From fgt@cadre.com Mon Aug 8 12:44:57 EDT 1994 Article: 637 of sci.agriculture.beekeeping Newsgroups: sci.agriculture.beekeeping Path: bigblue.oit.unc.edu!concert!news.duke.edu!MathWorks.Com!yeshua.marcam.com!charnel.ecst.csuchico.edu!olivea!uunet!cadre!usenet From: fgt@cadre.com (Fred G. Thurber) Subject: Re: Bees night out? Message-ID: Sender: usenet@cadre.com (News Account) Nntp-Posting-Host: cadre.cadre.com Reply-To: fgt@cadre.com Organization: CADRE TECHNOLOGIES INC. References: <31fohg$6jp@cantua.canterbury.ac.nz> Date: Mon, 1 Aug 1994 17:47:20 GMT Lines: 19 I am a new beekeeper and started off this year with a couple of hives. I had two nukes of carniolans installed this Spring. I have had trouble with one of the hive; the bees seem very grumpy and have recently taken to stinging me. The hives are very close to a gravel driveway and cars & farm equipment apparently rumble by during the day. A couple of days ago I decided to move them and took them to a friend's house in a quiet location about a mile away. Separating us are three major roads, two wooded swamps filled with sweet pepperbush (which is now blooming) and three of pastures. However the next day hundreds of bees were swarming around the location the hives used to be and by afternoon they had massed on a car parked nearby. They also seemed to be hot-tempered and my landlord complained about them. What should I do? --- Frederick Thurber fgt@cadre.com From jlks@u.washington.edu Mon Aug 8 12:44:58 EDT 1994 Article: 638 of sci.agriculture.beekeeping Path: bigblue.oit.unc.edu!concert!news.duke.edu!convex!cs.utexas.edu!howland.reston.ans.net!spool.mu.edu!news.clark.edu!netnews.nwnet.net!news.u.washington.edu!jlks From: jlks@u.washington.edu (Jordan Schwartz) Newsgroups: sci.agriculture.beekeeping Subject: Re: Bees night out? Date: 1 Aug 1994 20:45:03 GMT Organization: University of Washington Lines: 25 Message-ID: <31jmsf$cbb@news.u.washington.edu> References: <31fohg$6jp@cantua.canterbury.ac.nz> NNTP-Posting-Host: carson.u.washington.edu fgt@cadre.com (Fred G. Thurber) writes: [...]A couple of days ago I decided to move them and took them >to a friend's house in a quiet location about a mile away. Separating >us are three major roads, two wooded swamps filled with sweet pepperbush >(which is now blooming) and three of pastures. However the next day >hundreds of bees were swarming around the location the hives used to be and by >afternoon they had massed on a car parked nearby. They also seemed to >be hot-tempered and my landlord complained about them. What should I do? New to beekeeping myself, but I would say move the hive back to its original position ASAP, and, once you have the hive reconsolidated, pick a new spot to move them to, further away than your friend's house (a mile and a half did me fine, but better safe than sorry). Bees have no regard for major roads, and if one happens upon a familiar landmark, they will be able to find their old home quick. If you are set on your friend's house as a permanent location, pick some spot very far away from both the original spot and your friend's house to move them to for three or four weeks, until everyone who remembers the old terrain is dead, then move them to your friend's place. Again: this is my first year beekeeping, so take my advice with a shaker of salt... Jordan From Paul.Ferroni@ab.com Mon Aug 8 12:44:59 EDT 1994 Article: 639 of sci.agriculture.beekeeping Path: bigblue.oit.unc.edu!concert!news.duke.edu!MathWorks.Com!yeshua.marcam.com!charnel.ecst.csuchico.edu!olivea!uunet!news1.hh.ab.com!icd.ab.com!cpferron From: cpferron@icd.ab.com (C. Paul Ferroni) Newsgroups: sci.agriculture.beekeeping Subject: Re: What to do with empty hive? Date: 1 Aug 1994 22:31:37 GMT Organization: Allen Bradley Lines: 56 Distribution: world Message-ID: <31jt49$4me@news1.hh.ab.com> References: Reply-To: Paul.Ferroni@ab.com NNTP-Posting-Host: dabney.cle.ab.com In article , sandrock@aries.scs.uiuc.edu (Mark Sandrock) writes: [...munch...] > new colony, but in the meantime, what do I do with all those full frames? > Get an extractor? Destroy the frames? What? And will these bees feasting > on the honey be very upset at my intervention? I've been stung a few times > in my life, but certainly I'm not anxious to try for multiple stings! > > Thanks in advance! > > Mark Sandrock If the hive is empty (and if it's not already too late) you need to do something to keep the wax moths out. Bees will keep them out when they are living in the hive, but I doubt if robber's will care. You should open the hive (don't worry about the "mean-ness" of robbers. I suspect that they'll act pretty much like "ordinary bees") and see if you have robbers, or if a swarm has moved in. You can probably judge this by watching the bees coming in. If they are laden with pollen, they are not robber bees, and you have a natural swarm that's moved in. If you don't have any resident bees, then move the hive in the evening, since the robbers will all go home around sunset, and leave the hive empty. Move it to wherever you'll be storing it. Check it carefully for moth-damage. You'll recognize it if you see it - worm-like larvae eating through the wax, leaving silky trails behind them. Eventually they'll form cocoons on the wooden frames, but by that time, all the wax will be consumed. I store my empty hives in plastic garbage bags, with some moth balls on top of the frames, isolated from actually contacting the wax/frames by a sheet of cardboard. This will actually kill any larvae and eggs in the combs, too. Be SURE to air out the frames a couple of DAYS before putting on active hives after removing them from the presence of the moth balls. The wax will store some of the chemicals in it, and requires lots of free air to flush it out. You can also treat frames with a BT spray (bacillus thurengensis spores -- spelling not guaranteed) that will kill any wax moth larvae when they hatch, and be totally harmless to bees. This can be purchased under several common names -- check your garden supply store. Wax moths can devistate a weak/inactive/empty hive in a matter of weeks. Once ruined, you have to start from scratch with new foundation, etc. Hope you've got a swarm. That'd be the best solution to all your problems. But in any case, don't be afraid to visit your bees. With a good veil, gloves, and proper clothing, you shouldn't have any problems. (forgot to add a little common sense to that list :) ). -cpf From Paul.Ferroni@ab.com Mon Aug 8 12:45:00 EDT 1994 Article: 640 of sci.agriculture.beekeeping Path: bigblue.oit.unc.edu!concert!news.duke.edu!MathWorks.Com!europa.eng.gtefsd.com!newsxfer.itd.umich.edu!uunet!news1.hh.ab.com!icd.ab.com!cpferron From: cpferron@icd.ab.com (C. Paul Ferroni) Newsgroups: sci.agriculture.beekeeping Subject: Re: Will the honey move up? Date: 1 Aug 1994 22:48:45 GMT Organization: Allen Bradley Lines: 58 Distribution: world Message-ID: <31ju4d$4me@news1.hh.ab.com> References: <1994Jul30.124716.1@jaguar.uofs.edu> Reply-To: Paul.Ferroni@ab.com NNTP-Posting-Host: dabney.cle.ab.com In article <1994Jul30.124716.1@jaguar.uofs.edu>, ddc1@jaguar.uofs.edu writes: > [...munch...] > Also how do I put the hive back together without crushing a million > bees? Everytime I either brush or smoke them off the sides by the time I turn > around and pick up the box to put back on they've covered the sides again. I > *can't* stand there forever until they decide to move, my back can't take it > especially when they're full. > > -- > Dave D. Cawley Dave, I'll take a stab at your last question... I typically use the hive outer cover as a stand for the supers. Turn it upside down, and set the super(s) on it in such a way that it sits on four points, rather than sliping into the cover. This way, there is a significant gap below the super as it's sitting on the cover. (It also makes it easy to pick up later). Be sure to have scraped off any comb that's hanging below the frames. Then, apply liberal smoke to the top of what's left of the hive (where the seperated super will go), and to the underside of the super sitting on the cover. This is why you leave the space below it -- so the smoke will go underneath easily. (Note: I always leave the inner cover on top of the seperated super as well, to reduce the number of curious onlookers while working.) Typically, most of the bees will be away from the points of contact by this time, and you have a short window of time to move the super on top of the hive. If your hive is very full (of bees), angry (open too long perhaps?), etc, you may still have MANY bees sitting where they may get hurt. The method of placing the super on the hive will also help at this point. Don't just set it in its final location. Gently set it down about a side- board width from it's final resting point. Do this by setting one edge down first (slowly), then the other (slowly). Then slowly slide the whole thing into position. I emphasize the slowness of the movement(s) because the bees will naturally move out of the way as they are getting compressed between two objects. You'll end up crushing a few bees, but I'm usually able to put the most active, full hives together without rousing them too much, or effecting a massacre. I typically smoke any crushed bees, to try to mask the scent, and avoid any "misundertandings" with the survivors :). Hope this helps. -cpf From Dave.Du.Toit@enviro.cds.alt.za Mon Aug 8 12:45:01 EDT 1994 Article: 641 of sci.agriculture.beekeeping Path: bigblue.oit.unc.edu!concert!news-feed-1.peachnet.edu!emory!europa.eng.gtefsd.com!library.ucla.edu!psgrain!ticsa.com!cstatd.cstat.co.za!cds!enviro!Dave.Du.Toit From: Dave.Du.Toit@enviro.cds.alt.za (Dave Du Toit) Date: 31 Jul 94 17:50:00 +0200 Newsgroups: sci.agriculture.beekeeping Subject: Moving Hives? Message-ID: X-Mail-Agent: GIGO+ sn 62 at cds vsn 0.99w32 X-FTN-To: Dharry@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu Organization: -Enviro-Base BBS, Tzaneen (RSA), (0152) 307-5954 (5:7106/77) Lines: 13 Hi DD> and am wondering what the best way to do it is. I seem >to remember DD> reading that they should be moved a foot/day or something, >but can't DD> find the reference in the books I have now...Any advice? Most probably the easiest method is to move them a least 15km away from there original site for a minimum of five days, place some foreign matter in front of the entrance leaves or something so they are aware that things have changed and they must retake there bearings, then after 5 days follow the same process to bring them back. dave@enviro.cds.alt.za From rshough@tasc.com Mon Aug 8 12:45:03 EDT 1994 Article: 642 of sci.agriculture.beekeeping Path: bigblue.oit.unc.edu!concert!news-feed-1.peachnet.edu!emory!swrinde!howland.reston.ans.net!agate!tcsi.tcs.com!uunet!newsserver.tasc.com!newsserver.read.tasc.com!rshough.read.tasc.com!user From: rshough@tasc.com (Rick Hough) Newsgroups: sci.agriculture.beekeeping Subject: Re: Will the honey move up? Date: Mon, 01 Aug 1994 13:57:42 -0500 Organization: TASC Lines: 65 Message-ID: References: <1994Jul30.124716.1@jaguar.uofs.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: rshough.read.tasc.com In article <1994Jul30.124716.1@jaguar.uofs.edu>, ddc1@jaguar.uofs.edu wrote: > Well...in my two brood boxes I found almost 5 frames total of capped > honey, 3.5 in the top and 1.5 in the bottom. This amazed me cos I figured I > could get away with 2 brood boxes and a medium super for the year since we've > had droughts the last 3-5 years...how was *I* supposed to know that the > rainfall would be a doozy this year?!? So now my question is (other than where > the heck am i going to get more supers) is will they move the honey up into the > super to free up the brood boxes now that they have the room? They had one full > sheet of of foundation filled out and were working on the others. I figure I > have a full super with what is capped in the bottom boxes. I don't think the bees will "move the honey" into the super, but what they will do is consume the honey that is stored near the broodnest, and new nectar that is coming in will probably be stored up in the super. At a casual glance, this looks like they "moved the honey", but that isn't what really happened. Of course, that's just my opinion - I haven't watched my hive closely enough to be able to "prove" this hypothesis. > I found the queen in the top box which is practically filled with > brood and 3.5 frames of honey, the bottom box had some open space, will she > move back down or is it time to switch boxes on them? Since I don't have an > excluder should I pray that she doesn't move up into the super? Given how crowded your colonies sound, I would guess that it is likely that the queen would move up into the super & start laying - all those open cells would be just too appealing. Prayer doesn't seem to change that! Some folks say that if there is a band of honey across the top of the hive, the queen won't cross it & lay in the super. To have an effective band, *EVERY* frame needs to be solid honey on the top couple of inches - it is easy to get the honey barrier on the sides, but much tougher (you see it less often) directly over the brood nest. The honey barrier didn't work for me this summer, but it seems to work much of the time (don't know how prayer impacts this one!) > Also how do I put the hive back together without crushing a million > bees? Everytime I either brush or smoke them off the sides by the time I turn > around and pick up the box to put back on they've covered the sides again. I > *can't* stand there forever until they decide to move, my back can't take it > especially when they're full. The trick I was taught was 1) lots of smoke, and 2) set the upper box onto the lower box at a slight angle (rotation), and then spin it into position. The advantage is that the "crush zone" is much smaller when you initially set the box down. Then, if you can spin the box slowly enough, most of the bees will get out of the way, or get pushed out of the way. I still squish some, but not as many as just plopping the box straight down. The disadvantage is that it can be tough with burr comb & propolis to spin a deep that has lots of honey in it! Good Luck. Rick Hough rshough@tasc.com **************************************************** * Rick Hough * email: rshough@tasc.com * * TASC * Phone: (617) 942-2000 * * 55 Walkers Brook Drive * FAX: (617) 942-7100 * * Reading, MA 01867 * * **************************************************** SET DISCLAIMER ON The above is my opinion, and not my employer's or anyone else's. From rshough@tasc.com Mon Aug 8 12:45:03 EDT 1994 Article: 643 of sci.agriculture.beekeeping Path: bigblue.oit.unc.edu!concert!news-feed-1.peachnet.edu!emory!swrinde!howland.reston.ans.net!agate!tcsi.tcs.com!uunet!newsserver.tasc.com!newsserver.read.tasc.com!rshough.read.tasc.com!user From: rshough@tasc.com (Rick Hough) Newsgroups: sci.agriculture.beekeeping Subject: Re: What to do with empty hive? Date: Mon, 01 Aug 1994 13:57:46 -0500 Organization: TASC Lines: 58 Message-ID: References: NNTP-Posting-Host: rshough.read.tasc.com In article , sandrock@aries.scs.uiuc.edu (Mark Sandrock) wrote: [preliminaries deleted for brevity] > Now, the problem is, this hive full of honey has been sitting in the > garden all along, and I've noticed a fair amount of activity with bees > coming and going and crawling around the hive entrance. Yesterday I > received the equipment I (finally) ordered, and was ready to take a > look inside, but happened to read a paragraph in Walter Kelley's book > about the potential "meanness" of robber bees. Well, if what I have are > robber bees, I'm not anxious to do battle with them, and am appealing > here for any advice as to what course of action I should now follow. As Mike Moroney noted, robber bees aren't that big a deal. Yes, they tend to be somewhat more aggressive than "residents", but you probably won't notice that much of a difference if you are a "glove-wearer" (i.e. you don't work your bees bare-handed). One good way to discriminate between residents & robbers from the outside of the hive is to watch the hive entrance - If you see bees bringing pollen into the colony, then you have an active colony (robbers will not bring pollen in - they are taking the honey out! Also, pollen coming into a colony is an indication that there is brood rearing going on (ok - late in the season they might be storing it away for spring...) which is something only "residents" will do. Again, as Mike noted, robbers will clean out a vacant colony quite rapidly, so if the activity you have been watching is, indeed, robbers, it is likely you don't have to worry about any honey! > Kelley's informed me that they've been sold out of bees for several > months, and I'm thinking I have to wait until next spring to start a > new colony, but in the meantime, what do I do with all those full frames? > Get an extractor? Destroy the frames? What? And will these bees feasting > on the honey be very upset at my intervention? I've been stung a few times > in my life, but certainly I'm not anxious to try for multiple stings! It is amazing how mother nature takes care of these things for us - maybe a swrm moved in, in which case you have an established colony by this time, but you need to watch for mites & disease. Also, depending on how well they have built up, you may need to feed them to help them through the winter. If a swarm has not moved in, then it is likely that other bees will have found the colony & robbed all the honey out. Once the robbers have done their work, it is likely that wax moths will move in, and consume all the wax left in the hive. So, you may open the hive this fall, and just find a bunch of empty frames!! If you still have honey in the frames, you have a bunch of choices to make. Contact me by e-mail if you want, and we can talk about this further. Rick Hough rshough@tasc.com **************************************************** * Rick Hough * email: rshough@tasc.com * * TASC * Phone: (617) 942-2000 * * 55 Walkers Brook Drive * FAX: (617) 942-7100 * * Reading, MA 01867 * * **************************************************** SET DISCLAIMER ON The above is my opinion, and not my employer's or anyone else's. From rshough@tasc.com Mon Aug 8 12:45:05 EDT 1994 Article: 644 of sci.agriculture.beekeeping Path: bigblue.oit.unc.edu!concert!news-feed-1.peachnet.edu!emory!europa.eng.gtefsd.com!MathWorks.Com!yeshua.marcam.com!zip.eecs.umich.edu!newsxfer.itd.umich.edu!uunet!newsserver.tasc.com!newsserver.read.tasc.com!rshough.read.tasc.com!user From: rshough@tasc.com (Rick Hough) Newsgroups: sci.agriculture.beekeeping Subject: Re: Requeening by putting in queen cell? Followup-To: sci.agriculture.beekeeping Date: Mon, 25 Jul 1994 12:45:02 -0500 Organization: TASC Lines: 27 Message-ID: References: NNTP-Posting-Host: rshough.read.tasc.com In article , owen@rsnz.govt.nz (Owen Watson) wrote: > Has anyone tried the method of requeening by putting an-almost-ready queen > cell on the frames, and letting supersedure take place? I don't think this will work in a queen-right hive. I would think that the existing queen would kill the queen in the cell before she ever emerges (this is the way it works when a colony raises emergency queens to replace a "lost" queen - the first queen to emerge runs around & chews holes in the sides of all the other queen cells - the workers then finish the job by pulling the pupa out of the cell and discarding it outside the hive). This would be a good way to requeen a colony if you first eliminated the old queen, although you may want to place more than one queen cell, just in case you damage one "installing" it. **************************************************** * Rick Hough * email: rshough@tasc.com * * TASC * Phone: (617) 942-2000 * * 55 Walkers Brook Drive * FAX: (617) 942-7100 * * Reading, MA 01867 * * **************************************************** SET DISCLAIMER ON The above is my opinion, and not my employer's or anyone else's. From rshough@tasc.com Mon Aug 8 12:45:06 EDT 1994 Article: 645 of sci.agriculture.beekeeping Path: bigblue.oit.unc.edu!concert!news-feed-1.peachnet.edu!emory!europa.eng.gtefsd.com!MathWorks.Com!yeshua.marcam.com!zip.eecs.umich.edu!newsxfer.itd.umich.edu!uunet!newsserver.tasc.com!newsserver.read.tasc.com!rshough.read.tasc.com!user From: rshough@tasc.com (Rick Hough) Newsgroups: sci.agriculture.beekeeping Subject: Re: Question about making beewax candles Followup-To: sci.agriculture.beekeeping Date: Tue, 26 Jul 1994 10:05:19 -0500 Organization: TASC Lines: 23 Distribution: na Message-ID: References: <311471$26s@homer.mdd.comm.mot.com> NNTP-Posting-Host: rshough.read.tasc.com In article <311471$26s@homer.mdd.comm.mot.com>, jong@mdd.comm.mot.com (Edward Jong) wrote: > > When making beeswax candles, is it advisable to mix some > parafin as well? Any suggestions for candle making. > > I don't know anything about bees. I am posting this question > for a beekeeping friend of mine. Addition of parafin will increase the chances that the candle will drip. Also, once you add parafin, you can't sell your candles as 100% beeswax. I am not aware of any advantages of adding parafin, other than parafin is cheap. **************************************************** * Rick Hough * email: rshough@tasc.com * * TASC * Phone: (617) 942-2000 * * 55 Walkers Brook Drive * FAX: (617) 942-7100 * * Reading, MA 01867 * * **************************************************** SET DISCLAIMER ON The above is my opinion, and not my employer's or anyone else's. From rshough@tasc.com Mon Aug 8 12:45:07 EDT 1994 Article: 646 of sci.agriculture.beekeeping Path: bigblue.oit.unc.edu!concert!news-feed-1.peachnet.edu!emory!europa.eng.gtefsd.com!MathWorks.Com!yeshua.marcam.com!zip.eecs.umich.edu!newsxfer.itd.umich.edu!uunet!newsserver.tasc.com!newsserver.read.tasc.com!rshough.read.tasc.com!user From: rshough@tasc.com (Rick Hough) Newsgroups: sci.agriculture.beekeeping Subject: Re: How to process burr comb - novice Followup-To: sci.agriculture.beekeeping Date: Tue, 26 Jul 1994 13:05:36 -0500 Organization: TASC Lines: 77 Message-ID: References: <9407260857.PN06539@LL.MIT.EDU> NNTP-Posting-Host: rshough.read.tasc.com In esponse to Mike Killoran's recent post: Your concept on the solar melter is right - brood & big chunks of other "undesirables" will stay on top, with all the rest dripping through. Wax floats on water, and since honey is heavier than water, wax will float on the honey too. The problem is that the honey that goes through the solar melter probably won't taste that great. So, before rendering the honey soaked wax, put it back on the hive for a while. The bees will clean up the honey and leave the wax behind (I put the wax on top of the inner cover, with an empty super or something holding up the outer cover. This is a *GOOD* way to spread American Foulbrood, so it is best to feed the honey back to the colony it came from) The wax that comes out of the melter still needs to be cleaned bofore making candles with it (a beeswax crafting book can tell you how - Bob Berthold just wrote a nice one). This cleaning process will remove any honey, bee parts, pollen, etc. that didn't get separated by the initial melting process. Also, refer to the FAQ (don't know if it is archived yet - e-mail me and I'll forward you a copy) - there is a reference to hint sheets available from Andy Nachbaur - there is one on solar wax rendering. **************************************************** * Rick Hough * email: rshough@tasc.com * * TASC * Phone: (617) 942-2000 * * 55 Walkers Brook Drive * FAX: (617) 942-7100 * * Reading, MA 01867 * * **************************************************** SET DISCLAIMER ON The above is my opinion, and not my employer's or anyone else's. In article <9407260857.PN06539@LL.MIT.EDU>, killoran@ll.mit.edu (Mike Killoran) wrote: > > Question from someone who started their hive this spring: > > My bees tend to build comb where I don't want it. This is > normally hanging off the bottom of the frames and occasionally > between the frames. When there wasn't too much of it, I'd > scrape it off with my hive tool and leave it on the ground. > > Last weekend, when I was adding another super (;->) I took out > the queen excluder I had in place. There was alot of extra > space due to the frame of the excluder and the bees had built > comb both above and below the wire grid. The comb on top was > capped honey and the comb below had brood of various stages. > > I scraped both types into two plastic food containers, > respectively. The capped honey comb I just squished with a > fork and left the container on an incline for ~1 hour to > separate the wax and honey... mmm, mmm good! Now I'm left > with mostly empty comb. The larvae filled comb on the other > hand, I'm not sure what to do with. > > I've seen plans for a solar wax renderer but don't see exactly > how they work. It seems like the comb (containing honey, brood, > etc.) is placed on a screen in the sun. The wax melts and drips > down to a collecting pan. But wouldn't the honey drip down too? > This seems like a good way to separate the brood, though. > > I don't want to waste the wax the bees worked so hard to make. > Perhaps I'll use it for candles... but a candle filled with > different stages of bee brood might only be interesting to a > beekeeper! > > Any insights or pointers in this area would be helpful! Thanks, > > Mike Killoran > -- > Mike Killoran Zen says: > killoran@ll.mit.edu Cease to do evil, > (617) 981-2667 Try to do good. From rshough@tasc.com Mon Aug 8 12:45:08 EDT 1994 Article: 647 of sci.agriculture.beekeeping Path: bigblue.oit.unc.edu!concert!news-feed-1.peachnet.edu!emory!europa.eng.gtefsd.com!MathWorks.Com!yeshua.marcam.com!zip.eecs.umich.edu!newsxfer.itd.umich.edu!uunet!newsserver.tasc.com!newsserver.read.tasc.com!rshough.read.tasc.com!user From: rshough@tasc.com (Rick Hough) Newsgroups: sci.agriculture.beekeeping Subject: Re: What do I do about skunks? Followup-To: sci.agriculture.beekeeping Date: Tue, 26 Jul 1994 13:27:21 -0500 Organization: TASC Lines: 47 Message-ID: References: <313bm1$66o@news.doit.wisc.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: rshough.read.tasc.com In article <313bm1$66o@news.doit.wisc.edu>, nmrdb@vms.macc.wisc.edu (BEVERLY SEAVEY) wrote: > This morning there were a lot of my bees by the door of the hive, all uupset. > I had noticed skunk smell all night. In the ABC to XYZ book, it says that > skunks eat bees!!! How do I get rid of these skunks? A couple of tricks I have heard about, but have not had to test out myself: 1) Put the hives on taller hive stands, so the skunks can't reach. I would guess that this has a couple of problems - skunks can climb, skunks can be rather tall when they stand on their hind legs, it can be hard to remove supers from the top of the hive. 2) Place something in front of the hive that the skunks will not walk on. I've heard of driving nails through a board so they protrude from the back side, and then leaving the boards, nails up, in front of the hive. Knowing me, I would forget about the darn board, and step on it myself! I'm not sure if it works, but I've heard that some animals don't like to walk on chicken wire when it is laid flat on the ground. 3) Put up a fence around the hives. This can be a lot of work, and skunks can dig, so the fence needs to go below the surface a bit. 4) Sprinkle liberal amounts of pepper, or other hot spice on the ground in front of the hive entrance. The theory on this one is that the skunk will walk on the pepper, get pepper on it's paws, and get some of the pepper when it eats the bees. "Hmm, these bees don't taste so good..." and the skunk leaves your bees alone. 5) Trap the skunk & move it elsewhere. This one has certain obvious risks. As I said above, I can't vouch for the effectiveness of any of these, but I'm sure others will have some comments of their own! Oh yah - I almost forgot the relatively sure fix - a rifle. **************************************************** * Rick Hough * email: rshough@tasc.com * * TASC * Phone: (617) 942-2000 * * 55 Walkers Brook Drive * FAX: (617) 942-7100 * * Reading, MA 01867 * * **************************************************** SET DISCLAIMER ON The above is my opinion, and not my employer's or anyone else's. From adent@Deakin.Edu.Au Mon Aug 8 12:45:09 EDT 1994 Article: 648 of sci.agriculture.beekeeping Path: bigblue.oit.unc.edu!concert!news-feed-1.peachnet.edu!news.duke.edu!MathWorks.Com!europa.eng.gtefsd.com!library.ucla.edu!galaxy.ucr.edu!ihnp4.ucsd.edu!munnari.oz.au!sol.ccs.deakin.edu.au!adent From: adent@Deakin.Edu.Au (ADRIAN GRAHAM DENT) Newsgroups: sci.agriculture.beekeeping Subject: help!!!! Date: 2 Aug 1994 05:21:15 GMT Organization: Deakin University Lines: 1 Distribution: world Message-ID: <31kl4b$l11@sol.ccs.deakin.edu.au> NNTP-Posting-Host: eros.ccs.deakin.edu.au From physikv@phys.canterbury.ac.nz Mon Aug 8 12:45:10 EDT 1994 Article: 649 of sci.agriculture.beekeeping Path: bigblue.oit.unc.edu!concert!news-feed-1.peachnet.edu!news.duke.edu!eff!news.umbc.edu!haven.umd.edu!ames!waikato!canterbury.ac.nz!newton!physikv From: physikv@phys.canterbury.ac.nz (Kumar) Newsgroups: sci.agriculture.beekeeping Subject: Re: Requeening by putting in queen cell? Date: 2 Aug 1994 12:11:29 GMT Organization: University of Canterbury Lines: 33 Message-ID: <31ld5h$65i@cantua.canterbury.ac.nz> References: NNTP-Posting-Host: newton.canterbury.ac.nz X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.2 PL1] Rick Hough (rshough@tasc.com) wrote: : In article , owen@rsnz.govt.nz : (Owen Watson) wrote: : > Has anyone tried the method of requeening by putting an-almost-ready queen : > cell on the frames, and letting supersedure take place? : I don't think this will work in a queen-right hive. I would think that the : existing queen would kill the queen in the cell before she ever emerges : (this is the way it works when a colony raises emergency queens to replace : a "lost" queen - the first queen to emerge runs around & chews holes in the : sides of all the other queen cells - the workers then finish the job by : pulling the pupa out of the cell and discarding it outside the hive). : This would be a good way to requeen a colony if you first eliminated the : old : queen, although you may want to place more than one queen cell, just in : case : you damage one "installing" it. This method of requeening is quite frequently used by commercial beekeepers in New Zealand, with claims of a 70-80% success rate. The cells are protected on the sides with tape, ensuring that the pupa inside has a chance to at least emerge. The cell does not need to be placed in the brood chamber - often it is placed in a super (with no excluder being used). It is an attractive idea from a labour-saving, "leave-it-alone" point of view, but I don't know how accurate the success rate really is, or whether anyone has ever done a controlled experiment. My only attempt with this method resulted in a swarm in the last month of Summer... Kumar From rohvm1.mah48d@rohmhaas.com Mon Aug 8 12:45:11 EDT 1994 Article: 650 of sci.agriculture.beekeeping Path: bigblue.oit.unc.edu!concert!news.duke.edu!convex!cs.utexas.edu!howland.reston.ans.net!newsserver.jvnc.net!rohvm1!rohvm1.mah48d Nntp-Posting-Host: 136.141.220.39 Date: Tue, 2 Aug 1994 12:30:15 -0400 From: rohvm1.mah48d@rohmhaas.com (John E. Taylor III) Newsgroups: sci.agriculture.beekeeping Followup-To: sci.agriculture.beekeeping Distribution: na Subject: Re: Question about making beewax candles Message-ID: References: <311471$26s@homer.mdd.comm.mot.com> Organization: Rohm and Haas Company Lines: 23 In article , rshough@tasc.com (Rick Hough) wrote: > In article <311471$26s@homer.mdd.comm.mot.com>, jong@mdd.comm.mot.com > (Edward Jong) wrote: > > > > When making beeswax candles, is it advisable to mix some > > parafin as well? Any suggestions for candle making. > > Addition of parafin will increase the chances that the candle will > drip. Also, once you add parafin, you can't sell your candles as > 100% beeswax. I am not aware of any advantages of adding parafin, > other than parafin is cheap. > I have the impression that candle crafters consider 100% beeswax candles to be a bit extravagant (after all, they use mostly parafin), and thus use it primarily as a minor additive. We, on the other hand, have access to lots more beeswax than they do. We can afford the luxury of pure beeswax candles. Go for it! -- John Taylor (W3ZID) | "The opinions expressed are those of the roh033.mah48d@rohmhaas.com | writer and not of Rohm and Haas Company." From rohvm1.mah48d@rohmhaas.com Mon Aug 8 12:45:12 EDT 1994 Article: 651 of sci.agriculture.beekeeping Path: bigblue.oit.unc.edu!concert!rutgers!koriel!cs.utexas.edu!howland.reston.ans.net!newsserver.jvnc.net!rohvm1!rohvm1.mah48d Nntp-Posting-Host: 136.141.220.39 Date: Tue, 2 Aug 1994 12:35:14 -0400 From: rohvm1.mah48d@rohmhaas.com (John E. Taylor III) Newsgroups: sci.agriculture.beekeeping Followup-To: sci.agriculture.beekeeping Distribution: na Subject: Re: What do I do about skunks? Message-ID: References: <313bm1$66o@news.doit.wisc.edu> Organization: Rohm and Haas Company Lines: 24 In article , rshough@tasc.com (Rick Hough) wrote: > In article <313bm1$66o@news.doit.wisc.edu>, nmrdb@vms.macc.wisc.edu > (BEVERLY SEAVEY) wrote: > > > This morning there were a lot of my bees by the door of the hive, all uupset. > > I had noticed skunk smell all night. In the ABC to XYZ book, it says that > > skunks eat bees!!! How do I get rid of these skunks? > > A couple of tricks I have heard about, but have not had to test out myself: > > 1) Put the hives on taller hive stands, so the skunks can't reach. I would > guess that this has a couple of problems - skunks can climb, skunks can be > rather tall when they stand on their hind legs, it can be hard to remove > supers from the top of the hive. According to what I've read, the advantage of raising the hive to about 18 - 24 inches is that the skunk has to stretch upward to hassle the hive, leaving his underbelly exposed to the bees. Apparently they're much more effective there than trying to get through his back fur. -- John Taylor (W3ZID) | "The opinions expressed are those of the roh033.mah48d@rohmhaas.com | writer and not of Rohm and Haas Company." From terry-dahms@uiowa.edu Mon Aug 8 12:45:13 EDT 1994 Article: 652 of sci.agriculture.beekeeping Newsgroups: sci.agriculture.beekeeping Path: bigblue.oit.unc.edu!concert!news.duke.edu!MathWorks.Com!europa.eng.gtefsd.com!howland.reston.ans.net!math.ohio-state.edu!hobbes.physics.uiowa.edu!news.uiowa.edu!news.weeg.uiowa.edu!drone.weeg.uiowa.edu!terry-dahms From: terry-dahms@uiowa.edu (Terry Dahms) Subject: June 1994 'Buzz' - Iowa Beekeepers Newsletter Message-ID: Keywords: newsletter june 1994 iowa Lines: 375 Sender: news@news.weeg.uiowa.edu (News) Nntp-Posting-Host: drone.weeg.uiowa.edu Organization: Weeg Computing Center X-Newsreader: Trumpet for Windows [Version 1.0 Rev A] Date: Tue, 2 Aug 1994 22:18:06 GMT Submitted by: Terry Dahms, Pres. East Central Iowa Beekeepers Assoc. internet: terry-dahms@uiowa.edu ps: sorry for the delay in posting. ------------------------------------------------------------------ THE BUZZ JUNE, 1994 ------------------------------------------------------------------ A newsletter published monthly as a cooperative effort by The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and The Iowa Honey Producers Association (IHPA), an affiliate member of the Iowa Horticultural Society. Copy deadline is the 20th of each month. Your ideas, comments and letters are welcomed and encouraged. EDITOR: Bob Cox, State Apiarist, Iowa Dept. of Agriculture, Wallace Building, Des Monies, IA. 50319 Phone: (515) 281-5736. IHPA MEMBERSHIP: Membership dues in the Iowa Honey Producers Assn. are $5.00/year. Send to Gordon Powell, IHPA Treasurer. ------------------------------------------------------------------ STATE APIARISTS REPORT What a fantastic spring for the bees we have had! You can expect lots of swarming if you have not managed the bees properly. It is time to start thinking about getting supers on your colonies and preparing for the harvest. That brings up the Iowa State Fair. Get involved this year. Enter some of your best product in the apiary division or perhaps cook something with honey to enter in the food division. It doesn't matter whether your bees produce dark or light honey, liquid or comb honey, beautiful beeswax or a nice observation beehive. There is a class for everyone. Think about putting in a bid for selling honey or beeswax at the Iowa Honey Producers Association Salesbooth at State Fair. We could really use good quality product and at the same time promote our favorite industry or hobby. I am finding the Varroa mite in many places around the state this year. Beware of this mite and treat if you have them. Time is running out to treat this spring, if not already past in most areas of the state. The black locust trees are blooming now (May 23rd) and some sweet clover is starting to bloom here in central Iowa. This is the time of year to put on supers for the bees to store surplus honey. In June there are local beekeepers meetings being held in Marshalltown, Iowa City and Davenport. For specific dates, places, and times consult the "Calendar of Events." These are a great opportunity to compare notes and see how other beekeepers do things. Why not pick one closest to you and attend it? If you want to be on a list of beekeepers wanting to retrieve swarms or need bees inspected before July 1st, give me a call at (515) 281-5736. - Bob Cox CENTRAL IOWA BEEKEEPERS MEETING The Central Iowa Beekeepers Association (CIBA) will hold their summer meeting at the Anson Park Shelter House in Marshalltown June 18th at 5:30 p.m. A member appreciation meal will be cooked and served by CIBA board members for continued support of the membership. The program will follow at 6:30 p.m. featuring Bob Mitchell, Tim Laughlin and Bob Cox (Mo, Larry and Curly?) For further information contact Margaret Hala (515) 752-2981. IOWA SUMMER BEEKEEPING FIELD DAY Saturday, July 23rd the Iowa Honey Producers and Central Iowa Beekeepers Association will hold a beekeeping field day at the Riverside Bible Camp near Story City, Iowa. The camp is located just 2 miles off of I-35 about 20 miles north of Ames. Registration is at 8:30 a.m. and the program will last until 4:00. Dr. Marla Spivak of the University of Minnesota Bee Research Laboratory will present a program on queen management: finding and evaluating the queen, queen selection, breeding, rearing methods, replacement and introduction methods. Everyone attending will get a copy of the new disease booklet published by the University of Minnesota. The morning will start out with a walking tour of bee plants on the grounds. Breakout sessions in the afternoon will include choices of Comb Honey Production, Pollen Trapping, Beginning Beekeeping, or Bee Diseases and Pests. The camp setting is a great place for beekeepers and their families. There is a beeyard with a screened-in observation building on the property. Some of the talks and lunch will be held in an air-conditioned retreat center. Pre-registration ($4.00 for single or family) is required for a prepared meal ($5.75 per adult) or you could bring your own lunch and eat at picnic tables outside. To register fill out the form on page 9 and send in with your check for the registration and meal. The registration fee at the door is $5.00. For further information contact Bob Cox, State Apiarist, Iowa Department of Agriculture, Wallace Building, Des Moines, IA 50319 (515) 281-5736 or Gordon Powell, 4012 - 54th St., Des Moines, IA 50310 (515) 278-1762. SCOTT COUNTY BEEKEEPERS FIELD TRIP Thurday, June 16th at 6:00 p.m. the Scott County Beekeepers Association will hold a beekeeping field trip. Meet at Al Gruber's beeyard at 1945 Wisconsin St. on the west side of Davenport. This will be a hands-on experience in the beeyard or you may want to watch. Anyway, bring you own hat, beeveil and other personal gear if you have it. However, come even if you do not, because we will have some extra equipment for you to use. We will identify queens, swarm cells, and other aspects of a bee colony. We will demonstrate how to make splits and requeen colonies and when to place supers on colonies for surplus honey production. Hopefully, we will not have a rainstorm again. DIRECTIONS: Turn north on Wisconsin Street off of Locust, 1 1/4 miles east of I-280. Come and bring a friend. For further information contact Ray & Jo Whitwood (319) 263-0992. HONEY OF A VERSE "John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins... And John was clothed with camel's hair, and with a girdle of a skin about his loins; and he did eat locusts and wild HONEY" (Mark 1:4,6) NOSEMA IN HONEYBEES by Carol Fassbinder (Hawkeye Science Fair Winner) In the past four winters the winter kill rate for honeybees in Iowa has been 50-75%. In my science fair project I wanted to determine if Nosema disease is a contributor to such a high winter loss. I predicted that the colonies that were treated with Fumadil-B will have little or no Nosema spores, and survive winter better than the colonies that were not treated. Procedure: I tested 8 different yards (averaging 26 colonies per yard) and gathered a 25-bee sample from each. Yards #1 and #2 were treated with Fumadil-B and winter-wrapped, #3 and #4 were treated and not wrapped, #5 and #6 were not treated but wrapped, and #7 and #8 were not treated and not wrapped for winter. At each yard I recorded the number of living colonies in the spring. I then dissected the bees by removing the head, then grasping the stinger end of the abdomen, and gently removing the insides. After removing the insides from 25 bees, the gut, ventriculus and honey stomach were ground up with 25 millilters of water (1 ml per bee) with a mortar and pestle. I used a wire loop to transfer a small amount of this solution onto the hemocytometer for counting the number of Nosema spores. Under a 430 power microscope I counted the Nosema spores in 80 small squares on a special grid and used a mathematical formula to calculate the correct number of spores per bee and the level of infestation. Results: The Nosema infestation is displayed in Table 1 and the winter survival rate is shown in Table 2 on page 4. In yards #1 and #2 (Fumadil & wrapped) the average spore count was 1,667 spores per bee, and they had an average winter survival rate of 85% and the amount of dysentery was extremely low. In yards #3 and #4 (Fumadil but not wrapped) there were 24,834 spores per bee and they had an average winter survival rate of 85% and was not much dysentery dtectable at these yards. In yard #5 and #6 (no Fumadil but wrapped) the average spore count was 66,665 spores per bee, and 83% winter survival raate and there was a fair amount of dysentery on the outside of the hives, but the inside of the hives were still clean. In yards #7 and #8 (no Fumadil & not wrapped) the spore count was 152,667 spores per bee, with only 31% surviving winter and dysentery covering the front of the hives, as well as the inside of the hives. Conclusions: It appears that if the bees are either well protected for winter by wrapping or treated with Fumadil-B, their winter survival is reasonable. However, if the bees are neither treated with Fumadil-B, nor protected by wrapping, they do not survive winter well. I conclude that winter protection is more important than treating with Fumadil-B (because of the added expense). If the bees are not protected, then treatment with Fumadil-B is essential. Since other factors play a part in winter survival, more reasearch needs to be done. (Carol is a 7th grader at Valley Community School and daughter of Robert and Kathy Fassbinder , commercial beekeepers from Elgin, Iowa.) Figure 1 - Number of Nosema Figure 2 - Winter survival rate spores per bee in the spring in the spring of 1994 after of 1994 after colonies were colonies were treated with treated with Fumadil (3+4), Fumadil-B or wrapped or both wrapped (5+6), both (1+2) or or neither. neither (7+8). CALENDAR OF EVENTS JUNE 13 Eastcentral Iowa Beekeepers Meeting 7:00 p.m. in basement of Montgomery Hall, Johnson County Fairgrounds, Iowa City 16 Scott County Beekeeping Field Day 7:00 p.m. at Al Gruber's beeyard, 1945 Wisconsin St. in Davenport. 18 Central Iowa Beekeepers Dinner & Meeting 5:30 p.m. at Anson Park Shelter House in Marshalltown. Program at 6:30 25 IHPA Board Mtg. 1:00 p.m. at Royal Cafe in Huxley. JULY 13-15 Eastern Apicultural Society Annual Conference in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Contact Maryann Frazier telephone: (814) 865-4621. 23 IHPA/CIBA Summer Field Day at Riverside Church Camp, Story City, Iowa. Contact Gordon Powell or Bob Cox for further details. NOVEMBER 11-12 Iowa Honey Producers Annual Meeting in Marshalltown. WHAT TO DO ABOUT SWARMING (Reprinted from the Alaska newsletter - By Dr. Clarence Collison, Mississippi State University) Swarming is an instinctive desire of honeybees to increase their numbers by reproducing at the colony level, giving them twice the chance to survive. While this behavior is not fully understood, several factors contribute to the swarming impulse. The major factor is congestion in the brood area which is related to population size and availability of space. Swarming also is associated with the production and distribution of chemicals secreted by the queen. When there is a shortage of these secretions (queen substance), the bees make queen cells in preparation for swarming or supercedure (a natural replacement of an established queen by a daughter in the same hive). Swarming also may be modified by the weather. When colonies are strong and developing, good weather following some bad weather seems to accentuate the swarming fever. Other factors that contribute to swarming include poor ventilation, a failing queen, heredity and an imbalance in the makeup of the worker bee population. Most swarming occurs during April and May in Mississippi, and you need to check the colonies every 8 to 10 days during this season. The presence of queen cells in the brood area is the first indication the colony is preparing to swarm or supercede its queen. Swarm cells are commonly found on or near the bottom bars of the combs in the upper brood chamber(s). Whereas supercedure queen cells are generally found on the face of the comb. To check quickly for swarm cells, tip back the top brood chamber(s) and look up between the frames, destroy all (unsealed) swarm cells. Unfortunately, cutting out queen cells seldom prevents swarming; it only delays it since the bees usually construct more cells in a few days. Once the bees succeed in capping a queen cell, they are committed to swarming. (Tennessee Apiculture March-April 1991) I am not hard hearted--some of the time but I have a hard time feeling sorry for people who allow their bees to swarm when they don't watch their bees. July is our usual swarming time. This year the first swarm was reported June the 5th. Caging the queen first week of July to prevent swarming won't work as well this year due to the fact that the bees are swarming early. It will do the other jobs in to brood rearing, etc., that I write about. Cutting out queen cells--my way of saying it--it is a waste of time. Why? Because even experienced beekeepers miss them and when the bees have their jogging shoes on cutting out cells will not stop them, just slow them down a few days. Separate the brood from the queen by an excluder and give an uppper entrance. Let them swarm but stay in the hive. FOR SALE: queen excluders, Kelley 33-frame extractor, sump tank, 1" pump, Dadant Wax melter, Cowen uncapper, 2 - 3000 gal. S.S. corn syrup tanks, and more. Call days (608) 568-7601 or evenings (608) 748-4706. ESPY APPOINTS NEW MEMBERS TO NATIONAL HONEY BOARD Mike Espy, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, appointed two producer members, one exporter member and one cooperative member as well as alternates for each position to the National Honey Board. The new members' three-year terms commenced April 1 and expire on March 31, 1997. H. Binford Weaver, Navasota, Texas, was reappointed to serve as producer member representing Region 5 (Al, AR, LA, MS, MO, OK, TN and TX). Bobby E. Coy, Jonesboro, Arkansas was appointed as the alternate for Weaver. Stephen A. Conlon, Proctor, W.V. was appointed to serve as producer member representing Region 7 (CT, DL, DC, IL, IN, KY, ME, MA, NH, NJ, NY, NC, OH, PA, RI, SC, VT, VA, and WV). David E. Hackenberg, Lewisburg, PA was appointed as the alternate for Conlon. John (Doug) McGinnis, Edgewater, FL was appointed to serve as exporter member. Robert E. Coyle, Bellevue, WA, a honey importer, was appointed as the alternate for McGinnis. Newly appointed members of the nominating committee are: Jerry A. Brown, Haddam, KS; Glenn E. Davis, Blue Springs, MO; Todd D. Larson, Billings, MT; Joann M. Olstrom, Reedsport, OR; Glen R. Wollman, Parker, SD; Donald J. Kohn, Withee, WI; and Charles D. Hannum, Arlington, VA. Reappointed for three terms on the nominations committee are: Reg G. Wilbanks, Claxton, GA; Donald T. O'Neill, Baton Rouge, LA; Jacob C. DeKorne, Ellsworth, MI; Darl B. Stoller, Latty, OH and Stephen H. Dilley, Nashville, TN. FRANK PELLETT, APICULTURE PIONEER, REMEMBERED An excellent article about the Hyssop honey plant, a member of the mint family, by Ayers and Widrlechner was published in the May 1994 American Bee Journal. In this article quite a mention of Frank Pellett was made with respect to his work on this honey plant. The following is quoted from this article: "Because of his extensive writing on the subject, Frank Pellett (1879-1951), more than anyone else, created a place in U.S. apicultural history for A. foeniculum (anise hyssop). Mr. Pellett was a well respected apiculturist. He was the Iowa State Apiarist between 1912 and 1917, a Field Editor of the American Bee Journal for many years, and then an Associate Editor of the same publication, a position he held until the end of his life. He was instrumental in the pioneering research on American foulbrood. He initiated and operated the American Bee Journal's Honey Plant Test Gardens at Atlantic, Iowa. He was a careful observer who published books on the history of American beekeeping, queen rearing, practical beekeeping, horticulture, botany and ornithology (Anonymous, 1951), but he is probably most remembered by today's beekeepers for his magnum opus, American Honey Plants, which he revised several times through his life (1920, 1923, 1930, and 1947). His proclamations about bee forage in general (and anise hyssop in particular) demanded the respect of the apicultural industry." (Anonymous. 1951. Frank Pellett 1879-1951. American Bee Journal 91:234-237). 1994 SUMMER BEEKEEPING FIELD DAY Iowa Honey Producers & Central Iowa Beekeepers Assn. Saturday, July 23rd Riverside Bible Camp, 3001 Riverside Rd. Story City, IA 50248 Phone (515) 733-5271 Meeting Pre-registration $4.00 $________ (Deadline - July 16) At the door $5.00 $________ (No prepared meal available if not pre-registered)** Noon meal* in air-conditioned bldg. $5.75 $________ Through age 3 - No charge Children: Ages 4 - 10 yrs - $3.00 Ages 11 and up - full price * Includes soup, salad, BBQ sandwich & chips, bread/roll, coffee/milk/coolaid ** Picnic tables outside if you would rather bring your own lunch. 1994 MEMBERSHIP DUES: Iowa Honey Producers Association $5.00 $________ Central Iowa Beekeepers Association $4.00 $________ ================= TOTAL $________ MAKE CHECK PAYABLE TO: IOWA HONEY PRODUCERS ASSN. SEND CHECK AND FORM TO: Gordon Powell 4012 - 54th St. Des Moines, IA 50310 (515) 278-1762 NAME______________________________________________________________ ADDRESS:__________________________________________________________ CITY:____________________STATE_________________ZIP________________ PHONE(____)_______________________No. of colonies_________________ 4/05/94 From terry-dahms@uiowa.edu Mon Aug 8 12:45:15 EDT 1994 Article: 653 of sci.agriculture.beekeeping Newsgroups: sci.agriculture.beekeeping Path: bigblue.oit.unc.edu!concert!news.duke.edu!MathWorks.Com!europa.eng.gtefsd.com!howland.reston.ans.net!math.ohio-state.edu!hobbes.physics.uiowa.edu!news.uiowa.edu!news.weeg.uiowa.edu!drone.weeg.uiowa.edu!terry-dahms From: terry-dahms@uiowa.edu (Terry Dahms) Subject: July 1994 'Buzz' - Iowa Beekeepers newsletter Message-ID: Keywords: newsletter iowa july 1994 Lines: 427 Sender: news@news.weeg.uiowa.edu (News) Nntp-Posting-Host: drone.weeg.uiowa.edu Organization: Weeg Computing Center X-Newsreader: Trumpet for Windows [Version 1.0 Rev A] Date: Tue, 2 Aug 1994 22:22:59 GMT Submitted by: Terry Dahms, Pres. East Central Iowa Beekeepers Assoc. internet: terry-dahms@uiowa.edu ------------------------------------------------------------------ THE BUZZ JULY, 1994 ------------------------------------------------------------------ A newsletter published monthly as a cooperative effort by The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and The Iowa Honey Producers Association (IHPA), an affiliate member of the Iowa Horticultural Society. Copy deadline is the 20th of each month. Your ideas, comments and letters are welcomed and encouraged. EDITOR: Bob Cox, State Apiarist, Iowa Dept. of Agriculture, Wallace Building, Des Monies, IA. 50319 Phone: (515) 281-5736. IHPA MEMBERSHIP: Membership dues in the Iowa Honey Producers Assn. are $5.00/year. Send to Gordon Powell, IHPA Treasurer. ------------------------------------------------------------------ PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE Dear Fellow Beekeepers, I think it is 1988, but my age tells me it is 1994. The bees up until now look just like they did in 1988. In April and May the bees built up like they are suppose to do. I think they look great. Our queens were accepted just like they should be in our new splits and even as we were requeening. The bees were able to work the dandelions this year, as they haven't been able to the past three to four years. There was plenty of pollen and nectar for them and the queens started laying real well. I talked to several other people that ordered two and three pound packages the middle of April, and the first of June were putting on honey supers. The bees I have looked at the post couple of days were putting honey into the cells as fast as the brood was hatching. We have to be careful not let them plug up their brood chambers and crowd the queen out of laying space. I feel that this can cause swarming. We had a nice rain a few days ago, maybe about two inches or so. This should keep the flowers blooming for the bees. The weather has been great this spring. It's a refreshing change. Don't forget the Central Iowa/Iowa Honey Producers Field Day on July 23rd at the Riverside Bible Camp north of Story City. This should be a fun day for the family. State Fair is just around the corner, too. It is not as far off as it may seem. Start planning to enter into the Apiary, Foods made with Honey or Honey-Walnut Classic competition at the fair this year. There is great fun in doing this and prize money also. An entry form for Apiary has been included on page 7. SCOTT COUNTY BEEKEEPERS ANNUAL PICNIC Sunday, July 10th at 1:00 p.m. the Scott County Beekeepers Association will hold their annual picnic at the Duck Creek Park Shelters on East Locust Street in Davenport, Iowa. A collection will be taken up to pay for fried chicken catered from Riefes Restaurant. You should bring a side dish, salad or dessert to share and your own drink and table service. Come, bring a friend and compare notes on this year's honey crop. Bring a small sample of liquid, creamed, or comb honey for others to taste. Maybe this could be a time to make plans to take some of the best honey to the state fair in Des Moines in August. REMINDER TO ALL BEEKEEPING FAMILIES Help promote our favorite product--HONEY! Bring your favorite honey-sweetened snack to the July 23rd Beekeeping Field Day at the Riverside Bible Camp, Story City, Iowa. Share a tasty honey treat with us. See the program for the meeting on page 3. (insert Leo's signature) LAPLANDERS HONEY CONFERENCE Friday, September 9th, the Laplanders Honey Conference of Southern Iowa and Northern Missouri will be held in Allerton, Iowa at the "Inn of the Six Toed Cat." Dinner will be held at 6 p.m. and the program at 7 p.m. The following day, Saturday, September 10th at 10 a.m. the Honey-Walnut Classic will also be held at the "Inn" in Allerton. Look for more details in next month's newsletter. CALENDAR OF EVENTS JULY 13-15 Eastern Apicultural Society Annual Conference in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Contact Maryann Frazier telephone: (814) 865-4621. 23 IHPA/CIBA Summer Field Day at Riverside Bible Camp, Story City, Iowa. Contact Gordon Powell or Bob Cox for further details. AUGUST 11-21 Iowa State Fair Apiary Exhibit, 2nd Floor of Agriculture Building. Come see the best! SEPTEMBER - NATIONAL HONEY MONTH 10-11 Laplanders Honey Conference 6:00 p.m. the 10th and Honey Walnut Classic 10 a.m. the 11th both at the Inn in Allerton, Iowa. NOVEMBER 11-12 Iowa Honey Producers Annual Meeting in Marshalltown. WANTED: Contact with beekeepers who collect and market Bee Pollen. We are examining the nutritional qualities of pollen from various crops, as well as seeking suitable quantities for use in our Raw Food products. Contact Raja Tamaran, Vital Health Network, P.O. Box 570, Kealakekua, Hawaii 96750 phone: (808) 328-8052 FAX (808) 329-7651. FOR SALE: Dadant 4-frame stainless extractor with motor (will handle 8 shallow frames) - $250; 40 gal. galvanized tank with 2-inch gate - $50; 12 shallow supers with comb - $5.00 ea.; 7 deep supers with frames, 2 smokers, 2 bee veils, electric uncapper. My beeyard was destroyed by fire. Contact Don Kraus, Box 275, Britt, IA 50423 phone: 515-843-3133. FOR SALE: Dadant 4-frame s/s extractor. Hand crank or power drive. $125 w/out the motor. Call Phil Ebert in Lynnville, Iowa 515-527-2639. STATE APIARISTS REPORT Please sign up to help in the State Fair Honey Booth this year. It's a great way to spend a part of a day. (see sign-up on p. 6) The number of swarms this year must be at least double that of last year. I am running that far ahead on bee swarm calls here in my office. I think this year has caught a lot of beekeepers off guard after last year's slow and poor build up. You couldn't hardly split your bees enough this spring. Stan Weiser told me of the following incident that illustrates how frustrated he became with trying to stop a colony from swarming. Stan had been reversing the hive bodies, making splits, and cutting unsealed swarms cells to prevent swarming of his dozen or so colonies in his back yard near Adel. Despite all this he watched one of his colonies swarm one morning a couple of weeks ago. It landed in the top of an evergreen tree in his yard, about 30 feet off the ground. It made him so angry that he got out his 20 gauge shot gun and shot the swarm out of the tree. As soon as the swarm was hit, it dropped to the ground like lead. Then the bees dusted themselves off and all went back into the hive from which they issued. Believe it or not! (Explanation? Stan figures that he killed the queen and the demoralized swarm simply returned home.) Field inspectors will be starting in July and August. We are delaying inspections in the early summer so that we can save hours to inspect more next spring. I have been inspecting those requesting it, mainly in central and eastern Iowa. We will have the same inspectors as last year working in the same counties, with the exception of Bob Wells, who retired last July 1st. If you would like your bees inspected, contact my office in Des Moines. (State Apiarist, Iowa Dept. of Agriculture, Wallace State Office Building, Des Moines, Iowa 50319 phone: 515-281-5736) Beekeepers who have treated their colonies with Apistan strips have been getting a clean bill of health with respect to Varroa mites. So far this year the highest levels of Varroa mites have been found in bees where the beekeeper was not aware that he had Varroa yet. Plan on treating with Apistan as soon as the honey is harvested from your colonies to avoid losses due to Varroa mites. Check any weak colonies for signs of American foulbrood disease (i.e. sunken, perforated, greasy, darkened cappings over brood with a "melted-down", gooey, chocolate-brown mass underneath the capping). These must be dealt with promptly to avoid spread to neighboring healthy colonies. The beekeeping class taught at the Des Moines Botanical Center will conclude this month with the final field trip to the beeyard to harvest honey (hopefully) and extract some honey to take home. We will meet at the beeyard Saturday, July 16th at 10:00 a.m. so that we can get done before its too hot. Don't forget the IHPA/CIBA Beekeeping Field Day July 23rd at the Riverside Bible Camp near Story City. It should be a fun day for all the family. The meeting place is air-conditioned. Save time and a dollar by preregistering now on the form on page 9. We are really looking forward to Dr. Spivak's presentation as well as the rest of the program. A LAND OF MILK AND HONEY While driving through the Wisconsin countryside I saw a sign on the side of a barn with the slogan "Bee Udderly Cool, Drink Milk and Eat Honey." Many consumers today have an even better idea--eat honey-sweetened ice cream. Ranking 8th in the nation in milk production and around 15th in honey production, Iowa is also "A Land Flowing with Milk and Honey" (Bible - Exodus 3:8). Several years ago the Iowa Honey Producers Association got the idea to sell a small serving of honey-sweetened ice cream at the State Fair Salesbooth as a way of promoting this use of honey, as well as the use of honey in general. Several other state beekeeping organizations in the upper Midwest were selling honey ice cream and thought it was a winner. For example, Nebraska Honey Producers were contracting with the University of Nebraska for producing several flavors of honey ice cream, both soft and hard. Nebraska State Apiarist, Marion Ellis, offered to let us purchase some of their mix, but transportation during the hot summer seemed a problem. We then contacted several large Iowa Dairies about making us a small batch for our needs at State Fair. Anderson-Erickson (A-E) Dairy of Des Moines seemed to be the most interested and the most convenient because the State Fair is also located in Des Moines. In order to taste the honey flavor, we felt it was important to keep the flavors simple, so we tried Honey-Vanilla and Honey-Almond premium ice cream. We contacted the National Honey Board who provided technical support (commercial recipes, etc.). The Iowa Honey Producers Association provided a nice light-colored, mild-flavored clover honey for the manufacture of the ice cream. The first two years we sold out the 7000 servings of ice cream before the end of the Fair. Many people said they loved the ice cream and asked where they could purchase more of it. In fact, the second year we collected signatures on a petition asking A-E Dairy to offer this for sale in the local grocery stores. In 1992, A-E Dairy decided to produce honey ice cream commercially using Iowa Honey Producers Honey. In spite of delays due to the new nutrition labelling requirements, Honey Almond premium all-natural ice cream will be available to super markets in their marketing area by July 1st according to David Bush, general manager, A-E Farms, Inc. Additionally, A-E Dairy is teaming up with Sioux Honey Association of Sioux City, Iowa in a joint venture to develop and market honey-sweetened light ice cream. Test marketing will begin this summer according a June 1st Des Moines Register article. Honey-sweetened yogurt, dairy spreads and juice blends are also on the drawing board. Initial ice cream flavors will include honey-vanilla, chocolate, oatmeal-raisin cookie dough, mint-chocolate truffle, honey-almond and peanut-butter cup. The product will be in pints in the "super premium" category. We hope that the proposed products will be a big success and that the promotional efforts will pay off in a greater consumption of honey in our area, increased business opportunities and a better image of honey by the public. 1994 SUMMER BEEKEEPING FIELD DAY Iowa Honey Producers & Central Iowa Beekeepers Assn. Saturday, July 23rd Riverside Bible Camp, 3001 Riverside Rd. Story City, IA 50248 Phone (515) 733-5271 8:30 a.m. Registration - $5.00 for individuals or family (at the door) Sign up for door prizes. Preregistration (before July 16) $4.00. 9:00 a.m. Bee Pasture Walking Tour Jim Cherry 9:45 a.m. COFFEE BREAK with honey-made snacks that you bring. (door prizes) 10:00 a.m. IHPA President's Welcome Leroy Kellogg 10:05 a.m. CIBA President's Welcome Arvin Foell 10:10 a.m. Queen management Lecture - Dr. Marla Spivak 11:00 a.m. Demonstration of Queen management in the beeyard 12:00 M LUNCH (door prizes) 1:00 p.m. Concurrent Sessions A. Beginning Beekeeping (beeyard) Bob Cox B. Pollen trapping Jim Cherry 1:45 p.m. Concurrent Sessions A. Beginning Bee Diseases & Pests Bob Cox B. Comb Honey Production (beeyard) John Johnson 2:30 p.m. BREAK (door prizes) 2:45 p.m. Minnesota Research Update Dr. Marla Spivak 3:15 p.m. Hot Topics in Beekeeping Panel of Speakers 4:00 p.m. ADJOURN FARM AUCTION: July 16th at 9:00 a.m. at the Bob & Phyllis Gott residence, RR 1, Box 72, west of Ollie, Iowa. FOR SALE: s/s honey extractor, s/s bottling tank, 2 large s/s tanks, honey strainer, uncapping knife, 5 gal. plastic buckets, bee blower, foundation, new frames in box and other misc. beekeeping and farm equipment. DIRECTIONS: From Iowa Hwy. 78 turn north 2 miles west of Ollie Jct. at the Golden Furrow Fertilizer Plant. Go 1 mile north and 1/8 mile west to home on the south side of the road. Follow "Auction" signs. For more info. call Phyllis at 515-667-3611. FOR SALE: 7 2-story bee hives plus misc. equipment. Contact Raymond and Jo Whitwood in Muscatine, Iowa at 319-263-0992. FOR SALE: Dadant Gasoline-powered bee blower. Contact Edwin Richardson, 2103 E. 156th St. South, Grinnell 50112. (515) 236-6034. FOR SALE: Moving--must liquidate bee operation. 175 2-story hives - $50 @; 350 Illinois supers - $6.50 @; 40 shallow supers - $40 @; honey crop from 175 colonies - $40 @; 60-70 deep boxes (some w & some w/o frames) - $2 @; 40-50 shallow supers (some w & some w/out frames) - $1.50 @; 1 box deep foundation - $135; 2 boxes Illinois foundation - $140 @; 1 box cut-comb foundation $140; Dadant 20 frame stainless extractor - $1600; stainless capping tank - $200; 50 gal. stainless holding tank; other misc. beekeeping equipment - $400 = $21,000 for Complete Bee Operation. Contact Keith & Gail Rhodes in Fairfield, Iowa (515) 469-6628. PECAN HONEYBALLS (A.B.F. contest recipe) 1 cup butter or margarine 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 cup honey 2 teaspoons vanilla 2 cups sifted flour 2 cups finely chopped pecans Cream butter; add honey gradually; add flour, salt & vanilla. Mix well. Add chopped nuts & mix well. Form into very small balls. Place on greased cookie sheet and bake in 300 oven 40-45 minutes. Roll hot honeyballs in powdered sugar and repeat when cool. OBSERVATION HIVES--A REAL LEARNING EXPERIENCE During my eight years experience as a beekeeper, much of the factual knowledge I've gained has come from magazines, newsletters, bee meetings and talking with other beekeepers. Recently I've added my observation hive to that list of sources of bee information. It has been a good learning experience for me and can be for you if you decide to purchase or build one. In my small operation, the observation hive gets used more every year. It's been used for a demonstration in kindergarten, a children's sermon at church, at the Iowa State Fair, two craft shows, and at Cattle Congress in Waterloo. When at home, it is found by the window in the guest bedroom. My wife and son look forward to it's appearance every year. The glass-sided hive is really valuable when retailing honey at a craft show, because it's a good attention getter. Observation hives give the opportunity to watch bee behavior. Bees can be seen filling the cells with nectar, depositing pollen and propolis, feeding each other and taking care of the queen and brood. The queen provides most of the excitement by depositing eggs in the brood nest. The Iowa State Fair is a place to "show-case" observation hives in the apiary division. This year's fair is August 11-21. The rules for this class state that the observation hive must have a standard size frame on the bottom for brood and a shallow frame or comb honey section frame above, with bees and a marked queen. Observation hives must be built with adequate ventilation or the bees will overheat and die in the Ag building with no air conditioning. They must also have a closeable opening to allow the bees to exit the hive. Extra prize money is available for the first 15 places in this class at state fair. If you need assistance or plans to build an observation hive, I would be happy to assist you. (from Summer 1994 Central Iowa Beelines and written by Tim Laughlin) HONEY BEES AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTAMINATION Several recent discussions across Internet computer network about bee-collected propolis and pollen have concluded that honey bees are excellent samplers of their environment. This has both good and bad aspects according to one of the pioneers in this field, Dr. Jerry Bromenshenk, University of Montana. Here are a couple of his "take home" messages concerning these insects as environmental monitors as they appeared in May Apis newsletter: 1. Honey bees serve as multi-media samplers that average the concentrations of pollutants over time and throughout large areas. Bees sample contaminants in all forms - gaseous, liquid, particulate - and can detect chemicals in their surroundings at levels often difficult, if not impossible, to detect using more conventional approaches - i.e. instrumentation. 2. Most of the contamination (at least as indicated by the concentrations measured) ends up in the bees themselves and in the pollen. Some chemicals concentrate in wax. Generally, honey seems to be less contaminated than pollen, bees, or wax. 1994 IOWA STATE FAIR WORK SCHEDULE Please indicate the day(s) and time(s) that you are willing to work by writing your name(s). Also, fill in your name, address and phone number at the bottom of the page. THURSDAY, AUGUST 11 TUESDAY, AUGUST 16 9:00-1:30____________________ 9:00-1:30____________________ 1:30-6:00____________________ 1:30-6:00____________________ 6:00-9:00____________________ 6:00-9:00____________________ 10:00-2pm____________________ 10:00-2pm____________________ (Handing out samples) (Handing out samples) FRIDAY, AUGUST 12 WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 17 9:00-1:30____________________ 9:00-1:30____________________ 1:30-6:00____________________ 1:30-6:00____________________ 6:00-9:00____________________ 6:00-9:00____________________ 10:00-2pm____________________ 10:00-2pm____________________ (Handing out samples) (Handing out samples) SATURDAY, AUGUST 13 THURSDAY, AUGUST 18 9:00-1:30____________________ 9:00-1:30____________________ 1:30-6:00____________________ 1:30-6:00____________________ 6:00-9:00____________________ 6:00-9:00____________________ 10:00-2pm____________________ 10:00-2pm____________________ (Handing out samples) (Handing out samples) SUNDAY, AUGUST 14 FRIDAY, AUGUST 19 9:00-1:30____________________ 9:00-1:30____________________ 1:30-6:00____________________ 1:30-6:00____________________ 6:00-9:00____________________ 6:00-9:00____________________ 10:00-2pm____________________ 10:00-2pm____________________ (Handing out samples) (Handing out samples) MONDAY, AUGUST 15 SATURDAY, AUGUST 20 9:00-1:30____________________ 9:00-1:30____________________ 1:30-6:00____________________ 1:30-6:00____________________ 6:00-9:00____________________ 6:00-9:00____________________ 10:00-2pm____________________ 10:00-2pm____________________ (Handing out samples) (Handing out samples) NAME:________________________ SUNDAY, AUGUST 21 9:00-1:30____________________ ADDRESS______________________ 1:30-7:00____________________ 10:00-2pm____________________ _____________________________ (Handing out samples) PHONE(_____)_________________ RETURN TO: W. John Johnson RR 4, Squaw Valley Ames, IA 50010 From terry-dahms@uiowa.edu Mon Aug 8 12:45:16 EDT 1994 Article: 654 of sci.agriculture.beekeeping Newsgroups: sci.agriculture.beekeeping Path: bigblue.oit.unc.edu!concert!rutgers!cis.ohio-state.edu!magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu!math.ohio-state.edu!hobbes.physics.uiowa.edu!news.uiowa.edu!news.weeg.uiowa.edu!drone.weeg.uiowa.edu!terry-dahms From: terry-dahms@uiowa.edu (Terry Dahms) Subject: May 1994 'Buzz' - Iowa Beekeepers newsletter Message-ID: Keywords: newsletter Lines: 427 Sender: news@news.weeg.uiowa.edu (News) Nntp-Posting-Host: drone.weeg.uiowa.edu Organization: Weeg Computing Center X-Newsreader: Trumpet for Windows [Version 1.0 Rev A] Date: Tue, 2 Aug 1994 22:08:24 GMT Submitted by: Terry Dahms, Pres. East Central Iowa Beekeepers Assoc. internet: terry-dahms@uiowa.edu sorry for the delay in posting. ------------------------------------------------------------------ THE BUZZ MAY, 1994 ------------------------------------------------------------------ A newsletter published monthly as a cooperative effort by The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and The Iowa Honey Producers Association (IHPA), an affiliate member of the Iowa Horticultural Society. Copy deadline is the 20th of each month. Your ideas, comments and letters are welcomed and encouraged. EDITOR: Bob Cox, State Apiarist, Iowa Dept. of Agriculture, Wallace Building, Des Monies, IA. 50319 Phone: (515) 281-5736. IHPA MEMBERSHIP: Membership dues in the Iowa Honey Producers Assn. are $5.00/year. Send to Gordon Powell, IHPA Treasurer. ------------------------------------------------------------------ HANDLING BEE PROBLEM CALLS Spring is the time when insects become active and some of the insects cause people problems. Beekeepers, pest control operators, bee inspectors, county extension, ASCS, police and fire department personnel may all receive telephone calls concerning "bees" causing problems. Many of these situations do not involve honey bees. Problems range from bees digging burrows in the garden, to angry hornets, to a large scale honey bee hive spill due to a truck wreck. Your first job in fielding this type of call is to determine, as best as you can, if it is an emergency because bees are stinging people and what type of insect is involved. The best way, if it is an emergency or you are close by and you have the time, is to go over and check out the situation yourself. However, that is not often possible and you should gather information over the phone. Ask about the location of the caller, the appearance of the insect, the number of insects, the location of the bees' activity or nest and the appearance of the nest, if they can see it. If there has been a highway accident with honey bee hives spilled out on the road, call a fire department to come to the scene with water and hoses. The fire department needs to add liquid soap or film forming foam to the water and spray bees down with this solution. A solution of at least 3% soap or foam will knock bees down and kill them. A fine spray is most affective for clearing the air of bees and making it safe to rescue victims from the wreckage. The time of the year will give you a clue as to the type of insect. Generally most calls in the spring and early summer involve swarms of honey bees. These may be either hanging from the limb of a tree or nesting inside a tree or inside the wall or soffit of a home or other building. If their combs are visible you will notice that they hang vertically. About 3/4 of the calls that come into the State Apiarists office here involved problem bees or wasps inside structures and the remainder are free hanging swarms of honey bees. The free hanging swarms (clusters) of bees that are low to the ground (up to 10 feet) are valuable to some beekeepers, especially in the month of May. Most beekeepers do not feel that removing colonies of bees from inside structures is a profitable use of time. But occasionally, there is a beekeeper who will remove a colony of bees from a building for a fee. If you determine that the caller has honey bees, call one of the beekeepers listed on the cover of THE BUZZ located nearest to you to obtain name of beekeeper in your local area. The county ASCS office may also have names and phone numbers of beekeepers registered for pesticide notification in your county. Honey bees do not often swarm after July. Therefore most of the calls in late summer and fall involve yellow jacket wasps and hornets. Hornets make a gray paper nest the shape of a football that hangs from the limb of a tree. The nest contains several horizontally stacked paper combs connected by pedestals and covered by several paper envelopes. An individual hornet is black in appearance with white markings and is larger than a honey bee. Yellow jackets range in size from smaller than a honey bee to as large as a hornet and have bright yellow and black stripes. Their paper nests are inside a structure like honey bees, but unlike honey bees, some species may also nest underground. If the nest is visible, you may see several layers of outside covering like the hornet nest and horizontal combs hanging by one or more pedestals. Some of these colonies may contain several hundred thousand individuals. These insects are the ones that ruin your picnics in the late summer and fall. They like anything sweet: your peanut butter and jelly sandwich, soda pop or fruit. They also eat insects and forage on car grills, eating the dead insects deposited there while driving. If you determine that the caller has yellow jacket wasps or hornets, it is best to refer them to local pest control operators. SUMMER BEEKEEPING FIELD DAY Saturday, July 23rd the Iowa Honey Producers and Central Iowa Beekeepers Association will hold a beekeeping field day at the Riverside Bible Camp near Story City, Iowa. There is easy access to the camp which is located just 2 miles off of I-35 about 20 miles north of Ames. Registration is at 8:30 a.m. and the program will last until 4:00. The University of Minnesota Bee Research Laboratory will present a program on queen management: finding and evaluating the queen, queen selection, breeding, rearing methods, replacement and introduction methods. Everyone attending will get a copy of the new disease booklet published by the University of Minnesota. We are planning on door prizes and honey-made snacks that you bring. The morning will start out with a walking tour of bee plants on the grounds. Breakout sessions in the afternoon will include choices of Comb Honey Production, Pollen Trapping, Beginning Beekeeping, or Bee Diseases and Pests. We will finish up the day with a research update from the University of Minnesota and a "Hot Topics" question and answer session. The camp setting is a great place for beekeepers and their families. There is a beeyard with a screened-in observation building on the property. Some of the talks and the noon meal will be held in an air-conditioned retreat center. Pre-registration is required for a prepared meal or you may bring your own lunch and eat at picnic tables outside. For more information contact one of the committee members: Margaret Hala, Leo Stattelman, Margaret Hala, Gordon Powell, Jim Cherry or Bob Cox. TO DO IN THE BEEYARD SWARM PREVENTION - Because the colonies that survived are so full of brood, you will need to split colonies, equalize brood or make two-queen colonies to prevent swarming this Spring. Reversing the two hive bodies when the top box fills up with brood, honey and bees will also help discourage swarming. Prevention is the key! CAUTION: Cutting out sealed queen cells may result in a queenless colony and will not usually stop swarming anyway; it's too late. MAKING INCREASE - Early in the month you can still make splits to replace winter losses and increase the number of colonies. Make them a little larger now (e.g. 6-7 frames of brood). CHECK FOR VARROA & FOULBROOD - ignoring these will not make them go away. CALENDAR OF EVENTS MAY 7-8 Queen Rearing Short Course, University of Minnesota St. Paul Campus, Call Dr. Spivak at (612) 624-2275. JUNE 11 IHPA Board Mtg. 1:00 p.m. at Royal Cafe in Huxley. 13 Eastcentral Iowa Beekeepers Meeting 7:00 p.m. in Montgomery Hall, Johnson County Fairgrounds, Iowa City 18 Central Iowa Beekeepers Meeting 6:30 p.m. at Royal Cafe in Huxley. JULY 13-15 Eastern Apicultural Society Annual Conference in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Contact Maryann Frazier telephone: (814) 865-4621. 23 IHPA/CIBA Summer Field Day at Riverside Church Camp, Story City, Iowa. Contact Gordon Powell or Bob Cox for further details. NOVEMBER 11-12 Iowa Honey Producers Annual Meeting in Marshalltown. NEW NHB HONEY RECIPE FOLDER A new brochure (depicted on the front cover) published by the National Honey Board teaches cooks how to "make magic in minutes" with honey. The three-color, eight panel brochure is a collection of quick and easy tips for adding honey to dressings, desserts, drinks, sauces and spreads. Recipes vary from broiled bananas to lemonade to Dijon tarragon sauce. As the brochure cover explains: it's easy to drizzle, to dabble, to sizzle, to dazzle -- use honey. For a free sample of the "Make Magic in Minutes" brochure, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to: National Honey Board Magic, 421 - 21st Ave., Ste. 203, Longmont, CO 80501. Quantities are available for 15 cents each. HAWKEYE SCIENCE FAIR AWARDS The state-wide Hawkeye Science Fair was held April 8-9 at the Merle Hay Mall in Des Moines. Two science fair projects involving honey bees deserve special recognition. Carol Fassbinder, 7th grader of Valley-Elgin school, had the best honey bee project and received a $50.00 award. In addition, she placed 2nd overall in the 7th grade Biology division. Carol studied the effect of treating for nosema disease and wrapping colonies on winter survival of honey bee colonies belonging to her family. Carol is the daughter of commercial beekeepers Bob and Kathy Fassbinder of Elgin, Iowa. A research article about this project will appear in the June BUZZ. Kristin Burgess, 10th grader from Stuart-Menlo school, received a $25 award for her interesting project entitled "The Smelling Bee". She obtained worker honey bees from Ken Lappe, beekeeper from Casey, to test the bees' preference for different fruit odors. She constructed a simple olfactometer and her testing revealed that the bees most often preferred the pear and least often to the orange and the apple in between when given a choice. EASTERN APICULTURE SOCIETY SHORT COURSE AND CONFERENCE The annual EAS short course and conference will be held in Lancaster, Pennsylvania July 11-15. The short course will offer a choice of beginning beekeeping or beekeeping as a business July 11, 12 and the morning of the 13th. The conference will be held during the balance of the week. Other activities include a tour of Dutch Gold Honey packing business and Kitchen Kettle Village, located in an Amish community. Speakers for the conference include: Andrew Matheson (IBRA), Jim Tew (USDA), William Towne, David Fletcher, Clarence Collison, Cliff Sunflower, and Theodor Cherbuliez; Master Beekeeper & M.D. on Apitherapy. Workshop highlights include presentations by Kim Flottum on "Generating Good Public Relations for Your Association or Business" and "Writing the Perfect Newsletter," Tom McCormack on marketing, Dennis Keeney on backyard queen rearing, Cliff Sunflower on developing effective school programs and much, much more. For more information on the conference and short course including a registration form and copy of the program, please contact: Joe Duffy Maryann Frazier 309 Clivden Street or Dept. of Entomology Glenside, PA 19038 501 ASI Bldg. (717) 885-1681 Univ. Park, PA 16802 (814) 865-4621 EAST CENTRAL IOWA BEEKEEPERS MEETING Monday March 14 the East Central Iowa Beekeepers met at the Fairgrounds in Iowa City. The 14 members present reported an average of 33% winter loss out of 186 hives collectively. An announcement was made about Paul Goossen teaching a beekeeping class at the Amana Middle School in Middle Amana. This is an 8-week course taught through Kirkwood Community College and beginning April 9th at 9:00 - 11:00 a.m. Dave Irwin lead a discussion about participating again this year at the Johnson County Fair. It was the consensus of the group to set up a table again with an observation bee hive if the fair board will give permission and to hand out honey candy. Cleo Troyer brought a video entitled Controlling Bee Emergencies to show to the group. The group watched the video which was produced for fire departments to instruct them on how to handle an overturned truck load of bee hives or nuisance colonies. The evening ended with the members attempting to assemble an observation bee hive that President, Terry Dahms, had purchased. The next meeting meeting is scheduled for June 13th at 7:00 p.m. in the basement of Montgomery Hall at the Johnson County Fairgrounds in Iowa City. Anyone interested in beekeeping is invited. NEW UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA VARROA RESEARCH New research from The University of Georgia may support the notion that secondary pathogens compound damage to bee colonies from Varroa mites. Experimental colonies infested with Varroa mites were treated with various combinations of Terramycin antibiotic and Apistan miticide. Each product increased body weight of mature hive bees of mixed ages. Additionally, Terramycin increased body weight of newly-emerged bees. Reduced body weight is one of the best documented effects of Varroa mites on honey bees, and low body weight is linked to a shortened lifespan. Since Terramycin counteracted this negative effect, supplemental antibiotic treatments, along with Apistan miticide, may optimize benefit to Varroa infested colonies. (from January 1994 APIS newsletter, Univ. of Florida, Gainesville) BAKERS WILL GET SWEET SURPRISE IN WELBILT BREAD MACHINES Purchasers of Welbilt bread machines will soon get a bonus -- the National Honey Board's "Breads & Spreads" brochure. The brochure includes recipes for Honey Whole Wheat Bread, Poppy Seed Loaf, Dutch Dill Bread and Cajun Tomato Bread. Honey spreads are highlighted in the brochure as delectable toppings for breads, muffins and rolls. The Welbilt Corporation inserted the brochures in 100,000 of its bread machines. "I tried all of the recipes myself and the results were delicious" said Mary Humann, marketing director for the National Honey Board. Humann added that the bread recipes were developed especially for the Welbilt machines -- adjustments to the recipes may be required when they are used with other machines. The Honey Board has a limited quantity of bread machine brochures available. If you would like a free copy, please send your request to: Bread Machine Brochure National Honey Board 421 - 21st Ave., #203 Longmont, CO 80501 HONEY BARBECUE SAUCE 1/2 cup minced onion 1 clove garlic, minced 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce 1/2 cup honey 2 tablespoons vinegar 2 tablespoons minced parsley 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper Saute onion and garlic in oil until softened. Add remaining ingredients and bring to boil; reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes. Makes 1 cup. Marinate beef, chicken or pork in sauce. Brush on meat during barbecuing or broiling. Quick tip: Add 1/4 cup honey to 1 cup of your favorite prepared barbecue sauce. HONEY HERB BARBECUE SAUCE 1/2 cup honey 1/2 cup minced onion 1/4 cup dry white wine 1 tablespoon each lemon juice and chopped fresh rosemary* 1 clove garlic, minced Salt and pepper to taste Combine all ingredients in saucepan and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes. Makes 1 cup. Marinate chicken pieces at least 1/2 hour before barbecuing or broiling; brush chicken with sauce during cooking. *One teaspoon dried crushed rosemary may be substituted. HONEY LIME MARINADE 3/4 cup honey 2/3 cup fresh lime juice 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger root 2 teaspoons minced garlic Combine all ingredients; mix well. Makes 1-3/4 cups. Marinate chicken or turkey cutlets at least 1/2 hour before grilling or broiling; brush cutlets with marinade during cooking. (Recipes courtesy of the National Honey Board) IOWA HONEY PRODUCERS BOARD MEETING NEWS The board of directors of the Iowa Honey Producers Association met March 12th in Cambridge. Highlights included planning a summer field day, the decision to sell honey lemonade instead of honey ice cream this year at the Iowa State Fair and selling of the new National Honey Board's honey cookbook. These new cookbooks are available now through the mail and will be available at the Summer Field Day in July (see article elsewhere in BUZZ). John Johnson asked for more help for staffing the State Fair Salesbooth again this year. Note was also made that the Fair is one week earlier than in recent years. Bid sheets for honey sales will be published in the June BUZZ newsletter and the work schedule sign-up in the July issue. The next meeting of the board is scheduled for Saturday June 11 at 1:00 at the Royal Cafe in Huxley. CLEO TROYER OF KALONA DIES Cleo Troyer, just 10 days shy of his 70th birthday, died Tuesday, April 19 at University of Iowa Hospitals in Iowa City. Cleo had surgery for a brain tumor at the end of March and seemed to be doing fine when he died suddenly. His funeral was April 22 at the Lower Deer Creek Mennonite Church near Kalona, where he was an active member. The church is large and was packed with family and friends. Cleo was a long time beekeeper and was active in the East Central Iowa Beekeepers. He will be remembered for the help he gave to us less experienced beekeepers and his enthusiasm for beekeeping. At past meetings he had demonstrated a bee removal vacuum he purchased, a home-made video on beekeeping that starred himself, and at the March 14 meeting a video on bee emergencies he had purchased. We will miss him. For a combined total of 26 years he was either on the City Council or mayor of Kalona. In a Cedar Rapids Gazette article about Cleo, a resident was quoted as saying Cleo knew where every line, every pipe was in Kalona, along with the history of everything. At his funeral service, many were wiping eyes and blowing noses. The community of Kalona will dearly miss him too! - Terry Dahms President, East Central Iowa Beekeepers FOR SALE: Approx. 75 - 5 11/16" honey supers with drawn comb, fair condition $2.00 each. Approx. 50 - 5 11/16" honey supers w/ and w/o frames and no comb, good condition $1.00 each. Empty deep supers (shells), fair condition $1.00 each. Several hundred unassembled 9 1/8" and 5 3/8" frames, grooved top bars. Plus lots of misc. equipment. Will sell cheap. Great for a beginner. Call (712) 589-3606 in Braddyville, Iowa. FOR SALE: CLOVER HONEY IN BARRELS OR PAILS. CALL Lapp's Bee Supply Center. 1-800-321-1960 WARNING!! The following warning was sent to Bob Cox, Iowa State Apiarist, by Mississippi's State Apiarist, Harry Fulton. Russell Apiaries, J.N. Russell proprietor, of Bolton, MS is advertising in national bee magazines but is not certified in Mississippi. The owner is refusing inspection. Packages from Russell Apiaries should not be purchased for shipment to Iowa because it would be an illegal shipment. Additionally, these bees may be carrying diseases or parasites damaging to your other colonies and your neighbor's. A HONEY OF A VERSE "The sluggard will not plow by reason of the cold; therefore shall he beg in harvest, and have nothing." (Proverbs 20:4) It's time to be in the beeyard preparing your bees to make honey. From terry-dahms@uiowa.edu Mon Aug 8 12:45:17 EDT 1994 Article: 655 of sci.agriculture.beekeeping Newsgroups: sci.agriculture.beekeeping Path: bigblue.oit.unc.edu!concert!rutgers!ukma!jobone!newsxfer.itd.umich.edu!zip.eecs.umich.edu!yeshua.marcam.com!MathWorks.Com!news.duke.edu!news-feed-1.peachnet.edu!panther.Gsu.EDU!gatech!howland.reston.ans.net!math.ohio-state.edu!hobbes.physics.uiowa.edu!news.uiowa.edu!news.weeg.uiowa.edu!drone.weeg.uiowa.edu!terry-dahms From: terry-dahms@uiowa.edu (Terry Dahms) Subject: August 1994 'Buzz' - Iowa Beekeepers newsletter Message-ID: Keywords: august 1994 iowa newsletter Lines: 427 Sender: news@news.weeg.uiowa.edu (News) Nntp-Posting-Host: drone.weeg.uiowa.edu Organization: Weeg Computing Center X-Newsreader: Trumpet for Windows [Version 1.0 Rev A] Date: Tue, 2 Aug 1994 22:27:05 GMT Submitted by: Terry Dahms, Pres. East Central Iowa Beekeepers internet: terry-dahms@uiowa.edu ------------------------------------------------------------------ THE BUZZ AUGUST, 1994 ------------------------------------------------------------------ A newsletter published monthly as a cooperative effort by The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and The Iowa Honey Producers Association (IHPA), an affiliate member of the Iowa Horticultural Society. Copy deadline is the 20th of each month. Your ideas, comments and letters are welcomed and encouraged. EDITOR: Bob Cox, State Apiarist, Iowa Dept. of Agriculture, Wallace Building, Des Monies, IA. 50319 Phone: (515) 281-5736. IHPA MEMBERSHIP: Membership dues in the Iowa Honey Producers Assn. are $5.00/year. Send to Gordon Powell, IHPA Treasurer. ------------------------------------------------------------------ STATE APIARIST REPORT We now have two field inspectors working in the western part of the state and the 12th of the month we will start inspecting in northeastern Iowa. We are looking for an experienced beekeeper to inspect for about 6-8 weeks this fall and 6-8 weeks next spring in the northcentral, central and/or the southeast part of the state. The beekeeper must reside in one of those areas to qualify. If you are interested or have any suggestions for someone who might be, give me a call at 515-281-5736. The honey flow has slowed considerably since June. However, many beekeepers are reporting a good crop from clover already and are hoping for some late flows from soybeans and wildflowers. The southeast part of the state looks to be the best, especially considering that they have had almost no crop for four years. This is a good time of the season to take some of that nice light colored honey off the hives and keep it separate. The extraction process is much simpler with fewer robbing bees and the honey temperature warmer. This is also a good time to prepare products to enter in the State Fair. All you need is six jars of honey, sections of comb honey, a frame of honey, a 3-pound chunk of beeswax, candles, or an observation beehive to enter. Fill out the entry form in last month's newsletter and send in with the nominal entry fee. If you need help getting entries to the fair in Des Moines, let me know, and I'll see if I can find someone else in your area who is coming to the fair. BOOK REVIEW: Almond Pollination Handbook by Joe Traynor You might ask why should an Iowa beekeeper be interested in a handbook on almond pollination. I'll give you two reasons. 1.) Many of the principles of pollinating almonds also apply to pollinating any crop, especially other tree fruits. 2.) The demand for honey bees to pollinate California almonds and the opportunity to earn some cash during an off-time of the year may be attractive to some Iowa beekeepers. The book is divided into two sections, the first section for the almond grower and the second for the beekeeper. Topics for the grower include: orchard design for pollination, renting bees, pollination management, bee removal and alternate insect pollinators. This section makes this book the ideal gift for an orchardist for which you are currently providing pollination services or a prospective customer. A similar manual for fruit growers in Iowa (primarily, apples and some cherries, pears, plums, peaches and apricots) would certainly be valuable. The section written for the beekeeper covers topics such as pollination agreements, state regulations, theft, bee delivery, pesticides, preparing colonies, bee removal, time and duration of bloom and grower-beekeeper communication. This 86-page handbook is well written and printed on nice glossy paper, well organized for easy reference, and has some nice color photography. And last, but not least, the price is right-- $7.00 (which includes shipping and handling). To obtain a copy send a check to Kovak Books, P.O. Box 1422, Bakersfield, CA 93302. LAPLANDERS HONEY CONFERENCE Friday, September 9th, the Laplanders Honey Conference of Southern Iowa and Northern Missouri will be held in Allerton, Iowa at the "Inn of the Six Toed Cat." Dinner will be served at 6 p.m. and the program to follow at 7 p.m. "The Honey Market: What's Out There?" will be the theme of the conference. Lisa Terry, the 1994 American Honey Queen from Northfield, Minnesota, will be one of the guest speakers for the evening. Joining her will be Leon Metz, honey packer from Hazel Green, Wisconsin. Do join us for dinner and for this timely program. For further details and reservations contact: Ann Garber 515/872-3119 by Tuesday, September 6th. The fourth annual Honey-Walnut Classic will be held the following day, Saturday, September 10th at 10 a.m. on the east portico of the "Inn" in Allerton. This popular event honors the historic "Iowa-Missouri Honey War, 1838-1841." NATIONAL HONEY BOARD ANNUAL MEETING HELD The National Honey Board held its annual meeting in Denver June 17. The Board elected Neil Miller, Blackfoot, Idaho, as its new chairman during the meeting. Randy Johnson, Nampa, Idaho, was elected as vice president and Steve Klein, Marshall, Minnesota, was re-elected as secretary/treasurer. Two additional Board members, Binford Weaver, Navasota, Texas, and Larry Krause, Riverton, Wyoming, were elected to serve on the Board's Executive Committee. The Executive Committee is responsible for the conduct of duties and policies outlined by the National Honey Board. The Board administers an industry-funded national research, promotion and consumer information program to increase domestic honey consumption and U.S. honey exports. The board member's work at the meeting also included allocating funds for the 1995 plan year. "The Board will be reviewing the Committee's work this fall," said Neil Miller, chairman of the National Honey Board. "Before the Board spends a dime, we review the program plans to ensure that they uphold the Board's mission -- to support a strong and viable domestic honey industry by creating a dynamic marketplace for honey and honey products." 4-H ESSAY CONTEST NEEDS ENTRIES (from June 1994 APIS newsletter) What does it take to get 4-Hers to sit down and write an essay? That's the burning question those at the American Beekeeping Federation (ABF) and myself are asking after looking at the results of last year's 4-H essay contest. Only fifteen (15) states submitted winners and (Iowa) was not among them. In addition, the vast majority of these states had only one to two entries to choose from. There are three top cash prizes each year ($250, $100 and $50), plus the winner in each state is awarded a book on beekeeping. This boils down to one fact: there's a great opportunity to win something by simply entering! The rules for this year's contest have just been announced. The topic this year is much different than from previous contests. The essayist is asked to write an original story on honey bees suitable for a teacher to read to second-grade students. Suggested titles include: The Busy Little Bee, I Like Honey, A Trip to the Apiary, or My Friend, the Beekeeper. There's plenty of time to get a story together for this year's contest; deadline is April 1, 1995! Full contest rules are available from Bob Cox, State Apiarist, phone 515-281-5736 or the ABF Office, phone 912-427-8447. A BEGINNER'S BAIT HIVES by Peter Coyle Having read in John Vivian's book, Keeping Bees, about "bees for free," by placing bait hives in trees and then, again in the Aebi's book about their bait hives, my Scottish parsimony took over. Last year I made my first swarm trap and was excited when some scout bees started sniffing around and into it. However, some of Walt Disney's beloved delinquent squirrels knocked on wood, tasted it and found it good, wherein the bees departed. Unable to harass my bees during the winter, I turned to collecting on bait hives, which being a novice in the beekeeping game, is my substitute for knowledge. I got Cornell's, "Bait Hives for Honey Bees" by Seeley, Morse and Nowogrodzki and could just see the bees rolling in. Then there were the articles by Schmidt, Thoenes and Hurley, from the American Bee Journal, which explained the importance of pheromone lures, which I just knew I had to have. I could visualize all those winter clusters of bees over half of Iowa impatient to zoom into my traps. However, a catalog price of twenty dollars for what they described as being made of inexpensive material, and what I gathered would only be a kind of paper mache, deep, brood box, sent me to the workshop with cardboard and thin plywood scraps to construct an alternative. I had read that a volume roughly the size of a deep hive body was most favored, (although recently opinion has changed). Climbing ladders and trees with a full box of bees required the box to be as light as possible. Everything I made had a coating, externally, of roof cement, thinned with mineral spirits to sicken the squirrels off and I capped each hive with a lid made from discarded aluminum soffit to keep everything dry. Internally, each had homemade rough frames of standard dimension with a waxed starter strip which would easily transfer to a deep hive body. I then sat and itched for Spring. The last week in April, I was out with the ladder visiting friends who might have suitable spots in trees about ten to twelve feet up, with morning sun and afternoon shade, just as the literature suggested. Now, at the end of June, I have had three swarms from one hive and two from another, with scout bees still buzzing around the emptied boxes. The first swarm, which I weighed like a proud father, was five and a half pounds and made some nice comb honey for me. The last one, which was so big it filled the whole trap and had a pound or two of bees still outside, I collected in a screened box using a funnel and transferring it to a medium super of foundation and two round section supers at dusk, feeling exhilarated beyond measure. However, the next day, when I looked in the afternoon, they were gone, leaving me as devastated as I had been exhilarated. Too late, I now have two homemade entrance guards. In collecting one swarm which had started to build comb from the bottom of the trap, I missed the open sack on the end of a pole, held helpfully by my companion and neighbor, Cheryl, and brushed a couple pounds of less than happy bees on her head. This made me more acquainted with the language of liberation. Two other bait hives in suburbia have never had a snifter so far. Perhaps in bee real estate the three most important things are location, location and location. My experience, limited as it is, suggests that I should err on the large side with the boxes, worrying less about the spaces around the frames, as the bees are unlikely to construct burr comb between inspections, although one swarm built comb on about a third of nine frames in just a couple of days. The mistakes I made were very instructional, if humbling. Ah, but just wait until next year. FOR SALE: 7 bee hives, two-story plus misc. equipment. Contact Raymond and Jo Whitwood, Muscatine. phone (319)263-0992. FOR SALE: 55-gallon drums $6.00 each; 20 or more $5.00 each. Call Harry Hunter in Des Moines at (515)266-1984. FOR SALE: Stainless 8-frame extractor with Dayton electric motor, cappings knife and misc. supers, frames, lids & boxes. Asking $200/offer. If interested call Des Moines at (515)270-8726, leave message if no answer. FOR SALE: Kelley electric, vibrating uncapping knife with electric motor $175; Kelley steam vibrating uncapping knife $125; Dadant electric stainless mini-melter $350; C.C. Pollen Co. traps used only one season $30 each. Call Monroe Neihart near Clarinda (712)582-3200. FOR SALE: Qualitly Section Comb Honey in Cartons $1.90 each. Call Stanley Weiser, 2674 - 303rd Pl. in Adel. Ph: (515)993-3126. "Butter and HONEY shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil and choose the good." (Isaiah 7:15) CALENDAR OF EVENTS AUGUST 11-21 Iowa State Fair Apiary Exhibit, 2nd Floor of Agriculture Building, State Fairgrounds, Des Moines Open daily 9:00 a.m.- 9:00 p.m. Come see the best! SEPTEMBER - NATIONAL HONEY MONTH 9-10 Laplanders Honey Conference 6:00 p.m. the 10th and Honey Walnut Classic 10 a.m. the 11th both at the Inn in Allerton, Iowa. 12 Eastcentral Iowa Beekeepers Meeting 7:00 p.m. in basement of Montgomery Hall, Johnson County Fairgrounds, Iowa City 15 Scott County Beekeepers Meeting 7:00 p.m. at Riefes Restaurant, Locust St., Davenport. 17 Central Iowa Beekeepers Meeting at Royal Cafe in Huxley. Buffet dinner at 5:30 p.m., Business Meeting 6:30 p.m. and Program at 7:30 p.m. (We will try again to show the Bee Emergency Video.) NOVEMBER 11-12 Iowa Honey Producers Annual Meeting in Marshalltown. FOR SALE: Home Study Course "Rearing Honey Bee Queens in the Northern U.S." (with manual and video tape) by Dr. Marla Spivak and Gary S. Reuter, the University of Minnestota. $40.00 Contact Dept. of Entomology, University of Minnesota, Hodson Hall, St. Paul, MN 55108-6125 or call Dr. Spivak at (612) 624-4798. Dear Beekeeper Friends, I am writing this short announcement to let you know of the recent loss of my father, Russell Stephenson of Williams, Iowa. He died suddenly in his home on May 19th at the age of 77. As some of you know, he sold his business, "Stephenson Honey Farms" in 1993 and retired. He loved the beekeeping business and being able to work in the outdoors. He offered great assistance and advise to several beekeepers and those interested in the field during his life. My father enjoyed talking to many of you over the years and sharing the constant cares and concerns of the Midwest beekeeper. [Editor: I certainly enjoyed getting to know Mr. Stephenson when inspecting his equipment for the sale. He had an efficient way to handle frames during the extracting process and developed a unique way of removing excess moisture from his honey after it was extracted and checked his own bees for tracheal mites with his microscope. He certainly applied his engineering skills learned in his silo construction company to the beekeeping business.] Thanks for being a special part of my father's life!! He will be greatly missed! -Thomas Russell Stephenson and The Stephenson Family OTHER INSECTS OCCUPYING BEE HIVES Sometimes beekeepers may become alarmed or at least concerned about insects other than honey bees inside their hives. At times the beekeeper may see cockroaches, ants, beetles, spiders and wax worms (moth larvae) occupying their bee hives. As a general rule healthy, populous colonies are not damaged by these insect guests. Many times wax moths are blamed for the death of colonies. This is almost never the case in Iowa. The wax moth larvae are nature's clean-up crew after a colony dies. This can actually be helpful if the colony died from American foulbrood disease by reducing the probability of spreading the disease to neighboring colonies. The best way to prevent damage to your combs after the colony has died is to keep an eye on your bees and pick up any empty hive equipment from the beeyard. The primary problem beekeepers encounter is in storing empty beeswax comb, especially brood comb during the warm summer months. A few years ago several products were available for fumigating or treating stored beeswax combs. These products are designed to kill insects, therefore fumigated combs should always be aired out for a few hours before placing them on the bees. Most recently, the product "Paramoth" (PDB - Paradichlorobenzene) is no longer available for bee equipment. I've heard conflicting reports from beekeeping supply houses as to the fate of registration of this product for treatment of beeswax combs. One story is that PDB is a carcinogen and EPA has withdrawn registration for use on beeswax. Another beekeeping supply dealer says they will have approval from EPA to sell PDB later this fall. Outside of using chemical products, combs can be placed in a deep freezer for a few days to kill any adult moths, larvae or eggs. Additionally, the moths do not like light or fresh air. Therefore, storing combs in a way that they are exposed to both of these elements may be of some help. Light colored combs from honey supers are pretty safe from the moths. Another system that may work for you is to keep empty comb stored on the colonies where the bees will keep the moths out during the warm months (June, July, August, September and October). Then, bring in empty equipment and store in an unheated building for the winter and nature will give them a cold treatment. Dear Iowa Honey Promoter: Along with getting your honey harvested, it's time to plan to promote your state's beekeeping or honey exhibit at your local fair or festival. To aid in honey promotions Media kits are available from the National Honey Board by contacting Sherry Jennings, Industry Relations Director at (303)776-2337. Media kits include: a story on pollination, newsreleases, summer recipe tips and two new recipe leaflets -- "Bringing You Nature's Bounty Is Our Line" and "Make Magic in Minutes." Use the media kit to give to local newspaper editors, television news shows and radio stations the latest buzz on honey. BRINGING YOU NATURE'S BOUNTY IS OUR LINE -- Recipes from NHB. Back to Nature Cookies 1/2 cup shortening 1 cup honey 2 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla 1-3/4 cups whole wheat flour 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon cinnamon 2 cups quick-cooking oats 1/2 cup chopped nuts 1/2 cup finely chopped apple 1 cup raisins In a large mixing bowl, cream shortening and honey until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in vanilla. In medium bowl, stir together flour, soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Add dry ingredients to honey mixture, beating until smooth. Stir in oats, nuts, apple and raisins. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto greased cookie sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake at 350 F 10 to 12 minutes or until cookies are golden brown. Makes about 5 dozen. Honey Pork Chops & Apples 6 pork loin chops (about 3/4-inch thick) Salt, pepper and ground sage 2 Granny Smith or other tart apples 1 tablespoon butter or margarine 1/4 cup HONEY 6 Maraschino cherries (optional) Brown chops slowly in skillet; remove to shallow baking dish. Season chops with salt, pepper and sage. Core and slice apples into 1/2-inch rings. Add butter to skillet and saute apple rings until crisp-tender. Place 1 apple ring on each chop. Cover and bake at 300 F for 30 minutes. Drizzle honey over apples and chops; baste with drippings. Cover and bake 15 minutes longer or until pork is fully cooked. Place cherry in center of