CARROLL COUNTY BEEKEEPERS ASSOC.

THE CARROLL BEE October 2016

Note – the “Contents” lines are links to within the

Newsletter. Just point and click!

Contents

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE.......................................................... 1

SEPTEMBER MEETING MINUTES ............................................ 2

SECRET SHOPPER ................................................................... 3

WESTMINSTER FALLFEST ....................................................... 4

HONEY SHOW JUDGING CLASS .............................................. 7

OCTOBER TO-DO LIST ............................................................ 8

A HOMEMADE MOUSE GUARD ............................................. 8

SMALL HIVE BEETLES (SHB).................................................... 9

RESULTS OF OA VAPOR TREATMENT FOR MITES ................... 9

DISCOUNT SUBSCRIPTION TO AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL ........ 9

SUBSCRIBE TO BEE CULTURE MAGAZINE ............................... 9

PETITION TO ACE HARDWARE ............................................. 10

US WINTER FORECAST ......................................................... 11

BRUSHY MOUNTAIN BEE FARM DISTRIBUTOR ..................... 12

FOR SALE - CCBA T-SHIRTS ................................................... 13

APIARY MAPPING SITE ......................................................... 13

SAVE THE DATES .................................................................. 14

140 POUND BEE BEARD - A NEW RECORD ........................... 14

CHECK OUT THE CCBA WEBSITE........................................... 15

CCBA FACEBOOK PAGE ........................................................ 15

CCBA 2016 OFFICERS ........................................................... 15

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE By Fred Sypher

The Westminster Fall Fest was another successful event for CCBA thanks to the organizational skills of Brad Criddle, the creative skills of Larry Truchon and Margo, the PayPal skills of Larry Fritz and the support of the many who volunteered their time to staff our booth which, by the way won first place for best decorated booth among the non-profit participants. That means we do not have to pay a Fall Fest entry fee in 2017. Events like Fall Fest give our club a valuable opportunity to get our delicious honey out there for our neighbors to enjoy, and to educate our community about the importance of bees. A round of applause to all club members who participated!

As the weather starts to cool down I will repeat Larry Truchon’s admonition to the membership at the last meeting, “Feed, feed, feed your bees!” Make sure your colonies have adequate food stores to get through the coldest part of winter.

Case in point: Last month I described our backyard hive as appearing to be queenless, due to an absence of eggs and larvae. We were hoping that feeding would reveal the presence of a queen by stimulating egg production. The bees took down a gallon a day of 1:1 sugar syrup and when we opened it up after a week we found lots of larvae. The colony and queen apparently just needed to know there was plenty of external food available. Another lesson reinforced the hard way.

Continued on next page

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President’s message continued from Page 1

We’ve discussed Varroa control at several recent meetings, so I am making a cautious assumption that Varroa is under control in your hives. We will start talking about what to do in early spring when the time is nigh.

At our last meeting, my wife, Darla, and I asked for donations of frames of honey—it can be stored sugar syrup—to help support the observation hive through the winter. Our own bees have been “tithing” since spring to feed this little colony that doesn’t have enough bees or storage space to be self-sufficient. Several members have offered a frame each—thank you!!—and if we could get several more we would be able to set up our “teaching bees” with adequate provisions for winter. We’ll pick up the frames; just make us an offer. Thank you.

November is our annual pot luck dinner and election of officers for the New Year. Now is the time to think about who you want as officers of CCBA. In addition

to officers, we need members to step up and assist with the organizational activities. We don’t want to burn out members who repeatedly volunteer to take the lead on projects. In the near future we are going to relocate the Hashawa apiary and Dave Gallegos is looking for help with that and with the ongoing maintenance of our hives. Brad Criddle has been instrumental in coordinating our booth events but he needs steady support from an expanded group of people that he can call on to help. CCBA is becoming a very popular educational source for schools in Carroll County. We need some more people who can talk about beekeeping during the school day. Larry Fritz just received a request to talk about honey bees to over 500 kids! I have three educational requests on my calendar. If you like talking about beekeeping with kids and you have the time, step up!

See you at the October meeting.

Fred

SEPTEMBER MEETING MINUTES

By Terri Hemelt, Secretary CCBA

The monthly meeting of the CCBA was called to order at 7:30 on September 21 in Bear Branch Nature Center by President Fred Sypher

Club News:

The club is looking for volunteers to help with educational school presentations. If you would like to help, depending on your availability, please send us an email and we will keep you informed as opportunities arise. carrollbeekeepers@gmail.com

A request was made by Darla Tewell for frames of honey to be donated to the Bear Branch Nature Center observation hive. The colony is consuming one medium frame a week and Fred has not been able to convince them to take sugar syrup from a feeder. A frame of sugar syrup honey is fine. Your frame and comb will be returned.

A request for volunteers to help relocate the club apiary. An email will be sent out in October with more details

Larry Fritz mentioned that sugar was on sale at BJ’s for 27 cents /lb. for a 25lb. bag and that honey from Golden Rod and Aster flowers will smell (like dirty socks) or different in the apiary.

Club will be notified if and when Carroll County will be sprayed for mosquitoes.

Continued on next page

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September Meeting Minutes, continued

Upcoming dates to remember:

September 23-25 - Westminster Fall Fest, Longwell Park, Westminster MD

o 20’ x 20’ space

o Volunteers are needed Friday September 23rd, 6-10 PM, Saturday 24t,h 10AM - 4 PM and 4 PM -10PM, and Sunday 25th, 12PM – 6PM

o Games will be played and prizes given away

Oct 15 – Fall Harvest Days @ Carroll County Farm Museum, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm

o Educate public about bees

o Volunteers are welcome

Dr. Steven Cook from USDA Agriculture Research Service, Beltsville Maryland, was our guest speaker this month.

Some of the Research Projects he discussed were:

Managing Honey Bees Against Disease and Colony Stress

Manage bees for better health

Disease diagnosis Lab and what they check for

Biology and Control of the Parasitic Mites Varroa and Improving our Understanding of Exotic Pathogens of Honey Bees

The importance of good nutrition and gut health gut of Honey Bees

For additional information visit: https://www.ars.usda.gov

Bill Hemelt talked about the process of using Oxalic Acid, and the importance of using the correct respirator.

Meeting was adjourned at 9:30. The next general meeting will be at 7:30 on October 19, 2016, at Bear Branch Nature Center.

SECRET SHOPPER Submitted by the Secret Shopper Team

Today the Secret Shopper visited a local warehouse store and found 25# bags of sugar for an unbelievable $6.79. That is 27 cents a pound. He has never seen sugar priced this low in his half of a decade of Beekeeping! Not being sure how long it

will be available at this price, he decides to stock up. Of course he got the usual smart remarks from other customers asking him about his sweet tooth or if he has a still.

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WESTMINSTER FALLFEST Awesome volunteers!! (listed in no particular order)

Brad Criddle & wife Twilah

Allen Hayes

Reed & Deb Muse

Larry Fritz

Larry Truchon

Margo Cocchetto

Joel Kaufman

Ed & Laura Fuller

Chris Gunther

Connie Young & son William

Steve & Clara Kolar

Fred Sypher

Victoria Isaac

Megan & Kyle Perry

Gary Pohlner

Bill & Terri Hemelt and granddaughter Hailee

Mike Kehs

Richard Lord

Andrea Appleby-Sigler & daughter Emily

Dave Gallegos

Anna Poladian-Prior & son Emory

Trisha Ellis

Alexa Zelina

Mike & Donna Stecker

Sam Green & son Kyler

The Bill and Terri’s Granddaughter Hailee

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Side view showing 2nd tent with Observation Hive. There was lots of interest and a couple of dozen families signed up to for a reminder email about the February Short Course.

Front View of Booth

The CCBA Booth won 1st place for non-profits! The prize - $50 entry fee will be waived next year

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“This year’s event set a sales record. For the first time in our clubs history we took credit cards as a form of payment and had increased overall gross sales of 15% over 2015. 4-H sales were down this year versus last (and we did not take credit cards). FallFest is a different type of venue than the 4-H fair and sales may have been equal to or better than 2015 even without credit sales, but I doubt it.” Brad Criddle, Events Committee Chair

Margo & Larry brought their friend Buzz to help at the booth. The children thought he was awesome, but one couple’s large dog growled and almost attacked the poor fellow.

Connie Young’s son Will helped out, along with Anna’s son Emory, and the Hemelt’s granddaughter Hailee

Margo did an amazing job of decorating the 5-frame Observation Hive. Schoolchildren will especially enjoy the fruits of her labor when we visit their classrooms.

Sam Green’s son Kyle volunteered to babysit with Buzz when he wasn’t helping at the corn-hole game.

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HONEY SHOW JUDGING CLASS Submitted by Allen Hayes, President, MSBA

The Maryland State Beekeepers Association is pleased to announce that a Honey Show Judging Class is being offered on Saturday, October 29 at The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHU/APL) Building 200, 11101 Johns Hopkins Road, Laurel, MD 20723. The fee is $45 and the session is limited to 35. You must be an MSBA member to register, $10.00 for one year, $200.00 lifetime.

The class will be taught by trained and experienced judges, including Cybil Preston, David Morris, Bill McGiffin, Bart Smith and Lindsay Barranco and will be based on the American style of honey show judging. Students will receive a copy of James Thompson’s A Handbook for Honey Judges and Beekeepers Exhibiting Hive Products and will be able to handle equipment such

as refractometers, polariscopes, and similar items. Atago Instrument Company is sending a demo refractometer for demonstration purposes, and a polariscope built by Bill McGiffin will be raffled.

This class will not certify you as a Maryland Judge but we plan to cover all of the basics about judging for folks who may wish to pursue judging certification and for anyone interested in learning how to improve honey show entries. Honey show superintendents are welcome as well.

Registration information can be found on the MSBA website at www.mdbeekeepers.org

You can register online and pay via PayPal or use the USPS, if you prefer.

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OCTOBER TO-DO LIST

You do not have to join Dropbox in order to view the referenced articles.

Install mouse guards.

Entrance reducers – opening side up

Screened bottom boards reduced but NOT closed

Insert 1 inch thick foam insulation board in telescoping cover. Cut to exact size and press in place. Leave in year

around to provide protection from the hot summer sun. Purchase the pink, green, or blue insulation board. Do

not use the white foam boards that easily crumbles.

Protect hives from cold North & Northwest winds: relocate, don’t forget the 3 foot or 3 mile rule, or add

windbreak. If possible, hive should face South to Southeast to maximize solar heating.

Reposition supers. The brood cluster should be in the bottom box with honey in the top boxes.

Provide an upper entrance in the top box, either as part of the inner cover or in a shim under the inner cover.

Colonies should have 40 to 60 pounds of stored honey, the more the better in the event of a prolonged cold

spring. If necessary, feed 2:1 sugar syrup. That’s 2 pounds of sugar to a pint of water. Put the sugar in a large

container. Bring the water almost to a boil in another container and pour it into the sugar. Stir until all sugar is

dissolved.

Randy Oliver: click here for complete article (reprinted with permission from ABJ)

o “Remember that in a winter cluster, the bees can only form a relatively solid mass if they are on empty

drawn combs, with the empty cells filled by head-in bees.”

o “But where winters are more severe, a core of empty drawn comb low in the hive may be of

importance.”

o “What I’ve found is that if the second brood chamber is wall-to-wall honey, that the cluster moves up

into it more readily if at least one of the center frames has a patch of dark drawn comb.”

Check out these Winter Prep articles. If you do not have time to read the entire articles, skim the highlighted

portions.

o Winter Prep - Larry Conner_2016

o Winter Prep - Frame Arrangement_ABJ 2016

o Winter Prep - by Phil Craft

o Winter Prep - Allen Hayes_2015

A HOMEMADE MOUSE GUARD Cut from ½ inch hardware cloth and thumbtack over the entrance. If you are using a notched entrance reducer, be certain to position the wire mesh to allow an adequate opening for bees to enter and exit through the mesh.

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SMALL HIVE BEETLES (SHB) Some CCBA members are experiencing high levels of small hive beetles, and some weak colonies have been lost to this pest. Here are a couple of good references if you are having problems. These are links to the editor’s Dropbox folder. It is not necessary to join Dropbox to view the articles.

SHB - Traps

SHB -Charles Linden_Bee Culture_Mar2015

RESULTS OF OA VAPOR TREATMENT FOR MITES This shows two squares of a grid-printed removable bottom board showing mite-fall after one treatment of OA vapor.

DISCOUNT SUBSCRIPTION TO AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL One year-$28. Mention that you are a member of CCBA and the discount price is $21. This is applies to renewals as well as new subscriptions. Stop by the Carroll County Public Library for a look at this excellent magazine.

Phone 888-922-1293

http://americanbeejournal.com/

SUBSCRIBE TO BEE CULTURE MAGAZINE 1 year of the print edition for $25. Stop by the Carroll County Public Library for a look at this excellent magazine.

Click here.

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PETITION TO ACE HARDWARE From: Smart on Pesticides Maryland <sopc.petitions@gmail.com> Date: Thu, Sep 22, 2016 at 11:00 AM Subject: Tell Ace Hardware & other MD retailers: Stop selling bee-killing plants!

Tell Maryland's Ace Hardware and other retailers if they want to keep their customers, they need to stop selling plants treated with bee-killing pesticides. Sign the petition now. (The following petition letter is addressed to Ace Hardware, however it will also be used for other Maryland retailers and nurseries.) Some Good News: Sales of bee-killing neonicotinoid-treated plants are decreasing across the U.S., thanks to so many of you adding your voices to urging Home Depot and Lowes to label their neonic-containing plants--it has resulted in some success. However: The recent Friends of the Earth study found bee-killing pesticides in "bee-friendly" labelled plants are still being sold at top retailers, including Ace Hardware. A new poll shows 51% of Americans are more likely to shop at retailers who formally committed to eliminate bee-killing pesticides. Let these Maryland Big Box stores know we plan to vote with our wallets! Please take a moment to sign this petition now. Don't miss a thing -- follow the action on Facebook and Twitter (@PesticidesSmart) for news about pesticides and what you can do to help bees and pollinators survive and thrive!

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The US WINTER FORECAST Frequent Snow to Blast Northeast; Freeze May Damage Citrus Crop in South Courtesy of AccuWeather

AccuWeather Global Weather Center - September 28, 2016 - AccuWeather reports it will feel like an extended winter for those living from the northern Plains to the eastern U.S., as cold and snowy conditions stretch into spring 2017. Meanwhile, drier and milder weather will focus on the majority of the southern half of the nation. The Southeast may mark the exception as a chilly January threatens to damage the region's citrus crop.

Frequent storms to bring above-normal snowfall to northeastern US. Frequent storms across the northeastern U.S. this winter may lead to an above-normal season for snowfall. "I think the Northeast is going to see more than just a few, maybe several, systems in the course of the season," AccuWeather Long-Range Forecaster Paul Pastelok said. Unlike last season, in which most of winter's snowfall came from a few heavy-hitting storms, this winter will last into the early or middle part of spring and will feature frequent snow events. According to Pastelok, accumulation may be limited in areas south of New York City, such as Philadelphia, D.C. and Baltimore. These areas will see a handful of changeover systems, where falling snow transitions to rain and sleet. "But still, Boston, Hartford, along the coastal areas up into Connecticut and southern New England, they can still have a fair amount of snow," he said. Overall, it's predicted that the region will total a below-normal number of subzero days, though the temperature will average 3-5 degrees Fahrenheit lower than last year. Damaging freeze may threaten citrus crop in southeastern US Winter will slowly creep into the Southeast this season, as very mild air hangs on throughout the month of December. However, the new year will usher in a pattern change as a sudden burst of cold air penetrates the region. "I am afraid that we have a shot at seeing a damaging freeze in central Florida in mid- to late January this year," Pastelok said. The chill could spell disaster for the area's citrus farmers.

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BRUSHY MOUNTAIN BEE FARM DISTRIBUTOR

MARYLAND HONEY COMPANY, Inc.

BRUSHY MOUNTAIN BEE FARM DISTRIBUTOR

FULL SERVICE BEEKEEPING SUPPLIER

WOODENWARE

(TEN FRAME OR EIGHT FRAME)

(UN-ASSEMBLED OR ASSEMBLED)

(ENGLISH GARDEN HIVES)

FOUNDATION PROTECTIVE GEAR

(PLASTIC OR WAX) (BEE SUITS, VEILS, GLOVES)

BEEKEEPER TOOLS FEEDS & MEDICATIONS

(HIVE TOOLS, SMOKERS, ETC.)

EXTRACTING EQUIPMENT

(EXTRACTORS, UNCAPPING TANKS AND TOOLS)

HONEY CONTAINERS

(PLASTIC AND GLASS)

WE DON’T STOCK IT ALL, BUT WE CAN GET IT

STORE LOCATION:

6910 DAMASCUS ROAD

GAITHERSBURG, MD 20882

301-518-9678

marylandhoneycompany2011@gmail.com

Pricing is Brushy Mountain Catalog + 8% mark-up and sales tax

STORE HOURS:

Now:

SUNDAYS 10-4

TUESDAYS 12-5

Starting March 1

SUNDAYS 10-5

TUESDAYS 12-7

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FOR SALE - CCBA T-SHIRTS

(Navy Blue shown)

Short-sleeved navy blue club t-shirts will still be available at meetings or by arrangement with Anna Prior if you can't make it to the meeting. However, some members have expressed interest in having other colors to choose from. To make these alternate colors available with as little fuss as possible, Anna will have a sign-up sheet where you can choose one of two colors (or both!) and your size. Payment will be in advance. Cost depends on how many shirts are ordered but it should be around $20-22.

Long-sleeved options are also available.

The special order color choices are as follows:

Short-sleeve - Heather Cardinal http://www.customink.com/lab?PK=04661 and Prairie Dust http://www.customink.com/lab?PK=04625

Long-sleeve - Navy (same as our short-sleeve club shirts) and Military Green http://www.customink.com/lab?PK=06133%20 (a darker version of Prairie Dust)

Anna will have samples of the Prairie Dust and Heather Cardinal with the sign-up sheet.

APIARY MAPPING SITE By Larry Truchon

We are building an apiary mapping site for our club members. It will show the appropriate location of participating member's apiaries with one, two and three mile rings. Only participating members will have access. To join please send:

Apiary name (example: Wild Acre Apiary)

Closest cross streets

Number of colonies (not Nucs)

Zip Code

Send above data to larrytruchon@gmail.com

If you are a first year member without bees this year, send info with 0 number of colonies.

You will be sent log in info after you are entered into the database.

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SAVE THE DATES

Saturday, October 15 - Fall Harvest Days @ Carroll County Farm Museum, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm

Wednesday, October 19 - CCBA Monthly Meeting at Bear Branch Nature Center Speaker Bill Sprenkle Log Cabin Bee Farms

Saturday, November 12 - Maryland State Beekeepers Association Fall Meeting, Elections and Honey Show

Wednesday, November 16 - Pot Luck Dinner and CCBA Annual Elections

140 POUND BEE BEARD - A NEW RECORD “Bee bearding” is a carnival act thought to date back to the 19th century. Performers place a queen bee on their bodies which then attracts thousands of the flying insects.

Liangming (China) successfully set a record for the heaviest mantle of bees, which weighed a daunting 63.7 kg (140 lb 6.95 oz) and consisted of approximately 637,000 individual insects, including a terrifying 60 queens.

Ruan’s challenge took place outside on the co-filming set of "CCTV-Guinness World Records Special" and "Lo Show Dei Record" in Fengxin County, Yichun City, Jiangxi Province, China, with official adjudicators Angela Wu and Lisa Hoffman on hand to verify the attempt - from a safe distance.

The experienced entertainer explained to Guinness World Records: “The challenger must keep calm when dealing with bees. Bees will die once they sting you, so they usually avoid stinging unless they think you’re threatening them. If you notice bees are in an ‘unsteady’ mood, you need to figure out the reason quickly or stop the record attempt.”

Editor – it’s a good thing that none of those “terrifying Queens” decided to get this guy.

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CHECK OUT THE CCBA WEBSITE

www.carrollcountybeekeepers.org/

Send emails to: carrollbeekeepers@gmail.com

CCBA FACEBOOK PAGE

Check us out on Facebook by searching for Carroll County Beekeepers Association. Join the page to post photos, articles, ask questions, etc. Anyone can view.

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CCBA 2016 OFFICERS

President Fred Sypher frsy4@outlook.com

Vice President Larry Truchon ltruchon@comcast.net

Treasurer Jody King joseph.king2011@comcast.net

Secretary Terri Hemelt themelt58@gmail.com

The Carroll Bee Editor Larry Fritz lfritz44@gmail.com