P R O P I L I S

The information

that glues us together

Beekeepers of

Volusia County Florida

September 2010

Founded February 9, 2010

Hello Folks; September is coming to a close, is it fall yet? I have not harvested my fall honey yet, dur-ing my last inspection I had two supers ready to pull and four supers in process. I usually won’t pull any honey supers after mid-October, I always leave a super of honey for the ladies during winter. During September and October continue to perform your hive inspections at the two to three week intervals. Remember your honey bee biology and focus on a queen right con-dition. During my last hive inspection I was missing a queen in one of my hives and had to requeen (all hives were re-queened in March 2010. If you don’t catch this condition early you will loose your hive to the hive beetles and wax moths. Many beekeepers requeen their hives or perform splits during the fall months. The thinking is requeening and hive splits reduce Spring Swarming and promote strong spring hive for the spring nectar and pollen flow which is usually the strongest honey producer. We are fortunate to live in Florida, something is almost always blooming and the winters are usually mild which promotes good Beekeeping. Are you monitoring your Varroa Mites in your hives? Are you in the process of acquir-ing your fall medications? Remember many medications should be applied without honey supers, so fall is a season to correct any unfavorable diseases or pests. Don’t forget to support your local Beekeeping Suppliers, I have included a special infor-mation sheet to help you identify a Beekeeping Supplier near you. Bee Friendly, Tom Bartlett President, Beekeepers of Volusia Country, Florida University of Florida Master Beekeepers Program Certified University of Florida Welsh Honey Judge

President’s Corner

What’s Blooming?

Here is what is, or will be, blooming soon.

September

Spotted mint Goldenrod Vine aster

Sumac Golden dew drop

Buckwheat Lantana

Joint Weed Butter Mint Impatiens Sea grape

Honey suckle Wax myrtle

Coffee Sandhill prairie

clover Porter weed

Day lily

October

Spanish needle Mexican clover Primrose willow

Spotted mint Goldenrod Vine aster Bush aster

Smart weed Melaleuca

Uncle Ed’s Points to Ponder!

Why is what doctors do

c a l le d ‘ p ra c t ice’ ? Scary?

What disease did cured ham have?

Why is it called tourist season when we can’t shoot at them?

This Is What The Club Said Survey 3

Question 1… Do You… 1. Never use hard chemicals 4 2. Rarely use hard chemicals 3. Use hard chemicals only when IPM does

not work… 2 4. Use hard chemicals routinely Question 2… Do you use essential oils… 3 Yes and 3 No Question 3… What is your favorite type of honey? Mangrove (1), What ever I get out of my hive (1), Wildflower (1), Gallberry (2), Blackberry or Saw Palmetto (1) What questions would you like to see in sur-vey 4? Email your ideas to Ed Williams at astrocycler@att.net.

?

B E E

THANKFUL !

Hive Management Tasks

October—December Varroa peaks in Aug/Sept. Treat if you exceed

the economic threshold. The economic thresh-old is 60+ mites/day on a sticky screen or 17+ mites in an ether roll for a colony of average strength

If necessary, treat with Fumigillin for Nosema. Colonies may need as much as 4 gallons of medicated syrup to control Nosema cerana.

Monitor and control small hive beetles Feed colonies if light on honey stores or nectar

source. Treat for tracheal mites if necessary. Treatment

option… mix vegetable oil and powdered sugar until doughy (not sticky to touch)… place a pan-cake sized patty on top bars of brood chamber.

Thanks to Dr. Jamie Ellis of the UF HBREL for this information.

Check out your local Native Plant Soci-ety chapter. They can tell you what na-tive plants will work in your area. Get your neighbors involved too. Plant more wild flowers and decrease areas with grass. Mother nature will thank you.

Honey—What Is It?

We raise bees and extract honey. Well, what exactly is honey? Glucose and fructose are the primary sugars in honey and are in about equal proportions. Sucrose is usually about 1% of the honey. No real surprise here since we all know honey is sweet. Did you know honey is also acidic? Acidity us typically about 3.9 but can range from about 3.4 (that’s pretty acidic) to 6.1. To avoid fermenting the water content of honey must be kept below 18.6%. Honey starts out as plant nectar whose fra-grance will attract bees and other pollinators. Nectar’s primary sugar is sucrose and may contain some glucose and fructose. This is the opposite of honey. So what happens to convert nectar to honey? Only bees know the details of converting nectar to honey but the basics are: 1- to re-duce the amount of water, 2- use enzymes and mechanical manipulation to convert the sugars to those the bees need. The actual conversion process, which is complex and very interesting, will be left for another arti-cle. The best part is that it is not necessary to know any of this to enjoy the honey.

“If everybody is thinking alike, then somebody isn't thinking.” Gen. George Patton

B E E S

ARE

US !

Next Meeting

Wednesday September 22, 2010

6:30 PM

Volusia County Agricultural Center Auditorium, 3100 E. New York Ave., Deland

It’s The Law Hive Inspections and Registration Registering as a beekeeper is required by law in Florida. Good news is it is not ex-pensive. Only $10 for 1-5 hives and $20 for 6-40. The registration is good for one year. Not a bad deal for a hobbyist. “We’re from the government and here to help you,” has become a sarcastic lament of our day. However, the great news is in the case of our bee inspectors the com-ment is appropriate and totally accurate. During inspections you can learn a wealth of information from the inspec-tors. The inspectors are highly experi-enced beekeepers… they have “been there, done that, got the t-shirt”. Good news is they are willing to share their knowledge. Apiary inspection in Florida does many things to protect the industry and the bees. Keeping out diseases, controlling Africanized Honey Bees, controlling the transport of hives within the state and to other states are some of their tasks. So, don’t view the state inspectors as the enemy. They are here to help and do so. If you want to download an application for inspection surf to this location… http://www.doacs.state.fl.us/onestop/forms/08176.pdf. Check out the inspec-t i o n w e b s i t e a t h t t p : / /www.doacs.state. fl .us/ones top/plt/apiaryinsp.html#contact Get some bees… get inspected… have fun!

Events of Interest to Beekeepers

September 22, 2010...Beekeepers of Volusia County meeting September 25, 2010… Beekeepers of Volusia County...Honey Harvest Festival… members and their families. October 2010… Master Bee Program in Ft. Myers October 27, 2010… Beekeepers of Volusia County meeting October 28-30, 2010… Florida State Beekeep-ers Association 90th Convention, Ft. Myers November Club Meeting... TBD December 22, 2010… Beekeepers of Volusia County meeting March 11 & 12, 2011… Bee College

"Did you ever stop to think and forget to start again?"

Winnie The Pooh

Don’t Stop Here!

The technical and instructional information in this newsletter is introductory in nature. To become fully knowledgeable on a subject it is necessary that further study be under-taken. Knowledge is power!

Hey! Don’t Forget the Honey Harvest Festival being hosted by Alysian Apiaries and S&S Apiaries for the members of the Beekeepers of Volusia County and their family members.

The Honey Harvest Festival will take place on Saturday September 25th 10 AM to 4 PM.

Details are on the flyer which is the last page of this newsletter.

This will be a great opportunity for members to get to know each other. There will be activities and, of course, bee stuff going on.

Don’t forget to RSVP as soon as possible.

See you There!

Need Help? Call A Mentor!

Tom Bartlett: bartteb@aol.com—386-756-2571

Marlin Athern : 386-428-0838 mjathear@volusia.k12.fl.us

If you are an experienced bee-keeper please volunteer to help your club mates.

Local Beekeeping Supplies

1. Bee Friendly LLC – Volusia Country Brushy Mountain Dealer – Tom Bartlett Tom Bartlett – 386-756-2571 2. Debs Beekeeping Supplies – Hastings Fl. & Jacksonville Fl. 1-904-886-9389 & 1-877-703-DEBS 3. Full Moon Native Nursery selling beekeeping supplies and bee friendly plants 1737 Fern Park Dr. Port Orange, Fl. – 386-212-9923 4. Winters Nursery in Ormond Beach selling beekeeping supplies and bee friendly plants – 147 Tomoka Ave. Ormond Beach, Fl. 32174 – 386-235-8730

Honey Bee Swarm Capture

Bee Friendly LLC – Tom Bartlett – 386-756-2571 S&S Apiaries—Jesse Azam - 386-478-9722 Alysian Apiaries - Scott MacMahon - 407-417-1896

BEEKEEPERS OF VOLUSIA COUNTY, FLORIDA Minutes (not yet accepted)

August 25, 2010

6:35 p.m. Meeting called to order by President, Tom Bartlett. Treasurer's report was read. Motion was made and seconded to accept the Treasurer's report. Tom Bartlett purchased a projector and asked the membership to purchase it for use of presenta-tions at the monthly meetings. Presentation this month was on Varroa mites by Dr. Jaime Ellis. After the video, Tom discussed the different treatments available for use to control the different diseases and pests that affect the bees. President Bartlett then discussed Honey Judging. He told the membership of the many items which the judges look for when judging honey, some of which are the aroma of the honey, the jars must be filled properly, the lids must be brand new, no foam or bubbles on top of the honey and no more that 18.8% water content. Jesse Azam has volunteered to host a Honey Harvest Festival at his bee yard located at 776 May-town Road, Oak Hill, Florida. Doug McGinnis of Tropical Blossom will be there. Raffle tickets for a hive will be sold. Event will take place on September 25, 2010 from 10 a.m. To 4 p.m. A pig will be roasted and attendees are asked to bring dishes to complement the meat. Bill Blue set up the donated hive from Jesse Azam on property located on Mercers Fernery Road in Deland. Bill will be setting up times for members to come by and work with the hive. The projector that Tom Bartlett purchased cost $399 plus tax. A motion was made and seconded for the club to purchase the projector. The projector will be for the use of the club for presentations at the meetings but may be borrowed by members working on their Master Beekeeper certification. Meeting was adjourned at 8:15 p.m. Next meeting will be September 22, 2010 at 6:30p.m.

Club Officers President—Tom Bartlett—bartteb@aol.com—386-756-2571

Vice President—Bill Blue—billblue0072003@yahoo.com—386-490-5966 Treasurer—Ron Kull—kullrp@yahoo.com—386-451-2978

Secretary—Rose Williams - rmbwill@hotmail.com - 407-323-3056

Beekeepers of Volusia County, Florida

Meeting Agenda

September 22, 2010 Call to order and welcome: Business:

Membership Drive / Registrations / $15.00 Annual Fee Treasure’s Report

Presentations Discussions:

Nosema Disease Video – Jamie Ellis UF

Teaching Hive PDF Presentation

Volusia County Fair Preparation

Volusia Country Fair Honey Show

Odds and Ends 1. What’s blooming? See your Newsletter 2. What’s happening in your bee yard? 3. Beekeeping Questions Adjournment

Businesses of Members

Dictionary is the only place that success comes before work. Hard work is the price we must pay for success. I think you can accomplish any-thing if you're willing to pay the price. Vince Lombardi

Beekeepers of Volusia Country, Florida

Membership Registration Form ___________________________________________________________________________________________ Name ______________________________________________________________________________ Address City_________________________________________ State____ Zip Code _________________ Telephone Number ________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________ E-mail address: Important - Much business is done by electronic mail 1. Regular Membership (includes family members) $15.00 [ ] 2. Lifetime Membership donation of one hive with 10 frames and bees or $250 { } Please make checks payable to Beekeepers of Volusia County, Florida Bring to meeting or mail to: Ron Kull, Treasurer, 2525 Palm Dr. Port Orange, FL 32128, Phone: 1-386-451-2978 E-mail: Kullrp@yahoo.com Meeting Information… 4th Wednesday of each month… 6:30 PM… Volusia County Agricultural Center Auditorium, 3100 E. New York Ave., Deland