Issue - July 2015 If you prefer to read this e-zine in your Web browser, click here. Table of Contents News 1. From the Prez 2. July 9th Meeting Need-To-Know Info Beginner's Corner Register Your Bees Buy / Sell MCBA Extractor Usage Monthly Minutes MCBA Officers and BOD's 3. July 18th Picnic Articles 1. Pollen: Food For One, Sex For The Other 2. To Your Health; Drink Mead
3. It s Lethal; Foulbrood 4. Why Buy Local? Important Notices 1) Word-Of-Mouth Grows Us All. Please Pay It Forward Share the Buzzword! Please spread the word... Tell your friends and family, colleagues at work, about Beekeeping. The Buzzword grows purely by word-ofmouth, allowing us to "grow as a family", to attract people just like you, and to OVERdeliver value and your success as a Beekeeper. 2) Madison County Beekeepers Association Meetings The Madison County Beekeepers Association meets on the second Thursday of every odd numbered month (Jan, Mar. May, July etc.) at 6:30 PM. The location is the Huntsville Botanical Garden (shows a map) which is located at 4747 Bob Wallace Avenue in Huntsville, AL. This newsletter contains information about our meeting location at the Huntsville Botanical Gardens and the access code needed to enter the main gate. 3) Got Honey Bee Buzz Got ideas? Found an article about Beekeeping? The Buzzword welcomes suggestions, news and articles. It's your help that will make the Buzzword all the Buzz! Send your information to Monique. Thank You. 4) Like Us on Facebook Join our online Beekeeping family at our Facebook page. Like us today. News
From the Prez Food for the Summer and Summer Swarms, Hey all, hopes are that everyone was able to extract some honey. If you've not noticed, or soon will, not all colonies are created equal on honey production. Patience is at times required of the backyard beekeeper. Summer activity... There's a reason why bees have a shorter life span during the summer months. They head out in the morning and could fly all day until they collect enough resources to warrant returning to the hive. Thus the appearance of low activity. They're just not coming back as frequent. This is also likely the prime laying time for the queen. The foragers die sooner and must be replaced. She has to go into overdrive. How does that affect how much Honey to leave? To prevent starvation typically you d leave at a minimum the top box full of honey. Can you leave too much? If you've extracted your honey and removed your supers then you've also likely left your colony in it's typical brood chamber size. One deep and one medium, or three mediums. Can you provoke a summer swarm by leaving too much honey? I don't know, but let me ask, what happens when the queen which has gone into high gear -- has nowhere to lay her eggs? In a 3-medium set-up If the frames of the top box are all drawn out then check the middle box. You want to ensure at least the center frames are being used for brood. If all of those frames are full of honey then I suggest you remove a few center frames and replace with empty drawn comb. If you do not have any drawn comb then replace with new foundation. It may even work to your advantage to do the same to your upper box. If you have 1-deep/1-medium set up... Do the same for the top medium body. It is critical that the bees have honey reserves for the summer, but it is just as critical that the queen has plenty of room to lay as she attempts to maintain the
Which introduces another possible summer swarm scenario -- supercedure. Supercedure typically happens when the queen is not laying a sufficient amount of eggs to maintain the colony. The colony will sense this and begin to raise a replacement queen. This type of swarm is different than your typical spring swarm which is normal and generally due to lack of room within the hive. The position of the queen cell will also vary. With Spring swarms the queen cell is generally located toward the bottom of a frame, while a supercedure cell will be more toward the middle of a frame. It is difficult to know the health of your hive during the summer months. We can't use the time-tested method of strong activity at the entrance. Bee proactive. Support your bees during these dog days of summer. Ricky MCBA President July 9th Meeting Join us this Thursday at 630pm. It's time to: Elect the 2015-2016 MCBA officers and BOD Details of our July 18th picnic Show off your unique beekeeping Gadget Here is the list of nominees President Ricky Walls V.P. Keith Lynn Secretary Monique Kitts Treasurer Marshall Standifer BOD: Bobby Fanning (2018) Dale Rohe (2018) Lionel Evans (2017) Glenn Craiger (2016) Mike Shadoan (2016) Bob Fanning will present Beginner's Corner information for July and August. Look forward to seeing everyone Thursday, July 9th at 6:30 pm. We'll meet in the Nature Center at Huntsville Botanical Gardens. See you there!
Meeting Location Information MCBA meets at the Nature Center of the Huntsville Botanical Garden. An access code is required when entering the main gate entrance for our bi-monthly meeting. MCBA has been given a unique code for our members and guests to use. A Buzz Blast will be sent out Wednesday, July 8th, which contains a map and the MCBA access code. If you do not receive it, please, contact Monique and she will send it to you. July 18th Picnic Save the Date: July 18th, Saturday For the MCBA Annual Picnic Where: Monte Sano at the Pavillion across from the Country Store When: Setup at 10 AM (All are welcome; come help us setup and visit) Official start at Noon Stay as long as you like. Park closes at 5 PM. The meal and drinks will be provided by MCBA Members are asked to bring a dessert to share. How can you help? RSVP to let us know you will attend. We hope you will join us too! When you RSVP, please, let us know if: 1) you can bring a large cooler (for the ice and drinks MCBA will provide) 2) you can bring a portable grill 3) you are a skilled grill master and will assist in the grilling for the picnic To RSVP send an email to Monique, and also let us know if you can bring a cooler, grill or assist with grilling. See you July 9th for the MCBA Meeting.
AND See you July 18th for the Annual MCBA Picnic! Articles 1) Pollen: Food For One, Sex For The Other Article source: Jim Boogaerts of http://imagessays.com Pollen, on the other hand is the source of protein to feed the extensive nursery - the brood, the developing babies in the sisterhood of the colony. Life is short for a bee [ 3 weeks from hatching of egg to emergence as an adult bee, 3 weeks to work inside the hive, 3 weeks to forage the fields ]. In spring and summer, turnover is high, and each hive must produce many hundreds of new bees daily to replace the hundreds of daily losses and to grow the colony's population. Protein input is essential for growth of any animal. Continue reading here. 2) To Your Health; Drink Mead Article source: Newsmax.com Scientists in Sweden are launching their own mead - an alcoholic beverage made from a fermented mix of honey and water - based on old recipes which they say could help in the fight against antibiotic resistance. Together with a brewery, the scientists who have long studied bees and their honey, have launched their own mead drink - Honey Hunter's Elixir.
Continue reading here. 3) It s Lethal; Foulbrood Article source: Stephanie Findlay, Yahoo News In South Africa, an outbreak of the lethal bacterial disease foulbrood is spreading rapidly for the first time in recent history, says Mike Allsopp, honey bee specialist at the Agricultural Research Council in Stellenbosch in the Western Cape province. "It's exactly the same as around the world, the bees are sick of humans and the pressures and the stresses humans are putting on them," said Allsopp. Continue reading here. 4) Why Buy Local? Article source: Mary Grace Taylor, RodalesOrganicLife Shopping for honey should be simple. After all, it contains just one ingredient. But imported honey can be contaminated with antibiotics and heavy metals, and is often ultra-filtered removing the pollen that s said to help seasonal allergy sufferers with symptom relief. Sometimes, it isn t even honey at all but a weird concoction made from water, sugar, and rice or corn syrup. Continue reading here. Need-To-Know Info
MCBA Beginner's Corner Not sure what's going on in your beehive? What should you be doing right now? Check out MCBA's Beginner's Corner! A vital Bee-source for North Alabama Beekeepers. Read more here. Register Your Honey Bees. If you've not yet registered your bees it is critical to your local beekeeping community. With today's decline in the Honey Bee population it is critical that we as Madison County and Alabama Beekeepers know the strength of our bee populations. Registering your Honey Bee colonies allows us to maximize that goal. It's simple and painless, under $5 a year (period covered Oct 1st through September 30th) for up to (10) hives. You can go here to download a copy of the required form. You will also need to register your brand. Meaning an identification name or code. You are allowed up to (8) characters. Click here for a copy of this form. Buy / Sell MCBA Recommended Vendors "Drop of Honey" Bee Necklace by SimplyChicCositas This "Drop Of Honey" is actually a Topaz colored Czech Glass Teardrop Briolette. There are three bees to choose from. The Antiqued Silver plated bee is wired in silver plate (first 2 photos). The Antique Gold Plate Bee is wired in Vintage Bronze Plate also wired in Vintage Bronze (3rd & 4th photos). All three bee styles are connected by matching split rings (which is more sturdy and more permanent than a simple jump ring). Each Honey Drop with dangling Bee comes on an 18 inch matching chain with lobster claw clasp closures. Click to view the "Drop of Honey" Bee Necklace. Wood ware from Lindsey Trousdale
Lindsey's boxes, bottom boards and covers are all built using tulip poplar wood and are of excellent quality. Lindsey's shop contains an enormous amount of high grade professional wood working equipment and machines that make the renown TV Yankee Workshop pale by comparison. If you need well-made bee wooden ware at a very reasonable cost, you would do well to consider using Lindsey as your supplier. Contact Lindsey, here. Glass Jars and Lids from Dodson Farms The best and most economical source for glass or plastic container and lids is Dodson Farms in Columbia, TN, owned and operated by Jason Dodson. Jason can be reached at 931-388-2420 Office or 931-698-4959 Cell phone. Jason is a full time farmer and beekeeper so please call and arrange in advance to pick up supplies. Click here to send email. MCBA Extractor Usage Madison County Beekeepers Association provides a (9) nine-frame extractor on a first come first serve basis to it's members. There is a 4-day usage window. The user is responsible for pick up and return to the designated MCBA equipment location. To reserve the use of the Extractor member dues must be current. Click here to reserve. May 2015 Minutes Read the May Minutes here. Madison County Beekeepers Association Officers and BOD's (click to contact) President - Ricky Walls
Vice President - Amanda Maples Secretary - Monique Kitts Treasurer - Marshall Standifer Board of Directors Lionel Evans Keith Fletcher Bob Fanning Chris Cambron Glenn Craiger Mike Shadoan back to top The Buzzword is published by Madison County Beekeepers Association. Buzzword is sent every odd month of the year. Article and Content submissions are due on the 1st Day of each odd month. (Jan, March, May, July, Sept, Nov)
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