2013 Bee School Agenda...

HAMPDEN COUNTY BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION

BEEKEEPING SCHOOL

The 2013 beekeepers school will be held at the Willimanset Heights Improvement League (WHIL) 118 Mount Vernon Road, Chicopee, MA, 01013 from 7 – 9 on two Thursday evenings each month, beginning January 10, 2013.  Please arrive before 7:00 p.m.  Class starts promptly at 7:00.

January 10				Introduction to Hampden County Beekeepers Association
				Speaker: Jim Stefanik - President
	Topic 1 & 2			Introduction to Beekeeping
				Speaker: Ken Warchol
January 24	Topic 1			Protective Clothing              Speaker: Lee Duquette / Tom Flebotte
Chapter 3	Topic 2			Hive Assembly Workshop – Bring a Hammer
				Speakers: Lee Duquette/Tom Flebotte
February 7	Topic 1			Sources of Bees
Chapter 4				Speaker:  Tom Flebotte
	Topic 2			Installing Bees
				Speaker: Tom Flebotte
February 21	Topic 1			Dynamics of the Hive
Chapter 2				Speaker: Ken Warchol
	Topic 2			Queens & Swarms
				Speaker: Ken Warchol
March 7	Topic 1			Spring & Summer Management
Chapter 5 & 8				Speaker:  Jeff Rys
	Topic 2			Bears & Other Invaders
				Speaker:
March 21	Topic 1			Challenges of Beekeeping
Chapter 8				Speaker: Ken Warchol
April 11	Topic 1			Fall & Winter Management
Chapter 6 & 7				Speaker: Jeff Rys
				Extracting Honey
				Speaker: Jeff Rys
April 25	Topic 1			Beeswax Products & First Aid
				Speaker: Tom Flebotte & Kim Dermeski
	Topic 2			Question and Answers, Certificates and Raffle
				Speaker: Jim Stefanik
Outdoor Workshop: Date and Location to be announced
In case of snow call: Jim Stefanik @ 413-786-1790 OR Jessica Martin 860-978-5388
President:			Jim Stefanik		Vice President:	Jeff Rys
Secretary:			Jessica Martin		Treasurer:	Cheryl Robare
Directors:			Mike Koleczek		Tom Flebotte	Mark Ditzner
Fair Directors:			Tom Flebotte		Jim Stefanik	Don Mayou

 

DIRECTIONS: 118 Mount Vernon Road

From Route 91 Take I-391 toward Chicopee

Merge onto MA-141 /Grattan Street via Exit 4

Turn Left onto Rolf Avenue

Turn Left onto Dale Street

Turn left onto Mount Vernon Road

#118 is on the right hand side apx 1 mile

www.mapquest.com can also assist you in your driving directions.



January Meeting...

Hampden County Beekeepers Meeting January 2013

When: Thursday, January 10th at 7pm

Where:  Willimanset Heights Improvement League (WHIL)

118 Mount Vernon Rd.

Chicopee, MA 01013

This will be our first session of bee school for 2013, as well as our first official meeting of the year.  Don’t worry; we’ll keep the business to a minimum!

We’ll kick the night off with an introduction of the HCBA and it’s officers with our host President Jim Stefanik.  Next it will be on to club business.  We’ll be voting on an update to our current by-laws.  Please request a copy if you’d like to have a chance to review the proposed update before the vote.  After the vote we’ll get straight to bee school.  Speaker, Ken Warchol will cover Introduction to Beekeeping. 

All members are welcome to attend this meeting.  Seasoned members and new members alike!  Come out and vote, and if you like, stay for Ken’s lesson, there’s always something to learn. 

Please don’t forget if you plan to vote, your 2013 dues must be paid.  Dues are due January 1^st 2013, but will also be accepted at this meeting.  Make sure you’re current!  If you are not planning to renew your dues, please let me know and I’ll be happy to stop sending reminders. 

Bee well!

Jessica Martin

HCBA Secretary

Bill Crawford Photo Update...

Bill just emailed me some photos from his cell phone, so we can all see some of what he's seen on his commercial beekeeping journey.  Feast your eyes...

Keep up the good work, Bill!  And keep those photos coming!

Bill Crawford, Professional Beekeeper- UPDATE...

Hello Hampden County beekeepers,  

I hope everyone and their bees are doing well.   As some of you had heard, I have decided to jump to beekeeping on the commercial level.   I starting this summer by subcontracting to a beekeeper in the South Dakota praire during the Sweet Clover flow, running about 4500 hives, mostly alone.  I worked there for about 7 weeks until arranging to work for my friend of mine's father with about 3000 hives near Gettysburg, PA.  I worked there for about a month, splitting hives and preparing the hives for fall and winter.  When the labor demand there began to slow down, a friend of my boss said his friend in Lewisburg, PA.  As it turns out, I am now sub-contracting long term for Hackenberg Apiaries, the first people to be hit with and blow the whistle on Colony Collapse Disorder.  The owner is a very outspoken critic of the chemical and pesticide industry.  He has been featured on 60 minutes for talking about CCD and have been featured in the recent bee documentary movies.   I plan on working here for a couple years, that is until I break off to return to Mass with 600-1000 hives.  

With my current gig, I am able to come home on weekends if I so choose, allowing me to continue with my local honey sales and to run hives in both Massachusetts and Pennsylvania with some additional ones in New York.  As the situation works,  as I work for the family, they will in turn also be helping me grow to the point where I can break off on my own.  The apiary I am now working for are primarily pollinators, after beefing up the hives in Florida and Georgia in January, bees are sent to almonds in February,  then later in the season to pollinate blueberries, apples, and pumpkins, and after all is said and done, placed for summer and fall honey.

I have learned NUMEROUS things over the past few months, way too many to list.  But the thing that makes one a better beekeeper, is learning from your mistakes, and mistakes of others.  

The beekeepers nationwide this fall, are suffering major losses, with a good portion losing over half already.  For us, we have already lost almost half due to corn and soybean pesticides, varroa mites, viruses, and CCD.  Just this morning, I went around and checked about 1700-1800 hives divided into your bee yards for blown off lids from the storm, we ended up losing about 100 hives to drowning.

I hope by this time, everyone has their hives fed and have proper weight, with mouseguards on.  If you think of treating for nosema now, dont, it was too late and you will do more harm than good, as the hives tend to go downhill for a little while after treatment before getting back on track.  Raise you outter cover up about a half an inch to help expell moisture and keep the hives out of the bears reach.  I will be down south with my boss and I's bees and will be back in April.    I will send out another message soon regarding nucs and detail if anyone is interested, my coworker, my boss, and myself will be making nucs for sale once our bees get back from almonds, and if there areenough people interested I could bring a load to mass for people, they definitely have an edge over packages, 4-5 frames of bees with a laying queen.  

If anyone has any questions, don't hesitate to email me.
Bee Well,
Bill Crawford
Billy81389@aol.com

Beekeeping School 2013...

Due to popular demand, Hampden County Beekeeping School will be back in session in 2013! 

There are 8 classes, held twice a month on Thursdays from January to April. 

Members old and new are welcome to attend any and all school sessions.  It's never too late to learn something new!

Beekeeping school will be held at our regular meeting location:

Willimanset Heights Improvement League (WHIL)

                       118 Mount Vernon Rd.

                       Chicopee, MA 01013

Beekeeping School 2013 Schedule:

January 10th & 24th

February 7th & 21st

March 7th & 21st

April 11th & 25th

Classes are from 7pm-9pm

Beekeeping school is $75.00* per person and includes your beginning beekeeping manual, a 1 year membership in the HCBA, a Beekeeping School Certificate upon graduation, and the chance to win a complete starter hive on April 25th.

*$125.00 for two people if you share a book. 

If you know someone who may be interested in enrolling in our Beekeeping School as a new student, please have them contact our treasurer, Cheryl Robare for more information. 
Phone: 413-782-7371
Email:  hcmbeekeepers@aol.com

Space is limited, so sign up early!

Hive Loss, Wax Moths, and Storage...

HCBA member Sage Franetovich sent the following inquiry via email, and has allowed me to share it here, so that the information may be of help to others too. 

I had one hive that was started with a new colony this spring.  Unfortunately, I lost all my bees and the honey to robbers (wasps and other bees).  It happened so quickly!  After the robbing, I opened my hive and found empty cells and wax moth larvae and webbing.  So, I am wondering what to do next.  How can I clean up my hive and safely store it for the winter?  I would like to use the same hive next year and minimize buying new equipment.  Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you!
~Sage

The dreaded wax moth.

I stole this picture from Google images, but this is an example of a frame with minimal damage from wax moths.

When I receive an email inquiry from one of our members, I forward the message to some of our most experience members and enlist their help.  Below is a response from our VP Jeff Rhys...

Bee keeping can be frustrating sometimes. But with each new challenge you overcome the better beekeeper you become First you need to get rid of any active wax moth to prevent further damage. This can be done by freezing the hive for a couple of days. Then it will depend on how much damage was done to the comb to see if any can be saved. If the damage was advanced you will need to take each frame and remove the damaged comb and install new foundation. If there is only a small amount of damage you can clean each frame as best you can and let the bees finish repairing the comb next year. Remove all traces of wax moth from frames and boxes and then properly store your equipment to prevent any more damage from the wax moths. Hope this helps.
~Jeff Rys

I think Jeff's answer is great, and if you'd like to add some helpful advice for Sage, or anyone else reading this post, please do so in the comments section below.

Bottom Boards... Screened or Solid?

To screen or not to screen that is the question.  Let's hear some feedback members!  How do you bottom board?  Just like every other beekeeping question, I expect we'll get a variety of answers.  I've heard people say to use the screened board year round, the solid board year round, or a combination of the two.  In the comments section below, I'd love to hear your bottom board practice as well as an explanation for why you favor your practice.

SCREENED

SOLID

The Big E...

The Big E is in full swing, and we've been having a great time at both of our fair locations.  For those of you who haven't visited the fair yet, here are some photos of our booths...

The MA Building

The star of the show.

Our brand new mural...

And our satellite location in Farm-A-Rama

Thanks to all of the volunteers manning the booths during the fair! 



October Meeting...

Hampden County Beekeepers Meeting October 2012

               When: Thursday, October 18th at 7pm

           Where:  Willimanset Heights Improvement League (WHIL)

                       118 Mount Vernon Rd.

                       Chicopee, MA 01013

Let’s get together and go over how we’re managing our hives this fall and winter. 

*MEETING UPDATE*

-There will be a “Big E Review” meeting starting at 6pm on the night of the regularly scheduled meeting.  If you were a seller or a volunteer, please attend and come early, we need your input.  The regular meeting will still start at 7pm. 

-HCBA member Lee Duquette will have his Lee’s Bees feeding stimulant available for sale.  Lee’s feeding stimulant is similar to Honey-B-Healthy at a fraction of the cost, just $12.00 per bottle.  Lee will also have some single serve doses of Fumagilin-B available for purchase, for anyone who still needs to medicate their bees. Cash only, so bring your money!

Here's a LINK to an old blog I posted about Lee's Bees feeding stimulant.

A First Timer's Install...

New HCBA Member, Vanessa Mathieu shared this video of her first install earlier this year.  Vanessa started two hives this year, one standard Langstroth hive and one top bar hive.  Thanks for sharing Vanessa!  

September Meeting...

         Hampden County Beekeepers Candy Bagging Party!

               When: Thursday, September 6th at 6:00pm

           Where:  Willimanset Heights Improvement League (WHIL)

                       118 Mount Vernon Rd.

                       Chicopee, MA 01013

                Pizza and beverages will be served! 

                 Come help out and have some fun!

We’ll be bagging candy in preparation for the Big E, so while this will not be a regular meeting, we will have the opportunity to discuss all things bee while we work.  Come lend a hand, and get some last minute tips for harvesting and fall and winter management. 

Have you tested for mites yet?  Treated?  Do you have honey?  Have you harvested?  Getting ready to?  Should you?  Can you borrow the extractor?  Are you feeding?  Medicating?  Are your hives in danger of robbing?  When will you put on your entrance reducers?  Are you using a slatted or screened bottom board?  Should you switch?  Come one, come all!  Some of us have questions, and other have answers, new and experienced beekeepers come together and help each other out! 

 See you there!   And don’t forget to volunteer for a shift at the Big E!

Pollen Problems...

A member question from Roxie Pin...

It has been so dry and I have watched the clover that my bees have enjoyed visiting turn to brittle, dry, brown crunchies.  I have no idea how to tell if there is a dirth that they talked about in class, but I can tell you that I watched the bees for several minutes coming and going and between two hives, I only saw one bee come in with pollen.  So, I'm wondering if I should start with the pollen supplements.  Both hives are getting established and I have had queen issues, so I don't want to hinder their progress any more.

Should I be feeding pollen patties now?  How do you know when they need pollen?  for that matter, how do you know when they need sugar water if you are not automatically feeding it to them because it is your first year?

Let's help Roxie with some suggestions in the comments section below.