Vermont Agriculture website:

 

http://www.vermontagriculture.com/Bee1.htm

 

Guest Speaker

The guest speaker was Howard Scott from Pembroke, MA. He has been a beekeeper for 25 years. He has 5 hives and has written a booklet on the joys of beekeeping. He enthusiastically spoke about beekeeping and the many values of keeping bees and teaching beekeeping to novice bee folk.