clever uses for beeswax

http://lifehacker.com/5860003/use-beeswax-to-condition-and-polish-wooden-cutting-boards-and-furniture

ECWBA Newsletter - December 2011

Winter has settled in with cold weather and even some snow already this year.  Hopefully, you ensured that your beehives were well provisioned with honey for the winter and you have prepared your hives to survive the cold.  Before Christmas and the holiday season come around, I thought I would update you with a few things happening with the ECWBA.

1.  This past year, 2011, went rather well.  Thank-you to everybody that was involved in making the past year a success.  We had some good guest speakers at our meetings speaking on various topics.  I would like to dedicate next year, 2012, to topics regarding queens.  This would include the various ways of raising queens, evaluating queens for purchase, and exploring the establishment of a local queen breeding program.  If you have any specific queen-related topics you would like discussed, please let me know.

2.  At the January, 2012, meeting, the offices of president and secretary, are up for election.  The current secretary, Andy Krueger, has been doing an excellent job.  I can’t comment much about the president of this organization!!!  Here’s an opportunity to become involved as a volunteer in an organization serving fellow beekeepers.  Please think about running for one of these offices.  If you would like more information, please get in touch with ECWBA president, Jeff Champeau.

3. At the July and September meetings, the ECWBA established a committee for sponsoring a beginning beekeepers class.  This is not a permanent committee – once the class is done, the committee will be terminated.  The committee is moving forward with a class scheduled to start Thursday, January 26, 2012, and run for four consecutive weeks.  Please encourage any new beekeepers that you know to sign up for the class.  Notices will be sent out once the details are finalized – and watch for ads in local shopper newspapers.

4.  Some of the meeting dates and places for early 2012 have been scheduled in already.  Here’s what developed so far:
Saturday, January 21, 2012, Ripon Public Library, 9:30 to 11:00 am.
Saturday, February 18, 2012, place to be determined, Fond du Lac, 9:30 to 11:00 am.
Saturday, March 17, 2012, Ripon Public Library, 9:30 to 11:00 am.
May and/or June, 2012 (another field day???)
July and September meetings to be determined.

5.  The Ledgeview Nature Center located in the Chilton, WI, area has contacted the ECWBA looking for a beekeeper.  More specifically, the center is looking for a beekeeper to mentor one of their naturalists in the management of two beehives and an observation hive.  For more information, please contact Stephanie at the nature center at telephone 920-849-7094.

On behalf of the East Central Wisconsin Beekeepers Association, I would like wish all of you, your families and friends, a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!

Sincerely,

Jeff Champeau
ECWBA President

think like a bee presentation....go for a listen!

"Think Like a Bee"

When you sit down at your holiday table, thank a bee. A third of the food on your plate is made possible by these pollinators, whose numbers are being decimated by disease and colony collapse disorder. But the bees have a champion in Marla Spivak, a University of Minnesota researcher and MacArthur "Genius" who thinks like a bee. Her intuitive approach — combined with scientific method — has given the world tremendous insight into these fascinating insects. Marla will show host Majora Carter (no newbie herself — Majora is an urban beekeeper) the secrets she's beginning to uncover about the lives of bees. Marla's work explores how bees can help themselves become more resistant to modern-day threats — and how bees can help us humans to be more resilient and to build healthier communities.

http://www.thepromisedland.org/episode/15-marla-spivak

Sleek Urban Hive Lets You Keep Bees in the Comfort of Your Apartment - http://pulse.me/s/30NrM

Most of the honey sold in chain stores across the country doesn't meet international quality standards for the sweet stuff, according to a Food Safety News analysis released this week.

One of the nation's leading melissopalynologists analyzed more than 60 jugs, jars and plastic bears of honey in 10 states and the District of Columbia for pollen content, Food Safety News said. He found that pollen was frequently filtered out of products labeled "honey."

"The removal of these microscopic particles from deep within a flower would make the nectar flunk the quality standards set by most of the world's food safety agencies," the report says. "Without pollen there is no way to determine whether the honey came from legitimate and safe sources."

Among the findings:

• No pollen was found in 76 percent of samples from grocery stores including TOP Food, Safeway, Giant Eagle, QFC, Kroger, Metro Market, Harris Teeter, A&P, Stop & Shop and King Soopers.

• No pollen was found in 100 percent of samples from drugstores including Walgreens, Rite-Aid and CVS Pharmacy.

• The anticipated amount of pollen was found in samples bought at farmers markets, co-ops and stores like PCC and Trader Joe's.

Why does it matter where your honey comes from? An earlier Food Safety News investigation found that at least a third of all the honey consumed in the United States was likely smuggled from China and could be tainted with illegal antibiotics and heavy metals.

Foreign honey also puts a squeeze on American beekeepers, who have been lobbying for years for an enforceable national standard to prevent foreign honey from flooding the market.

The Food and Drug Administration does not have a standard of identity for honey like it does for milk or other products, a spokesman said.

The lack of regulation is what enables potentially unsafe honey is able to make its way into the country, Andrew Schneider, author of the Food and Safety News report.

"Where there's no pollen, there's no way for authorities to confirm where the honey came from, so it's easy to smuggle illicit honey into the country," he said.

from the original:  http://eatocracy.cnn.com/2011/11/09/most-honey-sold-in-u-s-grocery-stores-not-worthy-of-its-name/ 

Link

Why Bee Trucks Keep Crashing

it's not working

...my brain is NOT WORKING today (at work)...let's see if I can at least be creative here.  COOL nights look like they're here to stay from here on out.  We had a nice warm-up this last week - GOOD if  you're treating hives - you need the temps to activate some of the chemicals.  I'm not sure it was so great for the bees though - it was DRY (not much for nectar?) for a good week & a half.  It seemed like within a very short period the leaves TURNED colors and DROPPED OFF.

My harvest update:  I took about HALF as last year.  HALF the hives though!  BUT - I can't fault them...'cause I'm also overwintering them as 3 DEEPS HIGH!  which means....their top deep is PLUM FULL of honey (do i need to say HEAVY????)...and they fill THAT before they fill MINE.

I'm planning on getting to them early in the spring...and when I do the hive body switch (with 3 deeps)...i'm going to rearrange and grab 5 nuc frames from each (provided they have a big enough brood nest to do so).
And with the "mother" hives - I'll give them another deep when they need it.  Whatever genetics I've got cooking in these hives.....they LOVE 3 deeps....no swarms last year!

THIS IS THE SAD TIME of the year for me.  Less time outside, Less time with bees, hearing bees, watching bees. All the while crossing fingers and just HOPING they'll make it through the next 4 or 5 months.

We saw some evidence around the yard of MICE moving into things (behind our fountain, under a piece of wood that had fallen in the fenceline)....NEED to get out and check the bottom boards for EVIDENCE (you know what:)  though I've had entrance reducer/mice proof things on the entrances for about a month already.  Mice can squeeze themselves down SO FLAT!...still have to check.  THEY CAN REALLY DO A JOB IN THE HIVE!  Last year, half of a deep was chewed out, bees dead....and ICKY MOUSEY doo everywhere.  I'd just as soon burn the whole box!

I've tried a NEW JAR this year.  I'm "putzing" less on the small jars - going for the BIG RING TOTAL :)  this square jar is 2.5#.  I like it - the little corner elements make it look "skeppy".

Updates of note

The club has purchased (2) refractometers for USE BY MEMBERS.  I've made a NEW PAGE here called ECWBA LISTS.  This page will maintain info and numbers that you may want to take note of....including who is in possession of the refractometer you may want to use.  The "western" person has yet to be named.  To test your honey - you need only bring a small sample to the possessor...and it only takes a few minutes.

the BEE show

here's a link to a recent podcast/show regarding our favorite subjects: BEES

http://castroller.com/Podcasts/PriToThe/2513911

ECWBA Newsletter - August 2011

September Meeting

The September 10, 2011, meeting is scheduled for Ripon Library in the Silver Creek Room. The meeting start time is 9:30 am. For the September meeting, we will have the beekeeping products bazaar. All members are encouraged to bring in a product derived from anything from the beehive. Whatever you bring in, please be prepared to give a brief description of the product and be ready to answer any questions. Please feel free to share your recipe and techniques for making the product.

Year 2012 and ECWBA

The September meeting will be the last of the meetings for 2011. I am just starting to look toward 2012. If there are any presentation topics you would like to see discussed, please let me know by e-mail, note, phone call, or tell me at a meeting about your ideas. I’ll do my best to put something together about it.

Also, during one of the first two meetings of 2012, the election of both Secretary and President will occur. Both offices require only a small amount of time. Please consider assisting the ECWBA by lending your talents to one of these offices. New leadership in the one of these offices can only strengthen and improve the association.

Tee-Shirts

Andy Krueger is planning some promotional tee-shirts (maybe other attire, too). She is looking for ideas on a logo and/or a motto representative of the ECWBA. Please submit your ideas to her via e-mail at ericandandy@gmail.com. Or you can submit ideas at the September meeting.

Beekeeping Notes

As summer slowly comes to a close, this is the time to think about the honey harvest and plan for harvesting and extracting honey and obtaining honey jars or containers for storing honey. Also, just after the honey harvest in early fall is a good time to treat for Varroa mites. Plan now for what type of treatment you might want to apply if you to choose to treat for mites.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at 715-330-9969. I’m sometimes hard to contact, but leave a message and I’ll call you back. Or contact me via e-mail at jeff.champeau@yahoo.com .

bomb sniffing bees

http://science.howstuffworks.com/bomb-sniffing-bees.htm

i came across a july article about bomb sniffing bees in popular science magazine. the picture caught my eye....as it's ROWS and ROWS of bees strapped to a "switch looking" device. it says...."the handheld device is about the size of a dustbuster". the bees are trained to extend their proboscis to feed when they sense leaky explosive compounds. when their tongue breaks the infrared beam.....they set off the alarm.

the article is sure to state in the end that THE BEES ARE RETURNED TO THEIR HIVES after their shift.

BEE playing cards

http://www.thedieline.com/blog/2011/7/22/tally-ho-and-bee-playing-cards.html

updated for 2011. every beekeeping household should have some :)

honey labels

came across some honey label designs here....enjoy

http://www.thedieline.com/blog/2011/7/15/lovely-honey.html

http://www.thedieline.com/blog/2011/7/19/assaf-dauber-honey.html

the bees teach me so many things

For those of you "not from here". It's been HOT (well - I guess it's been hot elsewhere too)...but us "polar bears" are melting.

The bees are so active into the evening hours - hanging out (bearding) on the hives. I find that the best time for beekeeping is RIGHT AWAY in the MORNING. I can catch them before they really "wakeup" for the day.

A couple weeks ago - I checked the progress of that NUC we started at the beeclub meeting - mid July. I FOUND NOTHING - no sign of queen, no eggs, no larvae (though I realized it was probably too soon for that)....NO QUEEN CELL. I went through all 5 frames - twice/thrice through.... I THOUGHT IT WAS A DUD.

I went out this morning to DISMANTLE it. I was just going to pull the frames out and let those bees migrate into the other hives.

EGGS, LARVAE, BROOD!

I moved them to a 10 frame box. You go girl!

lesson learned. DON'T GIVE UP TOO SOON - LET NATURE do it's thing - IN IT'S TIME.

Native bees

Tiny...maybe a half an inch long...aren't the cute

Just a short message to the East Central Wisconsin Beekeepers:

At the last meeting, July 9th, we decided to put out a request for ideas regarding T-shirts and sweatshirts. Andy Krueger has a T-shirt printing vendor to work with for getting T-shirts. What we are looking for is ideas about what to put on the T-shirts. So, if you have ideas about a logo or motto for the T-shirts that would represent the organization well, please forward those ideas to myself or Andy. With logo and/or motto ideas, the organization can decide whether or not to go ahead with the purchase at the September meeting. Andy can be contacted by e-mail at ericandandy@gmail.com - or - you can contact me at jeff.champeau@yahoo.com

There are other opportunities as well. An unofficial committee was created to initiate planning a beekeeping class for the new year. Every one is invited to join the committee or provide their input. Also, don't forget the September meeting is the products bazaar. If you bring in a beekeeping related product, please be ready to give a brief explanation about your product.

A newsletter with more details will be forth coming.

Sincerely,

Jeff.

Bees bearding

This is normal on a hot, humid day...they're hanging out on the porch.

Storms are rumbling all around us...but it looks as if it's going to miss us again....I'm forced to drag the hose to the garden....

angry buzz among neighbors

from USA TODAY:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2011-06-27-city-restrictions-beekeeping-fights_n.htm

ECWBA Newsletter - June 2011

Meeting Dates

· July 9, 2011, 9:30 am. Fond du Lac Public Library, Fond du Lac, WI.

· September 10, 2011, 9:30 am. Ripon Library, Ripon, WI.

Meeting Locations

· The July 9, 2011, meeting will be at the Fond du Lac Public Library in the Eugene McLane Room. The library’s address is 32 Sheboygan Street, Fond du Lac, WI.

· The September 10, 2011, meeting is scheduled for Ripon Library in the

Silver Creek Room.

June Meeting

The June field day that took the place of the usual May field day was a great success. Sponsored by Denise Palkovich, she showed us her two over wintered hives. One of the two hives was used to demonstrate developing a nucleus colony. From this hive she took five frames appropriate for building a nucleus hive and placed them in a nuc box. From those frames the bees should develop a queen. Denise will have to keep us updated on the success of the developing new colony. Thank-you Denise for sponsoring the field day!!!

July Meeting

At the July meeting we will have a demonstration of a refractometer used for testing the moisture content of honey. The ECWBA organization will decide to purchase one or more refractometers for use by members.

September Meeting

For the September meeting, we will have the beekeeping products bazaar. All members are encouraged to bring in a product derived from anything from the beehive. Whatever you bring in, please be prepared to give a brief description of the product and be ready to answer any questions. Please feel free to share your recipe and techniques for making the product.

Also, the refractometers (if purchased) should be ready for use at the September meeting. Bring in this year’s honey crop samples for moisture testing.

Beekeeping Notes

It is hard to believe that summer is officially here and that the days are now actually getting shorter. This is the time to think ahead about the honey harvest and plan for harvesting and extracting honey and obtaining honey jars or containers for storing honey. Also, just after the honey harvest in early fall is a good time to treat for Varroa mites. Plan now for what type of treatment you might want to apply if you to choose to treat for mites.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at 715-330-9969. I’m sometimes hard to contact, but leave a message and I’ll call you back. Or contact me via e-mail at jeff.champeau@yahoo.com.

Best of beekeeping,

Jeff Champeau

President, ECWBA

LOCAL QUEENS

Jon Polcyn, a bee keeper in Montello Wisconsin, is raising queens. He has queens from two types of stock; Proline Varroa Sensitive and USDA Hygenic. He indicates the queens will hatch about June 23rd. He can supply unhatched queens, hatched and unbred queens or bred queens. Please note his drones will be a mix of varieties. He doesn't do artificial insemmination. Contact Jon at 920-229-3046. He is located about 6 miles SW of Princeton.

Field Day

We couldn't have asked for better conditions at the hives for FIELD DAY (this past Saturday). About 12/15? keepers were on hand.

The girls were on their best behavior - no stings....they even SOUNDED happy.

Earlier that morning - I took a 10 frame box and modified it into (2) 5-frame nuc box (you more or less put a divider down the middle and alter the bottom board). So - when we got into the 3 DEEP hive....if the opportunity arose to grab eggs for my NUC - we'd do so....and OPPORTUNITY came.

The top deep of the hive was of course VERY HEAVY - more or less full of honey/food....with a little extension of the 2nd deep's brood nest into it.

In the 2nd deep, we found an AMAZING brood pattern - FULL FRAMES (great queen!) We then found her highness right where she should be - on somewhat empty frames in the middle of the brood nest. We took this frame with her aside...and stole 5 frames from the area for our NUC.

I don't know what's up with these bees - for some reason - THEY ARE FULLY CAPABLE of keeping 3 deeps!!! the boxes are LOADED WITH BEES ON EVERY LEVEL! There were no signs of swarm cells or pre-swarm activity (What are we going to see in this hive if it's getting ready to swarm (besides swarm cells)? ALL CAPPED BROOD - no eggs/larvae...etc AND - we'd have bees that "seem" restless and touchy)

We had a nice discussion about HOW BEES HATE QUEEN EXCLUDERS too.... it was a good day...

honey bees have emotions

follow this link:

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/06/honeybee-pessimism

NEWS page added

Check out the NEWS page (tab above)....this is bringing in the latest BUZZ on bees - circulating the internet. This is REAL TIME DATA - different every day....visit often.

2011 winter loss stats

http://beeinformed.org/results/winter-loss-survey-results/

Fellow Wisconsin Beekeepers

...just heard this morn on the news/weather... the past 27 days straight - has been - BELOW AVERAGE TEMPS for this time of year!

yeh! I've noticed and the bees have noticed! It's either CHILLY or WINDY it seems. We have one flowering crab tree in the yard - FULL OF BLOSSOMS....but my girls are cuddling in the hive. I think the blossoms will BLOW OFF before they can get to them.

ECWBA Newsletter - May 2011

Meeting Dates:

June 18, 2011, 1:00 pm, field day at Denise Palkovich’s bee yard, Mt Calvary, WI.

July 9, 2011, 9:30 am. Fond du Lac Public Library, Fond du Lac, WI.

September 10, 2011, 9:30 am. Ripon Library tentatively.

Meeting Locations:

The June 18, 2011, meeting will be at the bee yard of Denise Palkovich. See more information below.

The July 9, 2011, meeting will be at the Fond du Lac Public Library in the Eugene McLane Room. The library’s address is 32 Sheboygan Street, Fond du Lac, WI.

The September 10, 2011, meeting is tentatively scheduled for Ripon Library.

June Meeting

The June, 2011, ECWBA meeting will be at the bee yard of Denise Palkovich. Start time is 1:00 pm. To get there, take State Highway 23 east out of Fond du Lac (Hwy. 23 is Johnson St. in Fond du Lac). Turn left onto Log Tavern Road (which is the first road after County Highway W). Take Log Tavern Road north to Pit Road. Take a right onto Pit Road and an almost immediate left turn to address of the bee yard by the brown ranch style house. The address is W1575 Pit Road, Mt. Calvary, WI. * Attention: This is a field day, so bring your own bee veil, bee suit, gloves, etc., for safe and comfortable work around bees. * The rain date for the June meeting is June 25, 2011. The place and time is the same.

Fond du Lac Library Hobby Expo

Thank-you to the participants of the Fond du Lac Library Hobby Expo. The ECWBA was well represented by Larry Beuthin, Andy Krueger, Don and Denise Palkovich, Paul Rowley, and George Weigel. Thank-you for both participating and bringing

in beekeeping display items.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at 715-330-9969. I’m sometimes hard to contact, but leave a message and I’ll call you back. Or contact me via e-mail at jeff.champeau@yahoo.com.

Best of beekeeping,

Jeff Champeau

President, ECWBA

ARGH!

this has reared it's ugly head again... CELLPHONES ARE TO BLAME FOR BEE DISAPPEARANCES (read on) http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1385907/Why-mobile-phone-ring-make-bees-buzz-Insects-infuriated-handset-signals.html

the data miner in me is not complete in reading this article - on the surface it seems to be just a deliverance of fantastic science delivering a CURE!. Europe primarily uses GSM signals... (like AT&T & T-mobile, here in the US) All the other carriers in the US use a CDMA signal - did they test the various signals, signal strength, frequency?. I want more data! What was the RANGE of the phones to the bees - did they test a various distances...how many hives do I know of sitting under a cell phone tower, let alone with a phone in it?

come-on... a couple of guys walk out to some hives and stick their cell phones in there (sounds like the start of a joke)

...I don't believe there's just any ONE single issue at work or to blame here. There's no doubt we're polluting our VISIBLE environment, but also our INVISIBLE environment.

...is it a factor? maybe. Stop and think about how many signals we have passing through our bodies - our tissues - every day - every second! the phone call from "Joe" to his mother....

check it out....

Jared looks like he's off to a good start for the year...a couple of "cutouts/swarm removals" and he's doing some of his own queen rearing via nucs! I'm jealous reading his blog...because it's still cold and icky here in Wisconsin...rain everyday this week. http://jaredsbees.blogspot.com/

July ECWBA meeting - date change

Due to availability of the room at the Fond du Lac library. The meeting is
scheduled for Saturday, July 9, 2011 (instead of July 16).

Land seeking Beekeeper

...anyone in the FDL area. There is a 15 acre parcel of land (with fruit trees) seeking a beekeeper. Location: Q & 151. Contact: Carol 920-923-6645.

so much for a swarm in MAY - in Wisconsin!

...for those of you not FROM Wisconsin...you know where I'm going with this! It STILL HAS NOT WARMED UP for the bees. There's tree pollen being gathered...but no nectar yet. I'm an instructor for another event this weekend....my part is WILDFLOWERS! I'm not so sure we're going to HAVE ANY! We're going to have to hone-up our skills on identifying them in their GREEN STATE.

I've not gotten my seedlings planted yet, the yard chores are behind...because it JUST DOESN'T FEEL LIKE SPRING - let alone SUMMER is coming this year.

farming practices are out of balance

I'm writing this today to share some disturbing "rumblings" in the agricultural world.

MONOCULTURE (definition from wiki-pedia) Monoculture is the agricultural practice of producing or growing one single crop over a wide area. It is also known as a way of farming practice of growing large stands of a single species. It is widely used in modern industrial agriculture and its implementation has allowed for large harvests from minimal labor. However, monocultures can lead to the quicker spread of diseases, where a uniform crop is susceptible to a pathogen. 'Crop monoculture' is the practice of growing the same crop year after year. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monoculture)

"UNIFORM CROP" - genetically UN-DIVERSE

The Pistachio Crop in Australia Failure - points to AGRICULTURAL BREAKDOWN.
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/04/pistachio-disease/

and Wheat Rust ...coming back?!?!?
http://www.voanews.com/english/news/africa/decapua-wheat-rust-41apr11-120367854.html

Hybridization/GMO = BIG YIELDS with the aid of lots of chemicals...
Uniform Crop = Uniform Disease Susceptibility
Fence lines being torn out for bigger fields - bigger equipment
Gone are the days of a little alphalfa, corn, beans, wheat, oats, and PASTURE on the farm....

are we headed for a breakdown? is it already here?

As beekeepers we can SEE what this monoculture trend does to our bees....rows upon endless rows of corn - DO NOTHING for our bees. They used to ship BOXCARS full of honey out of the Ohio valley...because of all the clover cover - both planted and natural.

eco-insecticide

I clipped this out of my Popular Science...a company that makes ECO-INSECTICIDES. What caught my eye was that they're using some of the same "oils" that we're throwing at varroa! THYME... ECOSMART.com

Wisconsin Spring 2011

Gosh - it seems like mother nature is taking her darn sweet time warming up this spring. It's still 50's, cold at night...and just a "dampness" hanging around. If it's not dampness chilling your bones - it's the wind.

I see that Saturday/Sunday there's a warm front coming - but it's bringing RAIN with it....we'll see if I can go between the rain drops and do my SPRING HIVE BODY SWITCH...and SPRING CLEANING...crossing my fingers.

I've got 2 of 6 hives coming out of winter. I dread the cleanup....

ORGANIC home-made spray for fruit trees - edited

...this is GOAL #2 for 2011

Since we "inherited apple trees" with our property...WE'VE NOT EATEN ONE APPLE from our own trees!!!! (in 8 years!!!) WHAT? your asking. WHEN CRITTERS INFEST your trees...they're EXTREMELY HARD TO GET RID OF...when you opt for the NON-CHEMICAL solution.

In the ORGANIC line of thinking - you have to BREAK THE INSECT CYCLE. Yes - I could throw a NEO-NICOTINIDE at the trees and likely kill everything and be done with it in ONE APPLICATION. BUT - I KEEP BEES IN THAT SAME AREA!!!!

hence...resolution #2 - KEEP AHEAD of the critters this year. SPRAY WEEKLY.

Here's a recipe for DORMANT OIL SPRAY - a non-toxic spray applied in either and or both fall and spring - it SMOTHERS overwintering bug EGGS. apply 40 degrees or above. REPEAT WEEKLY - DO NOT spray when flower buds or blossoms are on the tree!

ORIGINAL RECIPE (orchard):
1 Gallon Mineral Oil (in the walmart pharmacy area, fleet farm health & beauty area)
1 lb. Oil Based Soap (granular)...this is like a "baby" FLAKE laundry detergent...DREFT
1/2 Gallon Water
BOIL & MIX WELL
to spray - DILUTE 1 part Homemade Mix to 20 parts Water

REALISTIC RECIPE (for a couple/half dozen trees):
1/8 Gallon (2 Cups Mineral Oil)
1/8 lb. FLAKE Soap (2 oz)
1/16 Gallon (1 Cup) Water

SPRAY LIBERALLY until FLOWER BUDS/FLOWERS begin. THE PRIMARY APPLICATION IS TO THE BARK (TRUNK, TWIGS) and leaves. (avoid the fruit when possible - a little overspray, ok) This should be thought of as a TREE spray - not a FRUIT spray.

When fruit begins to set (.5"/1"....you can continue spraying weekly. You can also switch for this "fruiting period" to a plain SOAPY WATER SOLUTION (dish soap recipe readily found online). It's the mineral oil in this recipe that gives a little "longevity" against the rain...

This recipe when diluted properly is very mild. I tried this recipe last year - and it's failure was MINE...I was not diligent about applying weekly.

EPIPHANY and my goals as a beekeeper 2011

Epiphany - no, not the Christian holiday...the literal definition: THE SUDDEN REALIZATION OR COMPREHENSION OF THE (LARGER) ESSENCE OR MEANING OF SOMETHING.

My goals as a beekeeper changes from year to year...as I GROW as a beekeeper....as I GAIN A GREATER UNDERSTANDING.

This years goal...."propogation of survivor stock". 2 out of 6 hives coming out of winter this year.....my epiphany? THE TWO HIVES COMING OUT ARE MY ORIGINAL STOCK FROM 4 YEARS AGO!!!! yes! these bees have CONSISTENTLY made it through 4 wisconsin winters!

I'm going to take a guess at YOUR next question....WHERE DID YOU GET THESE BEES??? BEE WEAVER out of Texas....."ALL STARS" - which I just confirmed via the original invoice. They came in the mail - the first package DEAD ON ARRIVAL...one week later - the replacement came.

I've noticed that these bees are a little "cranky" in the fall....and I've wondered if they're not REQUEENING. I read in one of the bee periodicals that hives that REQUEEN in the fall (through superscedure) - tend to get off to a MUCH BETTER START the following spring. Their bee language is telling me in the fall...LEAVE ME ALONE....and I do so.

Last year I overwintered these bees as a 3 DEEP HIVE! (beekeepers - do I need to tell you how HEAVY the top DEEP box was????!!!) and they came out of winter with WHOPPING BIG POPULATION....ready for a split EARLY in the spring. And there you have it...the ORIGINAL MOTHER HIVE and IT'S SPLIT are this year's survivors.

So...for 2011. I'm not ordering any packages. I'm going to try to get these two hives to make me some queen cells which I can introduce to new hives/split.

I know that I'm SACRIFICING PRODUCTION for stock. My BIG PRODUCERS last year were two packages that I installed spring of last year...4 supers each!....but they're dead. SO - what do you do as a beekeeper? I guess that is dependent of what you're wanting out of beekeeping.

monsanto sued by organic farmers

read the techdirt article

read the antantic article

want to read more about BIOPIRACY? her book STOLEN HARVEST is also very good.

bee vac project

Over the winter... a wood-working member of our circle of friends tackled the BEE VAC project for me. This pattern has an OUTER box which acts as the closed "suction" compartment...and an INNER box - like a "cartridge" that the bees go in. He made THREE inner boxes...for that REALLY BIG JOB :) A BIG THANKS to his wife for sacrificing her cutting board (plastic) for the hole closers!

ECWBA Newsletter - February 26 - 2011

Meeting Dates:

March 12, 2011, 9:30 am, at Ripon Public Library, Ripon, WI.

June 18, 2011, 1:00 pm, field day at Denise Palkovich’s bee yard, Mt Calvary, WI.

July 16, 2011, 9:30 am. Place to be determined.

September 10, 2011, 9:30 am. Place to be determined.

Meeting Locations:

• The March meeting will be at the Ripon Library, 120 Jefferson Street, Ripon, WI. The meeting will be downstairs in the Silver Creek Room. The Ripon Public Library is located one block behind the Ripon City Hall.
• The June 18, 2011, meeting will be at the bee yard of Denise Palkovich. Start time is 1:00 pm. Rain date is one week later, June 25. The address is W1575 Pit Road, Mt. Calvary, WI. To get there, take State Highway 23 east out of Fond du Lac (Hwy. 23 is Johnson St. in Fond du Lac). Turn left onto Log Tavern Road (which is the first road after County Highway W). Take a right onto Pit Road and an almost immediate left turn to address of the bee yard by the brown ranch style house.

March Meeting Agenda and Presentation Topic

The scheduled guest speaker for the March meeting might not be able to attend the meeting due to a scheduling conflict. There are a few issues under new business to be covered during the meeting. Then, the presentation will be an open question and answer forum similar to what we did in January. This will be an excellent opportunity for new beekeepers to ask questions before the beekeeping season gets under way.

Thank-you, Thank-you, Thank-you!!!

Thank-you to Craig Petros, Wisconsin State Apiary Inspector, for his very informative and interesting presentation at the February meeting. If you would like to have Craig come and inspect your bees, you can contact him directly at 262-968-5391. Inspections are free of charge, but you do have to schedule in advance a time for Craig to visit your bees.

Membership

Membership dues for 2011 will remain at $15.00 for a yearly membership. Let’s try to wrap-up membership payments by the end of March. See the end of this newsletter for payment information.

Beekeeping Notes:

• Winter is breaking and spring is just around the corner. The bees will start taking their cleansing flights soon. This means it will be feeding time. Be prepared to feed sugar syrup and pollen supplements or substitutes.
• If you use any medications for the control of diseases (nosema, American foul brood, mites, etc.) now is the time to obtain those medications. Study and learn how to properly use the medications. Poorly or improperly applied medications can do more harm than good!
• Before things get going too fast in the spring and summer, this would be a good time to check on your honey gathering supplies and equipment. Will you need more honey supers? Queen excluders? Bee escapes (triangle boards)? Jars and bottles for honey? Start planning ahead.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at 715-330-9969. I’m sometimes hard to contact, but leave a message and I’ll call you back. Or contact me via e-mail at jeff.champeau@yahoo.com.

Best of beekeeping, Jeff Champeau - President, ECWBA

Membership dues will be collected at the upcoming meetings. If you are unable to attend one of the next meetings, you may send your dues to one of the following ECWA officers:

Jeff Champeau, ECWBA President, 145 North Wisconsin Street, Berlin, WI 54923

Or

George Weigel, ECWBA Treasurer, 268 South Peters Avenue, Fond du Lac, WI 54935

If paying by check, please make check payable to East Central Wisconsin Beekeepers Association. A membership card and payment receipt will be returned to you promptly. Thank-you for your continued support of the East Central Wisconsin Beekeepers Association.

It's a BIRD....it's a PLANE...no - WHAT IS IT?

It's a POPPET! slip 'er on over your hand/arm...and make buzzing noises...run around the room and chase children (or adult children:)) !

...once again...I have to say...I HAD NO IDEA something like this even existed. Each day is glorious with new discoveries!!!

This came to me as a gift - from a student taking the most recent beekeeping classes. Thank you!

State Bee Inspector

ECWBA was happy to host, Craig Petros - Wisconsin State Bee Inspector at our last meeting. He spent some time discussing what he sees throughout the year in Wisconsin hives. He discussed TREATMENT PLANS and methods to keeping happy healthy bees.

Craig is more than happy to come and look at your hives, offer up his years of experience...all for FREE -- your tax dollars at work.

Articles and Info for FURTHER examination

ROUNDUP READY ALFALFA - Coming to a field near you? (oy - personal interjection) http://www.roundupreadyalfalfa.com or http://www.feedstuffs.com

COLONY COLLAPSE UPDATE: http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/br/ccd/ccdprogressreport2010.pdf or http://www.ars.usda.gov/ccd

STARTHISTLE ON DECLINE: Spotted knapweed - identified as an INVASIVE is being targeted for destruction across Michigan and Central & Northern Wisconsin. BEES LOVE IT....Naturalists HATE it.

BUMBLEBEE POPULATION IN U.S. DECLINING: http://content.usatoday.com/communities/sciencefair/post/2011/01/widespread-decline-of-north-american-bumblebees/1

mmm....HONEY BUTTER

That cute little bee skep candy dish has been re-purposed to house HONEY BUTTER.

Ratio 1:1 (ish)

Soften the butter (don't MELT!) - squeeze in the honey - and mix well. Has a frosting-like consistency. More butter will make it harder - More honey will make it softer - please experiment to your liking!

It's OH SO GOOD on toast or sweet bread. HEAVEN IS ON EARTH :) enjoy!

TTBook: The Hive Mind

a LINK for you from To the Best of our Knowledge - talks about bees...and ants - mainly - THE HIVE MIND.

http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wosu/.artsmain/article/11/1172/1750633/Radio/TTBOOK.Hive.Mind.

listen!

ECWBA Newsletter - February 2011

Upcoming meetings.

February meeting: February 12, 2011, 9:30 am, Room O-104, Moraine Park Technical College, Fond du Lac, WI. March meeting: March 12, 2011, 9:30 am, at Ripon Public Library, Ripon, WI. May (or June) meeting: Field day. Denise Palkovich has agreed to host the field day in either May or June. She will make arrangements and notify us of the final details.

Meeting places.

The February meeting will be held at the Moraine Park Technical College (MPTC), 235 North National Avenue, Fond du Lac, WI. The meeting will be held in Room O-104. Parking is available in the parking lot off National Avenue north of Johnson Street. To get there from Johnson Street (Hwy. 23), turn north onto National Avenue. Turn right at the first roadway into the MPTC campus. Then turn left to the “O” parking lot. Enter the “O” building at the O-1 entrance. Room O-104 is located on the left just inside the entrance. The March meeting will be at the Ripon Public Library, 120 Jefferson Street, Ripon, WI. The meeting will be downstairs in the Silver Creek Room. The Ripon Library is located one block behind the Ripon City Hall.

Meeting topics.

At the February meeting, Craig Petros, one of Wisconsin’s state bee inspectors, will speak about the current state of bee health in Wisconsin and also answer questions about bee diseases. At the March meeting, Dean Lapp of Lapp’s Bee Supply will speak about the beekeeping supply industry, package bee sourcing, and be able to answer questions about beekeeping topics (this was originally schedule for January).

Officer Election Results.

The newly elected ECWBA Vice President is Denise Palkovich. In the absence of George Weigel, ECWBA Treasurer, he was given a unanimous vote of confidence. Subsequently, George has agreed to continue as the association’s treasurer. Congratulations to both Denise and George, and thank-you for serving the ECWBA organization.

Membership.

For 2011, the membership dues payment period will be the first two months of the year. After that, membership privileges (voting at meetings and receiving a newsletter) will be withheld until dues are paid. Dues will remain at $15.00 for a yearly membership. See OUR NEW "JOIN ECWBA " TAB at the top of this page!!!

Beekeeping notes.

Thanks to ECWBA member David Kraus for providing follow up information about a discussion topic at January’s meeting. He has provided the website address for information regarding the submission of bee samples for disease diagnosis at the USDA Laboratory in Beltsville, MD. The website address: http://www.ars.usda.gov/Services/docs.htm?docid=7472

It is once again that time of the year to think about ordering bees. Whether you are thinking about ordering package bees, nucleus colonies, or just queens, below are some local honey bee sources.

Lapp’s Bee Supply, Reeseville, WI, telephone 1-800-321-1960.

Honey Glow Farm, Owen, WI, telephone 1-866-950-4950.

Lee Heine at Dadant’s, Watertown, WI, telephone 920-261-5363.

Best of Beekeeping,

Jeff Champeau - President, ECWBA - Telephone: 715-330-9969

If you have any questions, please feel free to call me. Or e-mail me at jeff.champeau@yahoo.com.

New Tab!

Don't miss the "new tab" (OUR LIBRARY) I just placed at the top of the blog - it's a NEW PAGE - representing what's in our library - for members.

A Winter Visit to the Bee House

Grab a STETHOSCOPE and head out to check the hives in the bee house. Slide open a panel and quiet yourself - the sound travels through all the wood and you can hear the slightest creak in the structure.

Hold your breath and listen.....nice SOLID humming coming from 3 hives (worse case scenario - 3 out of 6 isn't too bad for this climate) Just because I couldn't hear the others - doesn't mean they're gone....they could be in another corner of the hive or very small.

It's interesting how each hive seems to have their OWN NOTE/frequency.

here's a pic from class

Beekeeping 101 TONIGHT!

Beekeeping 101 tonight. On the agenda is a 2 hour - powerpoint backed and graphic packed presentation of BEEKEEPING.....the HOW to get into's (resources) - the WHO's in the hive (the caste and function of the hive) - the WHY's of beekeeping (everything we get from the hive) - and the BEEKEEPING CALENDAR (your function as keeper - and your time commitment throughout the year)

This is the "WE'RE GONNA PUMP YOU UP" about beekeeping class :)

Beekeeping Courses

Dates announced. (3) Beginner courses: Jan 26, Feb 9, Feb 23 and (2) Intermediate courses: Mar 16, Mar 30.

Classes will be held at the UW-Fond du Lac campus again -2nd floor "extension" classroom. 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm

Beginner courses will cover everything to GET STARTED - getting acquainted with bees, terminology, equipment, resources, purchasing bees, etc....over THREE class nights. They're held at this time of year so that you have time to build hives and order bees.

Intermediate courses will cover THE SECOND YEAR HIVE and BEYOND. Now that you have a year or so under your belt - we can discuss keeping the bees HEALTHY and IN THE BOX (swarming), etc. The second class, we'll be sharing some "advanced" topics....splits, nucs, requeening, queen rearing, etc.

Contact: UWFDL Extension: 920-929-3171. Pre-registration by Jan 18 - Registration limited to 40!

Cost: (3) BEGINNING classes - $36/person; $54/couple; $8/highschool or college student (materials)

(2) INTERMEDIATE classes - $24/person; $36/couple; $5/highschool or college student (materials)

Hope to see you there!

latest bee-related find

my RECENT bee-related FIND at a local antique mall. This mall is a DESTINATION...for those of you who love doing this sort of thing... http://www.columbusantiquemall.com/

you can EASILY spend an ENTIRE DAY.

i think this is a candy jar - because it's missing the cut-out for the dipper.

i was surprised with the AMOUNT of items - that i didn't find more....found a honey pot too.

ECWBA Newsletter - January 2011

Happy New Year to all of the ECWBA members!!!

1. Meeting Dates: Here is the list of meeting dates for the new year, 2011:

• January meeting: January 15, 2011, 9:30 am, at Ripon Public Library, Ripon, WI.

• February meeting: February 12, 2011, 9:30 am, Room O-104, Moraine Park Technical College, Fond du Lac, WI.

• March meeting: March 12, 2011, 9:30 am, at Ripon Public Library, Ripon, WI.

• May (or June) meeting: Field day. Date, time, and place are yet to be determined. Some members have requested that the field day be moved to the middle of June in order to observe colonies that have already transitioned to the honey production phase.

2. Meeting locations:

The January and March meetings will be at the Ripon Public Library, 120 Jefferson Street, Ripon, WI. The meetings will be downstairs in the Silver Creek Room. The Ripon Library is located one block behind the Ripon City Hall.

The February meeting will be held at the Moraine Park Technical College (MPTC), 235 North National Avenue, Fond du Lac, WI. The meeting will be held in Room O-104. Parking is available in the parking lot on National Avenue north of Johnson Street.

3. Meeting topics: The topics for the first few meetings have been established. At the January meeting, Dean Lapp of Lapp’s Bee Supply will speak about the beekeeping supply industry, package bee sourcing, and be able to answer questions about beekeeping topics. At the February meeting, Craig Petros, one of Wisconsin’s state bee inspectors, will speak about the current state of bee health in Wisconsin and also answer questions about bee diseases.

4. Officer elections: At the January, 2011, meeting, the offices of vice-president and treasurer will be up for election. The positions are currently held by Don Palkovich as Vice President and George Weigel as Treasurer. Both, Don and George, have done a great job as ECWBA officers for the past two years. Here’s an opportunity to be come directly involved with the ECWBA. Please consider running for either of these offices -- a little “electoral competition” would be great to see. If you have any questions about the election or about becoming an officer, please contact Jeff Champeau by phone or e-mail.

5. Membership: For 2011, the membership dues payment period will be the first two months of the year. After that, membership privileges (voting at meetings and receiving a newsletter) will be withheld until dues are paid. Dues will remain at $15.00 for a yearly membership. See next page for more information.

Happy New Year and Best of Beekeeping,

Jeff Champeau - President, ECWBA - Telephone: 715-330-9969 - jeff.champeau@yahoo.com