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.