installing - the NON-SHAKE method

I TRIED THIS! This was an article in Feb/March issue of Bee Culture Magazine (don't remember which)...they called it the KELLY (non-shake) METHOD of installation.

BASICALLY - you're hanging the queen cage (replace cork with marshmallow - you don't want her out just yet) in the box with the 10 frames you've prepared. they suggested a rubber band wrapped around the frame...i just used a thumb tack and stuck it through the queen cage tab and into the top bar. HANG HER "OFFSIDES"! (don't want syrup drowning her!)

place the opened package in an EMPTY bottom box...and the bees will migrate to the frames. the next day or two - take your EMPTY PACKAGE BOX out! (obviously?...take the bottom box out too) your finished hive configuration is the 10 frames on the bottom board, the inner cover and your covered syrup bucket.

ADVANTAGES? MANY MANY LESS BEES flying about!!!! they suggested in the article - this method could be used in the rain...and I'LL ATTEST to that. I didn't have rain - but I had a heck of a wind.

THINGS I LEARNED and/or SUGGEST? when you replace the cork with the marshmallow...don't use a CRUSTY old marshmallow....grab a nice soft piece from the inside...and DON'T STUFF IT FULL!!! you only need to keep her in there long enough to configure the hive.

I myself...was without marshmallow. so - i had to leave the cork in place 'till i got back (day 2) to remove the package. When I removed the bottom box and package - I removed the queen (in cage) I then popped the cork and let her MOSEY into the entrance. I have to say - she took her DARN SWEET TIME! and in ONE installation....SHE ESCAPED!.....before I knew it - I saw her disappearing under the deck board!! luckily - I can both SEE and REACH under there. I grabbed her and stuck her naughtiness into the hive. I CAN ONLY SAY....if you are leery about handling the queen PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE ON DRONES!!!! they can't hurt you and you can get a feel of having that little buzzing body in your fingers.....I PRACTICED when I installed...

DISADVANTAGE? ....you need that "extra" empty deep/brood box...but remember - you can use two empty supers to cover your syrup bucket too!

well wishes for George - our treasurer

For those who would like to send GEORGE WEIGEL, our treasurer, well-wishes as he embarks on his chemotherapy treatment at Frodert.... visit: http://www.caringbridge.org type in: "georgeweigel" I'm sure he'd rather be out - playing with BEES!

HOME-MADE Dormant Oil Spray for Fruit Trees

For those beekeepers with fruit trees....make your own dormant oil spray....for treatment...NOW!

Dormant oil spray is a non-toxic material that can be sprayed on trees and shrubs in the fall after leaf drop or in spring before leaves/blossoms appear. It smothers overwintering bug eggs before they have a chance to hatch. Apply in temperatures 40 degrees, plus. Apply weekly 'till leaf formation.

BIG recipe:
1 gallon of mineral oil (can be found at walmart/fleet farm in the health/pharmacy area)
1 pound of oil based soap (this is a powdered "baby" laundry soap...flake form)
1/2 gallon water

REAL LIFE recipe:
1/8 gallon (2 cups) mineral oil
1/8 lb. (2 oz) oil based soap
1/16 gallon (1 cup) water

Directions: BOIL all these together and mix well. DILUTION RATE IS: 1 part to 20 parts water (so even the "small batch" makes a lot). This mix must be used quickly as it separates.

Non-toxic commercial off-the-shelf products are also available under the trade names: "Dormant Oil Spray" and "Oil-Away Supreme Insecticidal Soap". Oil Away is made from cottonseed oil.

Wisconsin honey to stay pure and sweet

By Jill Blocker
March 22, 2010

Wisconsin residents with a sweet tooth for honey will only get the pure, bee-made stuff, thanks to a new law raising honey standards in the state.

Diluted or fake forms of the sweet, sticky substance labeled as honey is far too common, said Tim Fulton, president of the Wisconsin Honey Producers Association, in the Kenosha News. He petitioned state Rep. Peter Baraca, D-Kenosha, to create a legal definition of honey to weed out imposters.

Some honey products include additives and can include no bee-produced content at all, said Fulton, according to the News.

“Corn and rice syrups are cheap, and anyone could put in any amount of that and still call it honey and do it legally,” he said. “Honey should be a product that comes from bees.”

The fake honey also hurts real honey producers’ business. Real honey can cost double of what imitation or blended products are sold for.

Gov. Jim Doyle signed the law last week, requiring the state Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection to develop honey standards, according to the Times. The bill prohibits labeling a product as Wisconsin-certified honey or implying that a product is Wisconsin-certified honey when it contains additives or other ingredients. Honey at grocery stores and farmers’ markets are also affected by the new law.

The law provides standards consistent with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Health Organization’s Codex Alimentarius, which says honey is bee-produced and without additives.

Diluted or blended honey products could be sold with appropriate labels established by the department.

“We’re not trying to ban people from selling products,” Baraca said. “We’re trying to get truth in advertising and give a competitive edge to our honey producers.”

In July, Florida became the first state to require “all-natural” honey sold in the state to be free of additives, chemicals or adulterants (any substance that alters the purity of honey). If honey sold in Florida is found to contain additives, sellers must cease sales of the altered product within state lines. Failure to comply can result in a $500 fine per violation.

There are no federal honey standards, but Fulton said U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials have said they would consider a nationwide standard if enough states pass honey-regulation laws.

Website for keeping track of hives!

Check this out! this website offers tools to keep track of your hives, installation, inspections, etc....for those of you with 6 hives or less - it's FREE.

http://www.beetight.com