Newsletter - April 15, 2009

1. It’s official!!! We are now formally known as the East Central Wisconsin Beekeepers Association. This decision was made by vote of the general membership at the March meeting. Thanks to everyone that suggested names for our organization.

2. Last meeting. Denise Palkovich started out the meeting with an update on the association’s internet blog along with an explanation of creating a website. For old business, the above organizational name was established. For new business, dates and times were established for the next two meetings (see below). Earl Jewett briefed us on his beekeeping presentation at the Fond du Lac Public Library. Jeff Champeau presented a demonstration on installing package bees.

3. Since the last meeting… Earl Jewett has set up a beekeeping workshop. This is scheduled for April 30th and May 7th for 3 hours each night. This is being co-sponsored by the UW-Extension service and the East Central Wisconsin Beekeepers Association. Proceeds from the workshop will come back to the association as a fund raiser. For details, check the attached press release at the end of this newsletter.

4. Next meeting. The next meeting will be Saturday, May 16, 2009, from 1:00 – 3:00 pm. This will be a field day. This meeting and field day will take place at Jeff Champeau’s bee yard which is at Jeff’s parents’ place near Oakfield, WI. Here’s the exact address: N3415 Highway Y South, Oakfield, WI. Here are the driving directions: Oakfield is located about 10 miles southwest of Fond du Lac. Take Highway Y (same as Oak Street) south out of Oakfield (past Belle Reynolds School) for about a half a mile. The place is on the east side of Highway Y between River Road and Highway F. Some parking is available in the driveway – overflow parking will be along the road. There will be a short meeting followed by a “hands-on” opportunity to explore some beehives. Please bring your own hat & bee veil, gloves, coveralls, strings or something to tie off pants legs, or anything else you think you might need to feel comfortable working around bees. If you need any of these items, both Lapp’s in Reeseville and Dadant’s near Watertown carries a good selection of beekeeper wear. The rain date for this meeting and field day will be Saturday, May 23, 2009.

5. July meeting. The July meeting is scheduled for July 18, 2009. Start time is 9:30 am. The meeting will be at the Ripon Public Library, 120 Jefferson Street, Ripon, WI. A short business meeting will be conducted first, then a presentation. Presentation topic is yet to be determined.

Beekeeping Notes:
* You should be already feeding sugar syrup to hives that survived the winter and to any package bees that you installed this spring.
* Ditto the above for pollen patties (substitute pollen).
* Prepare for new package bee arrivals by assembling any required equipment and selecting new sites.
* Remember for site selection, the hives should have southern or eastern exposure with a western or northern wind break.
* If you are going to need supers for the honey harvest, now is the time to purchase and assemble the supers and honeycomb frames.

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

Happy Beekeeping,

Jeff Champeau
President, E.C.W.B.A.

beehives at the white house

http://www.thehoneybeeconservancy.org/Blog/Entries/2009/3/23_Obama_family_joins_the_growing_ranks_of_Americans_engaged_in_the_emerging_backyard_beekeeping_movement.html

A couple of links suggested

a couple of links suggested by the program this morning. i will add them to the right bar for future reference as well. one thing mentioned was the "development of POLLINATOR GARDENS" - perhaps this is a "small way" you can get your neighbors and friends to participate in your beekeeping habit, by letting them know which varieties of plants and flowers contribute to the pollination ecosystem .

i currently plant borage (which is an annual - but reseeds itself from year to year). bees ABSOLUTELY love borage. i plant it right in the garden amongst the other vegetables. the veggies are for me - the borage is for them. (and you can eat borage - the leaf tastes a little like cucumber....if you can "get past" the fuzzy leaves.)

http://www.xerces.org/

http://www.pollinator.org/

CCD discussed on WPR this morning

4/15/09 9:00 am.....A VERY interesting program this morning on Wisconsin Public Radio: Kathleen Dunn: Gene Purcell in for Kathleen Dunn - It's mysteriously wiped out large numbers of the bees that pollinate our crops. After nine, Gene Purcell and his guests discuss Colony Collapse Disorder in bee populations... Guests:- Diana Cox-Foster, professor of entomology, Pennsylvania State University.

http://www.wpr.org/search/ (type in BEES)

it will take them a bit (a couple of hours) to get a "LISTEN TO AUDIO" link. when it's available - come back and check it out!

what do other beekeepers do?

if you haven't already....go to the side bar of this blog and "visit some other bee blogs". haven't you wondered about what beekeepers do in CANADA? or how do bees fare in the Carolinas? whether it's for fun or you're in need of some technical bit of information - it's all out there on the information superhighway.