Minutes for April 2010

April 2010 Meeting
1. 15 members present - 5 visitors
2. Meeting ran by President Benes
3. Official time start was 7:05 pm
4. New visitors -
a. Ray/Stratford
b. Ron/
c. Larry & Marge Carpenter
d. Tim Rusnek's brother
5. email about boy scouts to re-instate beekeeping merit badge
a. looking for mentors to help boy scouts
i. think about it and come back to it
ii. help set up hive for boys and have them take care of it - they do the work
iii. a lot of questions to answer & see how to handle and go forward with it
6. last meeting - teaching materials and presentation
a. went over items
b. do we want to go ahead and get them - give a certain $ limit
c. discussion on getting materials
i. some at fair, presentations, own presentation
ii. all in favor - motion carried.
iii. discussion on amount to spend
1. suggestion is $300.00
2. Bee Biology book suggested - books will be well rounded for all levels
3. Find things to hand out to kids along with card
a. all in favor - motion carried.
7. Swarm list
a. Members willing to sign up
i. members to sign up in quadrants of the state
8. Yellow Jackets & Wasps
a. fall the traps is good.
b. raw chicken or hamburger in water - let it set for 1 day - in Spring
i. this is to get the queens and stop them from making nests
c. beelining to find nests
9. ?s
a. bottle for moths - vinegar/sugar & banana peel - will it hurt bees? - consensus is no.
b. plastic queen cage - similar to wooden one? - candy in tube and cap - pull cap off and suspend in hive
c. comment - had workers put wax on end of cage and wanted to start drawing out comb.
d. cleaning out of feeding jars - when to do it - often is suggested.
e. going away - very hungry bees - what to do? feeder bags, 2 gallon feeders, ziplock bags,
f. 1-1 ratio: 1 cup sugar & 1 cup water to help with feeding
g. 2 - 1 when it getting warmer - going 2 water to 1 sugar
h. in fall go back to 1-1.
i. very active bees - brining in pollen
j. feed sugar water - stimulates brood building
k. feed corn syrup - pack away in fall and better for over wintering
l. corn syrup straight - buy it from bee supplier - high fructose syrup
m. 25 cents/lb - corn syrup.
n. 55 centers/lb - sugar rate right now
o. heated to 100 degrees - corn syrup - produces a toxin -mildly poison with human but very toxic for bees
p. beet sugar vs. cane sugar - difference?
i. beets have been genetically altered?
ii. cane better?
iii. both sucrose?
q. nectar juice for hummingbirds
i. almond extract - bees will stay away
ii. fisher's bee quick
iii. get at beekeeping supplier
iv. put in mister and spray on
v. fisher's bee quick is used sometime in the fall to move bees away to work in harvesting hive, etc.
r. hornets?
i. try chicken trick?
s. Meeting topics:
i. May - splitting of hives is open
t. Ackermann- shared March Bee Culture - Ad - Nozovit - natural treatment for nosema serane -
i. claiming it is good
ii. lower price
iii. feeding in the spring - to focus on
u. bee supplier - not going to try something new without trying
i. doing a comparison on a small yard and a full year test
ii. need to treat - not an option NOT to.
10. Open up queen cage & queen leaves
a. leave hive open, stay in spot
b. after a bit, you can walk away
c. she will use you as visual cue
d. generally she will go back to hive.
11. Meeting Adjourned at 7:45 pm