President’s Letter

                                                                                                            David Edhegard

My fellow beekeepers, Spring 2010 is finally in sight.  Here’s to hoping that all of your hives survived this rather frosty and extended winter.  For the first time that I can remember we got four inches of snow in this area of Alabama.  I’ve been here since 1984 and am told that the last time we had snow like that was 1982.  In any case, it has been an unusually cold winter and, it seems, a longer winter although officially it started the same day as all the past winters.  I for one am glad to see the approaching spring and the winter pass on.

This past month’s meeting was great and the presentations enjoyable.  I believe that attendance was higher than most recent meetings with many visitors and new members.  I encourage everyone to check to see that your dues aren’t due.  Unless you are certain, check with John and avoid the surprise.

Now to the scramble to catch-up on those things that I didn’t think about this past winter.  I’m sure that there are some “gotcha’s” that we will all find as we venture into this seasons beekeeping odyssey.  I’d say that if you are on the swarm list, take a look at your equipment.  I plan to start carrying my swarm equipment in my vehicle as I never know when the opportunity will knock.

If there’s anything that Bill can help you with let me know.  Just kidding.  Please call one of us if you have a need and I’m sure that we can pool our time and knowledge to help those in need, especially the new members.

I hope to see everyone at this month’s meeting.

David

The Editor adds:

            In addition to the regular membership, this month’s Wired Bee also goes out to those who expressed an interest in this year’s Beginning Beekeeping course.  Consider it to be an invitation to out March Wiregrass Beekeepers Association meeting, featuring plenty of bee-related talk, and the best potluck supper in the Wiregrass area.   Hopefully, we can persuade our “newbees” to join our group.  Dues are only $7.00/year.

            Normally I like to run a honey recipe on the back page of the Wired Bee, but Ros Horton made something this month that is simply too good for words, and a fitting statement for this winter.  What is it, you ask?  You’ll find it on the back page.

                                                                                                                                    Bill

All monthly meetings feature our famous potluck supper.    The March door prize will be from Maynard D. Watts.

Thursday, March 4                            Regular Monthly Meeting

7 pm                                                    Houston County Farm Center

                                                            Hives in Springtime

Even though the weather outside might not feel like Spring, right now the bees are in the middle of their buildup for the nectar flow (which will start in about 6 weeks).

We will discuss getting a good Spring buildup, preventing most swarms, catching those swarms that will happen anyway, and making splits.

Thursday, April 4                               Regular Monthly Meeting

7 pm                                                    Houston County Farm Center

                                                            Supering – Getting the Honey Crop                                    

Beginning Beekeeping Course

Houston County Farm Center, 7 PM

March 2: Biology 1 - The Three Types of Bees

            The bees in a colony come in three basic types – worker, drone, and queen.  We’ll discuss each type’s unique biology, life cycle, and functions.

March 9: Biology 2 - The Colony as a Unit

            We’ll discuss how the three types of bees form a working colony, and how the colony varies with the year depending on what is needed and what is available.

March 16: The Beekeeper's Year and Bee Diseases

            We’ll cover how a colony varies with the season and how the beekeeper deals with each season.  We’ll also cover Alabama registration requirements and common bee diseases.  Guest speaker will be our local apiary inspector Randy Hamann.

April 3: Field Session with the Landmark Hives (12 noon, protective gear required!)

            We’ll suit up, light smokers, and go inspect the hives at Landmark Park, emphasizing proper hive working procedure.  We’ll find the three types of bees, and probably a few unwelcome pests too.  We’ll also start a colony by hiving a package.

March Hiveworks

                                                                                                            Bill Miller

The March Hive

            The March hive can vary a lot.  Some of the colonies can be bursting with bees and may be beginning swarm preparations.  I have a few of those.  Other colonies can be in the “weak” category and just beginning to build up.  I have a few of those too.  Other things that can vary include the food stores (all the way from looking ready to repeat a winter to virtually nonexistent), and the general colony temperament (everything from quite defensive toward everything near to really quite docile).  I have a few colonies in each category, which is quite an accomplishment considering I only have 8 colonies just now.  So the thing you have to do is first inspect your colonies and find out what you have.  Expect a good amount of variation.

            An important point to remember is that the bees that are larvae now are going to be the foragers during the nectar flow – in other words, the bees that will produce your honey crop.

Feeding

            With the yellow mustard and dandelion in bloom you would expect the colonies are now self-sufficient in food gathering.  While the blooms are out there, the recent weather has not been conducive to bee foraging.  Accordingly, you may have to feed.  This time of year, I will feed 1/1 sugar syrup to simulate a nectar flow and stimulate the queen to lay more eggs.  More eggs mean more foragers for the honey crop. However, feeding is a tricky business, because if you get too many bees the colony will swarm and your foraging bees will be gone.  Accordingly, I don’t feed large colonies unless they are just about out of food stores (less than three frames equivalent of food stores).

Swarm Prevention - reversing

            The simplest of the swarm prevention methods is reversing.  Right now, the bees are mostly in the upper part of the colony, with the lower part empty.  Since bees colonies expand upward, reversing the colony boxes to put the brood nest below the empty comb will give the bees room to expand their nest without the congestion that causes the bees to go into swarm mode.

Equipment Assembly

            I spent the bulk of this afternoon assembling my 2010 bee equipment order, and I plan on painting it over the course of the week.  That will give the paint time to cure before the equipment is put into service.  I have learned through experience that you should allow painted equipment at least a month of curing before putting it into use.  More time is better.

            Remember, you should have at least 10% of your gear available as spares ready to use.  That way, when a swarm comes you will have a hive for them.

                                                                                                            Ros’s Beekeeping Snowman

The Wired Bee

Wiregrass Beekeepers Association

2991 Eddins Rd.

Dothan, AL 36301

e-mail: wgmiller@aol.com

President’s Page

                                                                                                                        Dave Edhegard

 Many thanks to all those that attended and participated in our first meeting of 2010.  It was good to see some new faces, and some old ones as well.  The food was great as usual and the meeting productive.  If anyone was not able to attend we will continue where we left off so try to make this month's meeting if you are able.  Please try to work on your profile and send it to Bill, e-mail or snail mail or bring it to him at one of the meetings.  He's an excellent typist and will quickly have it in his word processor!Now is the time to begin preparations for this springs honey harvest.  I am personally upgrading some of my hives and building new boxes in anticipation of adding a few to my apiary.  The bees weren't too appreciative when I put new covers on yesterday and showed it with a goodbye sting.  When they stung me I said good-bye.  I'll wait for a day with better weather!

I will be asking Bill to give a short presentation on hiving a package and combining two weak hives.  
I'm hoping that he will do that this coming meeting so bring all your questions with you as this will 
be a good opportunity to learn from a master.

               Regards to all,

               David

From the Editor

                                                                                                                        Bill Miller

            Fortunately, I won’t be the only draw at the February meeting.  Those of you who get American Bee Journal have seen the work of Cecil Hicks.  He writes about local beekeepers he meets in his travels across the country.  Somehow or other, he decided to profile me.  When he called me, I quickly convinced him he would have a better story if he profiled all of us in the local beekeeping scene.  Cecil will be attending our February meeting, and he will tell us about his work.  February meeting’s door prize will be donated by Dr. Arango and his family. 

            I also convinced Cecil to come to Auburn on Saturday (Feb. 6) to meet the rest of the Alabama beekeepers.  I’ve gone every year since I moved down here, and the conference has gotten better and better with time.  If you didn’t register already, you can register at the door.   The conference runs all day, with lunch will be provided by the Alabama Beekeepers Association.  Vendors will also be there to show their latest and greatest, which you can get with no shipping charge.

            And lastly our Beginning Beekeeping course starts on Feb. 23.  Tell all your friends.

The Beekeeper’s Calendar

Thursday, February 4                        Regular Monthly Meeting

7 pm                                                    Houston County Farm Center

                                                            Cecil Hicks, Beekeeping Author

                                                            Hiving a Package and Combining Hives

Cecil Hicks profiles beekeepers for the American Bee Journal.  He will talk a bit about the fascinating people he has met in his travels.  He will also be talking with us for an article about local beekeepers.

Also, people think hiving a package and combining hives are tricky operations.  They are really quite simple.  We will demonstrate.

Other Dates of Note

Saturday, February 6             Annual Beekeeping Symposium

                                                            Auburn University, Auburn, AL

Need a ride to this?  We will be organizing carpools.

Also, the Alabama Beekeeping Association’s board will be discussing Alabama’s “closed border” law and whether or not it should be changed.  We have agreed we want an open border.  Now is the time to lobby for it.

Tuesday February 23 Beginning Beekeeping Course

7 pm                                        Houston County Farm Center

Announcements

Ros has set up a Facebook page for the Wiregrass Beekeepers Association, and so far the page has about 30 fans.  If you become a fan of that page, you can follow the news of the club without having to wait for the monthly Wired Bee.  For others, it increases the visibility of the club.  Spread the word about that page to your friends.

Ros will be bringing a number of her gift baskets to our meeting, and will be selling them for 25% off their normal price.  They make great Valentine’s day gifts for that special someone.

Do you have propolis-encrusted equipment that needs cleaning?  Ros will clean it for you and only asks that you let her keep the propolis.

The directors of Poplar Head were very pleased to hear that Wiregrass Beekeepers Association will be participating in the Farmer's Market this summer.  

February Hiveworks

                                                                                                            Bill Miller

An Overview

            February is the month when the colonies transition from the winter survival mode to the spring buildup and nectar gathering mode.  Brood rearing increases and the colony population grows.  Food consumption also increases, and this is offset by some of the early nectar/pollen flows (dandelion, mustard and the like).  The net effect is colony stores will no longer decrease at a rapid rate as they did in the depths of winter.  Some colonies will even increase their stores (especially pollen stores).

            Towards the end of the month, some of the stronger colonies will be making preparations for March swarming.

            The February weather has many periods that allow detailed hive inspections and maintenance.

Food Stores

            As always, if you find a colony with lest than 3 frames equivalent of food stores, you should promptly feed it.  I’m still going to use 2/1 sugar syrup for that purpose.

            Based on my personal observations, I don’t feed pollen substitutes to my colonies.  If anything, the bees bring in too much pollen and plug up their combs with it (see the next item).

Pollen Bound

            When you examine your colonies, you may find frames that are filled with stored pollen.  Since fresh pollen is generally available, the bees don’t use this stored pollen and it simply takes up space in the hive.  How bad can this get?  I’ve found colonies that had effectively 3 frames available for brood rearing – the rest was all stored pollen and basically useless to the bees.

I remove frames filled with stored pollen, and replace them with empty drawn comb frames.  The empty cells will give the colony space to grow.

You can get the same situation with too much food (honey) stores.  I replace those frames too, but with a difference.  While pollen-bound frames get discarded, I save the surplus honey frames for later in the spring when I make up nucs and hive swarms.  Each of these new colonies gets a frame of honey.

Cruddy Equipment

            So you went to inspect one of your colonies, and one of the boxes broke apart when you lifted it?   I trust you have a spare box available.

Bee equipment doesn’t last forever.  While you make your colony inspections, look at your hive equipment and make replacements as needed before the stuff breaks at an awkward moment.

I like to keep at least 10% of my equipment as ready spares.  Don’t have spare equipment? Buy some at the Auburn Symposium.

Classic Honey Mustard Dressing

                                                                                                            The National Honey Board

Makes 2-1/2 cups

• 1-1/4 cups fat-free mayonnaise
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1 Tablespoon vinegar
• 2/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon onion flakes
• 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 2 Tablespoons prepared mustard

In small bowl, whisk together all ingredients until blended. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

President’s Page

                                                                                                                        Dave Edhegard

Dear Members,

I hope that everyone had a wonderful and joy-filled Christmas and here’s wishing you a happy New Year, belated if you get this after the first.

I begin by thanking all of you that had a hand in the Christmas banquet.  For those that may have missed the December meeting, you missed some great food and fellowship.  Thanks also to those that stayed afterward and took part in the clean-up.

As your newly elected(!) president I wish to thank all of those that supported me in the hard-fought election, although the hard-fought might be an overstatement.  Being that as it is, I would like to introduce myself and my beekeeping background.  I am a beekeeping novice that has had bees for 4 years.  I got into beekeeping when we moved to the country and found that we had bees in one of the walls of the farmhouse.  I wanted to get them out without killing them and contacted Phillip Carter.  That started my journey and has led me to where I am now, where you, my friends and fellow beekeepers all have place me.  I am nowhere near the caliber beekeeper of my predecessors and most of you.  As far as personally, I have been married to my wife, Marsha (your secretary), for 33 years and we have 4 children.  I am retired Army and have lived in Ozark since 1985, having moved to the country just outside Ozark about 4 years ago.  I am a Christian and received Jesus Christ as my Saviour when I was 15 years old.  I place my faith in his righteousness alone and I encourage others to do the same.  As best I can, I order my life according to Ecclesiastes 12:13.  Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.

As far as the Wiregrass Beekeepers Association I see little need for changing what we do but have some ideas on how we do them.  Some goals I would like to set before you are:

1.        Start organizing sooner for events such as the Honey Festival and the Peanut Festival and persuade more to participate in the events.

2.       Persuade members that have been inactive to return to an active role, especially in making the meetings.

3.       Have more instructional oriented meeting presentations so that the inexperienced beekeepers (like me) will have a better idea of how to do what and when to do it.

None of this is meant to take away from the prior leadership for they have established and built the Wiregrass Beekeepers Association into what it is and for that they each deserve credit.

I close by asking that everyone to give me the help in performing that which needs to be done; have patience with me while I learn; help and encourage others; and make all the meetings that you can.  Although growing just for the sake of more members isn’t much of a goal, we can grow for the purpose of having more beekeepers in this area and for the benefit of these remarkably wonderful creatures that we are blessed to keep.  If each family can introduce beekeeping to another person we can not only grow in membership but introduce others to a wonderful and sometimes profitable pastime.

 David Edhegard

Network Administrator

Construction Partners, Inc.

kdedhegard@constructionpartners.net

(334) 673-9763 (Office)

The Beekeeper’s Calendar

Thursday, January 14              Regular Monthly Meeting

7 pm                                                    Houston County Farm Center

                                                            Gadget Night

So, what have you invented to make your beekeeping easier?  Don’t keep it to yourself – bring it along for the rest of us to admire.

Thursday, February 4                        Regular Monthly Meeting

7 pm                                                    Houston County Farm Center

            Program to be announced

Other Dates of Note

Saturday, February 6             Annual Beekeeping Symposium

                                                            Auburn University, Auburn, AL

This symposium grows in attendance every year because it has always been worth the effort to attend.  More information will be coming in the next Stinger.

Tuesday February 23 (tentative)      Beginning Beekeeping Course

7 pm                                                    Houston County Farm Center

This is our annual beginner’s course, and it will run for 4 evening sessions on Tuesday nights and a Saturday field session at Landmark Park.  Talk this up with your interested friends.

January Hiveworks

                                                                                                                        Bill Miller

The January Hive

            The January hive is in full winter mode.  Even though the usual January weather around here will permit some bee flight during the day, for the most part the bees will bee clustered in their colony.  Said cluster should be between a soccer ball and a basketball in size, and wile the temperature outside the cluster can be below freezing, the temperature inside the cluster will be quite comfortable for the bees.  Some brood rearing will have started, and this brood rearing will pick up toward the end of the month as the hive begins to switch from winter survival to spring buildup mode.

What Not to Do

            One of the rules about opening a colony is “When in doubt, don’t”.  That rule applies doubly in winter, as if you break up the cluster in a wintering colony, the bees may cool to the point where they will be unable to reassemble the cluster.  That colony will probably freeze to death.  So resist the urge to dive into your colonies and rip them apart doing an inspection.

Winter Inspection

            Most frequently, my winter colony inspections consist of putting my ear on the side of the colony and listening for the buzzing that tells me the colony is still alive.        You will recall that the colony cluster starts winter out at the bottom of the hive then eats its way through the stores up the hive.   This upward progression continues until the colony reaches the top of the hive and therefore runs out of available stores.

To see if a colony cluster has reached the top of the hive, I lift the outer cover of a colony to see if the bees are going through the hole in the inner cover.   If I find a circle of bees more than a few inches in diameter on top off the inner cover, the cluster has reached the top of the hive.  I will mark that colony as needing feeding.

Winter Feeding

            January feeding for me is 2/1 sugar syrup (1 gallon = 7 pounds of sugar dissolved in 3 ½ pints of water).  Use your favorite feeding method to deliver the feed.  You probably won’t be able to drive the cluster back down in the colony, but you will ensure the colony won’t starve to death.

Winter Gear Work

            Now is the time to build the woodenware (boxes and frames) you will need in the spring.  One caveat here – don’t work with wax foundation in the cold.  Cold makes wax foundation brittle and virtually impossible to handle.  However, the same cold also makes propolis brittle and easy to remove from equipment, so if you have some cleanup scraping to do, now is the time.       

Apricot Glazed Chicken

                                                                                                            The National Honey Board

Makes 6 to 8 servings

• 1 (4 to 5 lb.) roasting chicken
• 1 cup seedless red or green grapes
• 4 Tablespoons honey
• 1 can (16 oz.) apricot halves in syrup
• 1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
• 2 teaspoons seasoned salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 cup dry white wine

Rinse chicken in cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Stuff body cavity with 1 cup grapes that have been tossed with 2 Tablespoons honey. Tie legs close to body and fold wing tips back or secure with skewers or twine. Place chicken breast side up on rack in shallow roasting pan. Drain apricot halves, reserving syrup. Set aside 6 halves for garnish. Process remaining apricots in blender with melted butter, seasoned salt and pepper and remaining 2 Tablespoons honey. Brush over chicken. Pour wine and 1/4 cup apricot syrup in bottom of pan. Cover chicken loosely with tent of aluminum foil. Roast at 350°F for 1-3/4 to 2 hours or until chicken is tender. Baste occasionally with pan drippings to glaze. Remove foil during last 30 minutes of roasting. Serve chicken on platter garnished with clusters of green grapes and apricot halves.

The Wired Bee

Wiregrass Beekeepers Association

2991 Eddins Road

Dothan, AL 36301

e-mail: wgmiller@aol.com or kdedhegard@constructionpartners.net

December 2009

President’s Page

                                                                                                                        Bill Miller

            First off, many thanks for all the prayers, cards, visits, food, and other expressions of concern that we have gotten to speed Mary’s healing.  You will be pleased to learn Mary was indeed discharged from HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital on Nov. 12, and is now back home.  She still goes back there three times a week for outpatient physical therapy, and is progressing nicely.  Present projections are for her to be able to live without a constant assistant in mid February.  Mary is definitely the type that will bounce back to essentially full rated power.

            As for myself, this will be the last time I write the “President’s Page”, as we will be electing a new slate of officers at our banquet on December 3.  While I have enjoyed being president, I think a new leader will do the club good.  Mary is also retiring as secretary.

            As for the banquet itself, we will have our usual “best in the Wiregrass” potluck supper.  Ros is arranging program, and given the programs she has done for the banquet in the past, we will be in for a treat.

            Ros has also gotten lucky and come across a cache of suitable door prizes for the banquet.  I won’t tell you what they are, but I can assure you 1) they are useful in beekeeping (indeed I use them), 2) they appeal to my sense of humor, and 3) they are “green” in the sense of being recycled material.  What are they, you ask?  You’ll just have to come to the banquet and find out.

            2010 is just around the corner, and there are already a few beekeeping items to keep in mind.  Dr. Tew’s annual Auburn Beekeeping Symposium is coming up on February 6, and the preliminary program looks quite interesting.  I’ll be looking at the “Raising and Replacing Queens” section of the program myself, but there are topics for everyone.  Also, vendors will be there, and if you place an order for stuff with them in advance, you can pick it up at the symposium without shipping charges.

            Also coming up will be our annual Beginning Beekeepers course, which I will tentatively schedule to start on Tuesday, Feb. 23, and runs for 4 consecutive Tuesday nights plus a field session at Landmark Park.  The objective of this course is to cover all the thinks a beginner needs to know to start colonies and get them successfully through the first year.   We had a lot of interest shown at our Peanut Festival educational booth, and I look forward to meeting many of those folks at our course.  The course is free, and please talk it up with your friends.

            And that is pretty much it for my Presidency of the Wiregrass Beekeepers.   Rest assured I will not fade into the mist.

The Beekeeper’s Calendar

Thursday, Dec. 3                                Regular Monthly Meeting

7 pm                                                    Houston County Farm Center

                                                            Our Annual Banquet

                                                            Election of Officers

This is our annual party meeting, featuring good food, good companionship, and an minimum of club business.  In fact the only real item on the business agenda is the election of officers for next year, and that doesn’t take very long.  Ros is putting together the program, so it will be a good one.

Thursday, January 7              Regular Monthly Meeting

7 pm                                                    Houston County Farm Center

            Program to be announced

Other Dates of Note

Saturday, February 6             Annual Beekeeping Symposium

                                                            Auburn University, Auburn, AL

This symposium grows in attendance every year because it has always been worth the effort to attend.  More information will be coming in the next Stinger.

Tuesday February 23 (tentative)      Beginning Beekeeping Course

7 pm                                                    Houston County Farm Center

This is our annual beginner’s course, and it will run for 4 evening sessions on Tuesday nights and a Saturday field session at Landmark Park.  Talk this up with your interested friends.

And Lastly

While I usually don’t publicize specific commercial undertakings, Brushy Mountain (http://www.brushymountainbeefarm.com) is offering free shipping on orders > $100 placed on Cyber Monday (Nov. 30), and that information is simply too good to keep to myself.   Some other restrictions apply (e.g.; no glassware).  You can call them at 1-800-beeswax (1-800-233-7929) to get the details.

December Hiveworks

                                                                                                            Bill Miller

The December Colony

            The colony is in survival mode, both for warmth and for food.  Very little nectar will be coming in, although around the area you will find some nectar bearing plants in bloom (from my observations, mostly dandelions and wild mustard).  Most Wiregrass days will be warm enough for some flight activity.  In the hive, brood rearing is nearly (but not completely) nonexistent, and the same holds true for drones.  The bees will be spending most of their time in their winter cluster for warmth.  Break up that cluster during cold weather, and the colony will likely be unable to re-form the cluster and will therefore die.

Examining a December Colony

            When in doubt – stay out.  I really don’t like to do a detailed examination of a colony in December.   If the weather is suitable (and it is most days), a live colony will have bees flying in and out; that will tell you the colony is alive, and that is most of what you need to know in December.

            If you wish to open up a colony for a more detailed inspection, make sure the bees are flying in and out of the colony in quantity, and the wind should be calm or nearly so.

            About the only thing I will check in December is the amount of food stores.  As always, each colony needs to have at least three frames of food stores available at all times.  If one of yours has less, you will need to put feed on it ASAP (as in the next day).  Otherwise, I want my December colonies to each have about 40 pounds of food stores, which is a bit more than one medium box.

            If you have been feeding, you may find the bees haven’t capped a lot of the feed they have taken.  This is no big deal – just don’t shake those frames.

Feeding

            If you want an illustration of “ask three beekeepers the same question and you will get four different answers”, ask them how they feed bees.  Use whatever feeding method suits you.

            However, do use thick syrup this time of year.  Large beekeepers may use corn syrup, but I can’t get corn syrup in a convenient size for my operation.  For myself, I use 2/1 sugar syrup in December.  To make a gallon, combine 7 pounds sugar with 3 ½ pints water.  You will need to heat the mixture to get the sugar to dissolve.

Winter Gear Check

            For those of you ordering packages and/or queens for early spring delivery, now is the time to place the order.

            For others, go over your gear and decide what needs to be repaired or replaced.  While the 2010 beekeeping catalogs won’t be out for awhile, you can beat the inevitable price increases by ordering now.  You’ll also have time to assemble the gear at your leisure.

Pecan Squares

                                                                                                            Sue Bee Honey

Ingredients

1/2 cup honey

2/3 cup confectioners' sugar

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1/2 lb sweet butter

2/3 cup melted sweet butter

3 tablespoons heavy cream

1/2 cup brown sugar

3 1/2 cups shelled pecans

Directions

1. Crust: Preheat oven to 350 F Grease a 9 x 12 inch baking pan.
2. Sift sugar and flour together.Cut in butter, using two knives or a pastry blender, until fine crumbs form. Pat crust into the prepared baking pan. Bake for 20 minutes; remove from oven.
3. Topping: Mix melted butter, honey, cream and brown sugar together. Stir in pecans, coating them thoroughly. Spread over crust.
4. Return to oven and bake for 25 minutes more. Cool completely before cutting into squares.

The Wired Bee

Wiregrass Beekeepers Association

2991 Eddins Road

Dothan, AL 36301

E-mail: wgmiller@aol.com

NOVEMBER 2009

President’s Page

                                                                                                            Bill Miller

            This issue will be briefer than most, as life has been turned upside down recently at the Miller house.   Most of you know that my wife and our esteemed club secretary Mary had a stroke a few weeks ago, and this stroke largely incapacitated her left side at the time.  At this writing (Nov. 1), Mary is at the Health South Rehabilitation Hospital, which is in the same block as Southeast Alabama Medical Center.   She is beginning to get back some use of her left arm and leg, and is expected to gradually get back almost all use of her left side.  Estimated date for her coming home is Nov. 12.

            We thank all those who included Mary in their prayers, sent her cards, visited her, or just offered to help out during a stressful time.

            Also going on at this writing is the National Peanut Festival.  Our booth won Grand Champion this year, and congratulations go to Jim Metcalf for spearheading that effort.   I got a chance to see the finished booth last night, and it really was a championship level job.  As for the honey show part of the festival, Elizabeth Whittaker won best in show with her light honey, and Tracy Miller gets the Unsung Hero award for being the honey show superintendent.

            And my special thanks go to all those who entered something in the honey show.  Honey shows look better the more entries they have, and this year we had a quite respectable number of exhibitors.  I know I harp on entering the Peanut Festival honey show a lot (perhaps too much), but I honestly feel a strong honey show is one of the best publicity items our club can have.

            As for those who didn’t enter, I look forward to seeing you entries next year.

            When you go to the Peanut Festival yourself, be sure to stop by the booth Elmore set up in the commercial exhibit section to show the folks what beekeeping is all about.  We got a lot of interest, and hopefully many folks for our Beginning Beekeeping course this coming February.

            Moving forward a bit, we have no November meeting, so our next meeting will be our December 3 banquet and annual elections meeting.   As you know, I will not be running again, as I feel two years of me is more than enough for most folks (O. K., Mary has 36+ years of me, but she is an amazingly tolerant person).  Ros will provide some entertainment again, as she has done so well in the past.  I look forward to what she dreams up this year.

            See you at the banquet.

__________________________________________________

As for Hiveworks this month, the key phrase is “food stores”.   A colony around here should go into winter with at least 40 pounds of food stores.  If you have any doubt, a gallon of 2/1 sugar syrup (7 pounds sugar, 3 ½ pints water) is good insurance.

 Honey Spicy Autumn Punch

    from  Sue Bee Honey

Ingredients:
¼ cup Honey
2 oranges
8 whole cloves
6 cups apple juice
1 cinnamon stick
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2¼ cups pineapple juice

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°.  Stud the whole oranges with cloves and bake for 30 minutes.  In a large saucepan, combine the apple juice and cinnamon stick.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium and simmer 5 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in the nutmeg,  honey, lemon juice and pineapple juice. Serve warm in a punch bowl with slices of the clove-studded baked oranges floating on top.

OCTOBER 2009

President’s Page

                                                                                                                        Bill Miller

            First off, many thanks to Ros for her fine presentation on how to make toiletries using beeswax, and my apologies for male thinking they were all simply soaps.  Also, many thanks to Elmore for the door prize.  Our October door prize will be from Wallace Arnold.

As this is being written, I am taking a break from the last of this year’s honey bottling.   Even though this year’s honey crop did not meet my expectations, what I did get was all of good low moisture quality with excellent flavor.  I expect it will sell well.

            Not all of the honey will be for sale, however.  I reserved 12 pounds each of my two best batches for the Peanut Festival honey contest.  Last year, I got Grand Champion for my efforts, and I hope to do it again this year.

            If after reading the previous paragraph you start thinking “That Yankee bragger – I’m going to show him who really has the best honey products in the Peanut Festival”, then the paragraph has served its purpose.  Come on, make an entry and try to beat the Yankee at his own game.  Nothing would make me happier than to see the Peanut Festival honey show entries double or even triple this year, and I know we have the beekeeper base to do it.  How long does it take to pour three jars of honey?

            But what do I look for in competition honey?  That’s where our October meeting comes in.  I’ll be bringing some examples of good and not-so-good competition honey and discuss what the differences are.  There are no secrets to good competition honey.   Anybody can do it once they know what to look for.

            For those of you who don’t have any honey to enter, there are numerous other classes at the Peanut Festival.  Here is the link to the Honey Show information:  http://www.nationalpeanutfestival.com/Honey.asp .   There are enough categories there for everyone to enter.

            Don’t forget our educational booth at the Peanut Festival either.  We still need volunteers to answer all the questions we will get.  Spend a few hours talking with the general public about bees, what they do for the public, and how much fun they are to keep.  I have done it for many years and enjoyed talking to folks all the time.

            So there you have it – our October meeting will be mostly about our part of the Peanut Festival.  Add to that our famous potluck supper, and you have an evening that can’t be beat.  See you there on Oct. 1.

The Beekeeper’s Calendar

Thursday, October 1              Regular Monthly Meeting

7 PM                                                   Houston County Farm Center

                                                            Honey Show Entries

Making prizewinning competition honey show entries isn’t all that difficult or time consuming.  Bill Miller will show you how it’s done.

Other Dates of Note:

September 26 – November 28           Headland Farmer’s Market

Saturdays                                           Headland Square

Farmer’s Markets are a great opportunity to talk to folks and sell your products.  I’ll have registration material available.

October 9 and 10                                Alabama State Beekeepers Meeting

                                                            Taylor Road Baptist Church, Montgomery

Classes, speakers, vendors, and more make this worth attending.  More information will be in the Stinger.

October 24                                          Wiregrass Heritage Festival

                                                            Landmark Park

We have always put on a beekeeping exhibit for the crowd.  If you don’t come for the exhibit, come for the great family outing.

Late October                                      National Peanut Festival

                                                            Peanut Festival Grounds

This our annual honey show and competition.   Show the world that our honey is as good as any in the world.

November 5, 6, 7                                Florida State Beekeepers Meeting

                                                            Tallahassee, FL

This is close enough for us to travel to.  Show up for at least a day if possible.

October Hiveworks

                                                                                                                        Bill Miller

Hive Beetles

            2009 may be remembered as the Year of the Hive Beetle – I know I had a bumper crop of them.  All of my colonies had AJ’s Beetle Eaters® installed last month, and they still continue to catch beetles.  Since I found the cider vinegar “bait” I originally used evaporates in two days, I’ve switched over to pure salad oil in my traps.  Now I only have to empty the traps only once a month.  Of more interest, the number of beetles I spot running around the frames when I open the colonies has gone way down.

            We have heard that colonies located in full sun have fewer beetles than ones in the shade.  Based on my own observations, I agree with that assessment.

Fall Nectar Flow

When you open a hive this time of year, you may be greeted by an acrid odor that will make you wonder what is going on in the colony.  What you are smelling is probably the fall nectar flow, which is largely goldenrod and aster.

Even though goldenrod/aster honey is good tasting honey, I don’t harvest it.  I prefer to leave it to the bees for winter feed.

Feeding

            Around here, colonies should have the equivalent of one full medium’s worth of capped food stores when they go into the winter.  With our poor nectar flow this spring, many colonies will not be at that level, and will need to be fed.  I am still feeding 1/1 sugar syrup to my colonies since they are still raising brood, but I’ll be switching to 2/1 sugar syrup as brood rearing wanes in the coming month.

            Remember, it is better to feed too much than too little.  A gallon of 2/1 sugar syrup will cost you about $3.00.  Replacing a colony that died of starvation will cost you about $75.

Varroa

            Just because my colonies haven’t gotten bad cases of Varroa yet doesn’t mean you shouldn’t keep checking.  My colonies get sticky board surveys at least once a month. 

Combining Weak Colonies

One strong colony will overwinter better than two weak colonies.  If you have colonies that have active areas smaller than a soccer ball, I recommend combining them to make stronger colonies.  How do you do this?  You take the top and inner cover off one of the colonies, place a sheet of newspaper on top of this colony, then take the bottom board off the other colony and put it on top of the first colony.  The bees will chew through the newspaper sheet and join up the two colonies.  If one of the colonies has a queen you would like to keep, destroy the other queen, otherwise let the queens sort thing out for themselves.
October Treat

Honey Bee Brownies

                                                                                                            National Honey Board

• 10 oz. unsweetened chocolate
• 6 eggs
• 3 cups (2 lbs., 4 oz.) honey
• 1/4 cup vanilla extract
• 3 cups (14 oz.) biscuit mix
• 2-3/4 cups (12 oz.) pecans, chopped

Melt chocolate; cool slightly. Beat eggs; beat in chocolate, honey and vanilla. Thoroughly beat in biscuit mix. Stir in pecans. Pour into greased 12"x20"x2" baking pan; bake at 350°F until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Cool completely. Spread with Chocolate Frosting, if desired; let set up. Cut into 48 (2"x2-1/2") pieces.

Frosting

• 1/2 cup boiling water
• 1-1/2 lbs. powdered sugar
• 5 oz. unsweetened chocolate, melted
• 1/4 cup (3 oz.) honey
• 1/2 Tablespoon vanilla extract

Gradually beat boiling water into powdered sugar. Beat in melted chocolate, honey and vanilla.   If needed, thin the frosting with 1-2 tablespoons of boiling water.

The Wired Bee

Wiregrass Beekeepers Association

2991 Eddins Road

Dothan AL 36301

e-mail: wgmiller@aol.com