During the April 15, 2020 virtual club meeting the subject of performing a sugar roll to check mite load came up. The Minnesota Bee Squad does a lot of good work in the area of mite testing and controls. The only issue with this video, in the club’s opinion, is the person is only wearing head protection. She is not wearing gloves or arm protection. The club always recommends taking the level of personal protection you are comfortable with.
A survey was taken during the November 2019 club meeting asking members to prioritize the purchase of potential items by ranking up to five items from 1 (highest priority) to 5. There were eleven items suggested for potential purchase. The club also voted to allocate up to $1,000 to purchase the top ranked items.
We then added up all of the “votes” an item received and divided the sum by the number of votes. A combination of votes and average score resulted in the following rankings.
| RAnk | Item | Votes | Avg Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Infrared Camera | 12 | 2.08 |
| 2 | Honey Extracting Kit | 11 | 2.27 |
| 3 | Bee Education Posters | 9 | 3.33 |
| 4 | Hive Scale | 8 | 2.25 |
| 5 | Candle / Wax Molds | 8 | 3.88 |
| 6 | Frame Assembly Jig | 6 | 4.0 |
| 7 | Dovetail Jig | 5 | 4.0 |
| 8 | BCBA Medallions | 5 | 4.4 |
| 9 | Laptop Computer | 1 | 2.0 |
| 10 | Printer | 1 | 3.0 |
| 11 | Polariscope | 1 | 4.0 |
As of March 2020 the club has purchased the Infrared Camera and the Honey Extracting Kit items. Both are currently available to rent for club members.
Our March meeting was cancelled where the topic for discussion was going to be “Spring Management Before Dandelions Bloom”. Here is a 3 minute video by Dave Elsen on that subject.
Since Varroa mites were introduced into the United States in 1987 beekeepers have been searching for ways to eliminate them. The more one knows about mites the easier it is for the beekeeper to keep healthy hives. This article in Entomology Today talks about different controls one can use when following an Integrated Pest Management approach.
If you don’t have little kids, or it’s been a while, let’s break down for you why kids’ coughs can be a truly miserable problem that can drive you to madness.
Continue readingWithin a hive there are three types of bees. The queen, drones, and worker bees. There is only one queen in a hive, is female, and lays eggs to produce more bees. About 15% of the hive population are drone bees which are male and their only job is to mate with a different queen. Finally about 85% of the bees are female worker bees and they do all of the work around the hive. They take care of the brood, clean and defend the hive, and gather pollen and nectar.
There are numerous factors to consider when determining where to place your hive(s) which include they physical location, bee needs, and human needs. A good starting point is to do an internet search to determine if your local community has set guidelines for maintaining hives. Allouez Wisconsin, for one, has a number of rules to be followed.
Location
Bee Needs
Human Needs
The following video discusses the most basic bee equipment that a first time beekeeper will need. You will learn about different personal protection gear, gloves, hive tools, bee brushes and smokers.
The short answer is that honey can contain a bacteria that babies digestive systems are not yet developed enough to handle. The learn more click here.
April Kustov, Wisc State Hive Inspector, spent 2 days with BCBA members inspecting hives and sharing her knowledge. April was thorough and focused during hive inspections and spent a generous amount of time with each beekeeper, explaining and demonstrating as they went through each hive.
She also was our featured speaker for the BCBA meeting (Wednesday 8/21/2019) There was plenty of good conversation, great questions and valuable learning for all attending. THANK YOU April ! So nice having you with us !
