Barnstable County Beekeepers Associat ion

buzzwords http://www.barnstablebeekeepers.org October 2016

OctoberMeeting

ThenextmeetingoftheclubisTuesday,October11,at7:30p.m.attheWestBarnstableCommunityBuilding,Route149,WestBarnstable.

OurspeakerwillbetravelingfromUMass,AmherstandhertopicwillbeBumblebeehealth,pollens,pathogensandpesticides.Includedwillbea25yearstudyofchangesinwildbeediversityintheMassachusettscranberrysystems,whatplantsqueenandworkerbumblebeesareutilizingforpollencollectionandthepathogenloadinbumblebees,includinghoneybeeviruses.

WearefortunatetohaveAnnAverill,PhD,ProfessorandCo-DirectoroftheEnvironmentalScienceProgramatUMass,Amhersttopresentthisprogram.

Asalways,sweetsandtreatswillbekindlyacceptedfortherefreshmenttable.

ClaireDesilets

FROMTHEBOARD

Itisthattimeoftheyearwhenyoushouldhaveaplanonhowyouwilloverwinteryourhive(s).Towraportoinsulate,toblockthewindwardside,etc.Atsomepointcoveryourstickyboardswithplasticwrap(tokeepthemclean)andslidethemintoplaceforthewinter.Hopefullyyouhavebeenliftingthebackofthehivetobecomefamiliarwithitsweightandtheamountofhoneythatitcurrentlyholdssothatyouwillbeabletodeterminehowmuchhoney(stores)youhaveremainingasthewintermovesalong.

Yes,youhavebeenfeeding,right,ifyourbroodboxesarenotfilled.Thesyrupshouldbe2partssugarto1partwater.Syrupfeedifthehivesareverylowinstoresastheywillstoreliquidfasterthanthesugar.

Youshouldbefamiliarwiththe"normal"activityflightinfrontofthehivesoyoucandetermineifitis"orientingflights"bynewbeesorrobbingbytheneighboringhives.Whenthetemperaturestartstowardsthat55degreemark(maybesooner),youshouldnotbefeedingsyrupasthebeeswillnothavetimetodehydrateitbeforeclusteringforthewinter.Iusuallyswitchto"brick"cakesugarorMt.Campstylesugarbeforethathappens.ActuallyIamdoingthatnow.Youwillplaceeithertheseontopoftheframeswithashimtoaccommodatetheheightofyourbricksandthentheinnercoverontopofthisplusyourinsulationofchoice.Mineisusually1/2inchofsoofnewspapers.Ifyouhavequeenexcluders,nowistimetousethemwiththenewspapersontopofthem.Whenyoufeedduringthewinter,yousimplylifttheinnercoveranddropthebrickinquickly.

Ihopeyouallhavethemouseguardsinplaceandhaveremovedtheentrancereducers(newbees).Istillhaveplentyofthescreeningcuttosizewhichcanbeusedontopofthemouseguardsforreducingtherobbing.Askforthematthemeetingastheyarestoredinoursupplycabinetatthemeetinghall.

TheBricksugarismadewith4#sugarbagand12tablespoonsofwater.Mixwell,letsitfor30minutestoabsorbthewater,thenpackincontainersofyourchoicetotheheightofyourshim.Letitsetforadayortwobeforeremovingthecontainer.

TheMtCampsugarisasheetofnewspaperontopoftheframes,spraydampened.Pourthesugarontothenewspaperandwaterspraytoclumporitwillberemovedasforeignmatterbythebees.

Nowyouhavetodealwiththemites.ItistoocoldtousetheMite-A-Waystripsnowastempsneedtobe77degreesforatleast2days.MaybewewillcovertheOxalicAcidtreatmentnextmonth

P.S.Ijustrecentlysawahivebeetleinacouplehives.Ididnotseethemallsummer.Iwonderwhynow.However,thatmeanstheywillhibernateinthebee'sclusterallwinter.:(:(

HappyBeeing

MarteAyers

1stAnnualBeekeepers’Ball

Ourwrap-upmeetingisscheduledfornextweek,andwe’llbereviewingthetotals,buttheinitialfeedbackfromthepublicistheBeeBallwasaresoundingsuccess.Wehadalmost150peopleregisteredandnearlythatmanycameandtookpartinalltheeventhadtooffer.We’dberemissifwedidn’tonceagainthankthosewithoutwhosehelp,itwouldneverhavecometogether.DidyouSEEthatgiantbreadfromPaind’Avignon!?

SageInnandLoungeinProvincetown

Fancy’sProduce YarmouthSpirits

ConventionDataServices Fanizzi’sRestaurant VintageFlowersCapeAir/NantucketAirlines FarLandProvisions CorrineLillie,BlackSheep

Studio,artistSeamen’sBank LindaBaker OstervilleGardenClubTDBank ImpudentOyster SteveNossiter,artistZariifaBellyDanceTroupe HomeDepot KatALiliesCapeCodBeer HoneypotHives RuthWeissberger,artistBayberryGardens MannLake EnchantedFloristF.A.DaysPropane Paind’Avignon RobertMesrop,artistBetterbee PairpointGlass FlowersbyMaryBobbyByrnes RingBros.

MarketplaceAgostino,candlemaker

BridgesAssociates RobertB.Our Mahoney’sGardenCenterBrushyMountainBee Shaw’sMarket FrankWinters,artistCornerStore StopandShop GardensbyRebeccaDJ’sFamousWings TheLocalScoop ClaireJohnson,artist

BBallCommittee

TheContinuingBeekeepingAdventuresofPaul’nPatty(part7)

Eileen again slammed the package down on the ground and proceeded to pour all the bees into the hive body. A relative few bees began flying around, but, surprisingly, most of the bees remained in the hive.

“Now I’ll replace these frames I set aside. Don’t press them in. Just place them in and let their weight move the bees aside. With the frames all in,” she said, “I’ll put this shim on top of the hive body. This will allow enough space for the queen cage.” Eileen then asked one of the students to hand her the queen cage. When she got it, she pointed out the difference between the

ends of the cage. Each, it seemed, had a cork blocking an escape hole, but one end had a white substance, which turned out to be a sugar candy.

“Remove the cork from the end that has the candy and, I use a nail but you can use whatever you think will do the job, poke a hole through the candy. This will help the bees clear the hole and allow the queen to exit. Be careful with the nail so you don’t “nail” the queen. I then place the queen cage screen-side down along the gap between two of the middle frames. This will allow the bees access to the queen so they can feed her but will have a difficult time if some them want to reject her. The longer she is in the cage the better she will be accepted. The hole should be cleared and the queen released within a week. Give her a week before you visit the hive again.” Eileen then placed the inner and outer covers on and proclaimed, “And that’s that. Any questions?”

After a flurry of confused and poorly posed questions the group gathered over by the trucks where a table had been set up for refreshments. Paul’s group was just coming from their hive when Patty felt a hand on her arm. A very flustered younger lady said, “I hope you can help me. My name is Augusta Wind. I ordered bees because I thought it would be a great hobby, but I didn’t have time to attend the Bee School. I have all of the equipment, but I don’t know how to put it together. Could you give me a hand? I mean, the bees are here already and I don’t have any idea to do all this stuff.” Her eyes filled up as she put her fisted hand up to her mouth.

“Honey,” Paul asked as he came walking toward the two women, “how’d it go with your group?” Then he saw definite signs of distress in the woman talking to his wife. “What’s wrong?” he whispered.

As Augusta hung her head, Patty explained the situation. Paul gently took Patty’s arm and turned her, so they could communicate in “private”, and asked, “What do you want to do? We have extra equipment we could loan her. We have everything prepared. But we will need that stuff before too long.”

Patty closed her eyes, as she did whenever she had a hard decision to make, and slowly said, “If we say we will loan her the equipment, we are enabling her to depend on us, and, if not us, then someone else. If we say “No,” think of the poor bees.” She exhaled slowly, slowly smiled and said, “I think we should help, but require her to come to our house and learn to assemble the equipment, paint it and whatever else we did, to replace what we loan her.”

“We did join a club so we could learn and get support,” said Paul. “So I agree. But we will have to work out a schedule for her to do the work.”

Eileen overheard this interchange between Paul ’n Patty and, with a knowing grin, nodded her head, for, for years, she, and many others in the group, had been in exactly this situation. People who took on the keeping of honeybees with a cavalier attitude seemed to depend on the goodness of others to make up for their own shortcomings, disregarding the fact that it took years of experience and study to become intimate with another living creature to a degree that would allow both to survive.

Hand-in-hand, Paul ’n Patty addressed Augusta and her problem. “We have decided to help you out. But these are our terms: We will loan you the equipment to get your hive started, but you must agree to come to our house, at our convenience, with your equipment and get it prepared

the way we tell you. We will help you do this, but we will need that stuff before too long and we want what you give us as replacement to be as good as what we give you. Agreed?”

Several heads turned sharply as Augusta released a large sob. She gripped Patty’s shoulder firmly as she placed head on a very confounded Paul’s shoulder. “I’ll even bring dinner on the nights I come. Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!”

Over very sweet pastries and good strong coffee the three of them discussed what they had learned that day. A month ago, they would have been in hasty retreat, but today it seemed just normal to be sitting on the grass, with hundreds of honeybees confusedly buzzing around, talking and becoming friends. Patty began with an account of what Eileen had demonstrated. It turned out that the other two had seen different techniques from hers and each other’s. Paul’s group had placed the queen cage between two frames and, as Eileen had done, poured the bees into the box.

“My instructor was more gentle,” said Augusta. “She put the queen between the frames, just like in Paul’s group, but she just placed the package of bees on its side in front of the hive body. It was so cool to see the bees just migrate into the hive.”

Augustafollowedthemhome.Whentheygottothehouse,Paulgottheirwheelbarrowandputallofherequipmentintoit,andwheeleditintothegarage.Augustahadnotevenopenedanyoftheboxes.ItwasclearthatshewasevenlesshandythanPaul,makinghimfeelquitegoodabouthimself.

byAndyMorris

SMALLHIVEBEETLES

Doesn’titseemstrangethatmostofthisseasonthemajorityofourbeekeepershaveseenfewtonosmallhivebeetleintheirhives?Andnowmanyofushaveseenthemscurryingaroundtheinnercoversandinandoutofthecells.Sowherehavetheybeenhiding?Well,theyhavebeentherebutkeepthemselvestuckedintothecluster.Mosthiveshavebeenverypopulatedthisspringandsummersohidingissimple.Now,astheclustershrinks,droneshavebeenbootedout,thehoneyharvestedandlessequipmentavailable,thebeetlesgetchasedtothetopwheretheybecomequiteSHBlarvasnackingonapollenpatty!

visible.Haveyouseenthemstuckinthepropolis?Howcool!!

Keepinmindthatafewarereallyinsignificant.Butifyourhivebeginstofailduetoapoorqueen,highvarroacountswithvirusesorstarvation,thesmallhivebeetleareopportunistsandwillmultiplyquicklycreatingawigglemessinashortperiodoftime.Theadultbeetleswilllaymultipleeggsinthestoredpollencells.Thelarvawillcreepoutofthehive,droptotheground,buryandpupateinthesoilbelowthehive.Ifyouhavesandysoilbelow,thatslowstheirprogress.Insomecases,treatingthesoilmightbenecessarythus,seeyourcatalogs.

InmanyhiveshereontheCape,nosmallhivebeetleswerenoteduntilthefeedingofpollenpatties.Feedingjustapiece(1/4to1/3ofa1lbpatty)weeklyisbest.Asseenabove,the¼”larvaisawarningthatthebeetleislurkingandoneshouldremovethiscontaminatedpattyimmediatelyupondiscovery.AndDONOTjustthrowitintothewoods!Placeitinatrashbagtightlyclosed.Theabovepatchoflarvaandpattywentintothesmokerquitequickly.

Beetleblastertrapsareavailablethroughtheclub(2for$3)andwillbemadeavailableattheOctobermeeting.Theyshouldbeplacedbetweenframes1and2and9and10withonetowardsthebackandonetowardsthefrontandfilledwithacheapvegetableoilinwhichthebeetlewilldrownwhenchasedinbythebees.Andhereisanotherinnocuoustreatmentyoumighttry.SomeofthesmallcommercialbeekeepersinthemidwestareusingafewstripsoftheSwifflerunscentedmicrofiberpads.Theyarecutintothinstripsandplacedinthebackofthehiveontheframesorinnercover.Thebeetlesgettheirfeetcaughtandtangledinthefibers.Thebeeschewupfibermaterialandchasethebeetlesintothemass.Justbecarefulastoobigapiececanalsocatchabeeortwo.Andbeagoodneighborasifyourhivecrashes,thebeetlescanmultiplyandwillflymilestoneighboringhives.

Justanotherpesttomakeusbettermanagersoftheapiary!

ClaireDesilets

OATMEALBANANAMUFFINS

ThisrecipewasfeaturedinBetterHomesandGardensmany,manyyearsagobuthasbecomeafamilyfavoriteasabreakfastmuffin,snackordessertcupcake.Whenpreparing,½themixgoesintopapercupsandahandfulofminichocolatechipsgoesintothesecondhalfandpouredintofoilcups.Andtheycomeoutequallygreatwhenyouneedtoconvertthemtoaglutenfreerecipe.JustuseBob’sRedMill1to1flourandtheGFoatmeal.Nutritiousandnofrostingisneeded!!Makes18to24dependingofpansize.Claire

½csugar¾choney1tspbakingsoda

½cbutter1&1/2callpurposeflour¾tspsalt

2eggs1tspbakingpowder1cquickcookingrolledoats

3mediumbananasmashed(1cup)

Inmixerbow,creamtogethersugarandbutter.Beatineggs,bananasandhoney.Stirtogethertheflour,bakingpowder,sodaandsalt.Addtocreamedmixture,beatingjusttillblended.Stirintheoats.Fillmuffinpapers2/3fullwithbatter.Bakein375degovenfor18to20minutes.Removefrompanstocoolonwirerack.

ClaireDesilets

Checkoutourclub’sFacebookpage

https://www.facebook.com/groups/BarnstableCountyBeeA/

DIDYOUKNOW?

Honeybeesusetheirantennaetodetectodor.AccordingtoresearchbytheNationalInstitutesofHealth,publishedinthe"GenomeResearch"journal,honeybeeshave170odorreceptors,orchemoreceptors,intheirantennae.Thisishighforaninsect--fruitflies(Drosophilamelanogaster)have62receptorsandmosquitos(Anophelesgambiae)have79.Thehoneybee’ssenseofsmellissosensitivethatitcandetectthetraceofascentinflight.Thisabilityequipsthebeetoeffectivelyandefficientlylocatepollen-richflowers.Oncethescentisdetectedontheantennae,thebee’shyper-sensitiveolfactorypathprocessestheinformation,enablingthebeetodeterminetherelevanceofthescenttohersearchforpollen.Aswellasforfindingfood,honeybeesusetheirsenseofsmelltolocateotherbees.

http://animals.mom.me/honey-bees-smell-feel-taste-11598.html

CONSIDERJOININGTHEMASSACHUSETTSBEEKEEPINGASSOCIATION

Formoreinformationontheeventandotherstate-widehappenings,youcandownloadtheMassachusettsBeekeepersAssociationnewsletterhere.Asmalloverviewfollowsinthenextpage.

RESOURCES(accurateasof6/16)

Thefollowingofficersanddirectorsareagreatresourcetoanswerquestionsandrequestsforassistance.

Officers

President KalliopeEgloff kalliopeegloff@yahoo.com

VicePresident MichaelD.Smith michaeldgetsmail@gmail.com

Secretary ClaireDesilets beekeepr@gmail.com

Treasurer LynnHeslinga ynneheslinga@gmail.com

Directors

MartheAyers mfoura32@aol.com

RebeccaMatarazzi rebecca.matarazzi@gmail.com

JohnBeach john.a.beach@comcast.net JoeMcClure joegetsmail@gmail.com

MariaCashdollar winter64@aol.com AndyMorris andymorris02553@gmail.com

MelissaCaughey pcmc2000@msn.com BrianO’Donnell bjmdod98@aol.com

PeterCooper brpbc1@gmail.com

MelissaSanderson melissa@capecodfishermen.org

KimberlyConcra klconcra@msn.com LisaSheehy lisasheehy@msn.com

PaulLefebvre lefbvr@gmail.com

MarkSimonitsch fishweirs@capecod.net

JulieLipkin julie.lipkin45@gmail.com

MiguelZamora zamorasmiguel@gmail.com