General Meeting (February 2021)

The Capital Region Beekeepers Association (CRBA) meets on the second Thursday of every month.

This meeting usually starts with a beginners/intermediate beekeeper corner 30 minutes before the regular club proceedings start around 7pm.

Agenda

6:30pm – New Beekeepers Corner

7:00pm – Broader Club Meeting

• Welcome – Bill F
• Update from our Inspector – Tara G
• Iotron Trip – Alanna M
• What to do in February and March – Larry L
• Bee packages and Nucs

Minutes

• Meeting started at 6:30pm (via Zoom)
• Don begins the New Beekeeper Corner (approx. 25 attendees)
  • Introduces us to the HoneybeeSuite website
  • Introduction to what Apis Mellifera is
    • 3 casts (worker, drone, queen)
    • Life cycle of the honeybee
    • Wild bees live in tree cavities; Not many tree cavities left
    • Lorenzo Langstroth invented the removable frame hive; Typical of what we regard as a “beehive”.
    • Other hive types are also available.
  • What you need to start
    • Hive (boxes, frames)
    • Tool
    • Smoker
    • Sugarwater
    • Suit
  • Nuc
    • If you already have drawn comb, you can start with a package.
    • Otherwise, you’ll need a nuc which is a small hive including 4 to 5 frames of drawn comb and bees.
    • Local bees are typically better than imported bees as they are better-adapted to the environment.
  • Where do you get your bees from?
    • Local nucs usually don’t show up until May, but are normally the best option.
    • List of providers on CRBA website.
  • Another website called Scientific Beekeeping. For more advanced and in depth information.
  • Q & A
    • Peppermint spray instead of smoke?
      • Seems plain water works just as well.
    • Feral Colonies – do they exist here?
      • Differentiate between Feral colonies and swarms.
      • Often local feral colonies are last year’s beekeeper’s swarm.
      • Don is aware of one in an Oak tree.
      • Not many feral colonies in general.
    • Antibiotics
      • Generally not used.
      • Mites are the big issue – organic acids are the common treatment.
    • What should we be doing in February?
      • Look for wax moth in unused frames
      • Put in freezer if you find any
      • Prepare for Iotron trip.
      • Generally get prepared for March
      • Supplemental feeding if you have access without opening hive.
      • Bees are starting to raise brood at this time.
    • Number of boxes to overwinter and 8 versus 10 frame boxes?
      • “3 beekeepers, 5 answers”
      • Typically 2 boxes for winter – one for brood, one for food.
      • Don has a little bit of everything.
      • Most efficient size for heat is a ball, so a square hive would be the equivalent.
    • Flow hives
      • Gimmicky
      • Expensive
      • Not something for a new beekeeper
      • Don is not aware of anyone who has had success.
    • Box of comb from dead colony – mildew
      • Bees will clean it up.
      • Can use peroxide.
    • Reuse honey from a colony that didn’t overwinter
      • Why didn’t it overwinter? Did it have disease? (AFB spores for example can survive.)
      • If they just got cold or had mites, it wouldn’t be a problem.
      • Absconding seems to have been an issue this year.
  • Thanks to Don for hosting the beginners corner.
• Bill Fosdick (President of the CRBA) welcomes everyone to the CRBA online meeting (approx. 40 attendees)
  • Bill gives an overview of the agenda.
• Tara Galpin – Provincial Bee Inspector for lower island region
  • David McDonald has retired
  • Tara’s job is support beekeepers in dealing with honeybee pests and diseases.
  • AFB (American Foulbrood)
    • Tara presents on the characteristics of AFB.
    • If you see an abandoned hive, report it.
    • Old equipment must be inspected before sale.
    • Do not feed commercial honey to your bees.
    • Life cycle
    • Identification
    • Tara presents the differences between AFB and EFB.
    • EFB is currently a problem on the mainland (snotbrood). EFB tends to show up when there is a stress on the colony. Blueberry pollen does not have enough protein. Also more alkaline.
    • If you suspect you have a diseased colony email or call Tara.
    • Management of AFB.
    • Preventing AFB.
  • Questions:
    • When Tara comes to the island?
      • Needs enough sites to visit to justify trip.
      • Depends on urgency and volume.
    • No scale to Iotron?
      • Best not to send frames with scale. Can send honey frames from AFB hive.
      • AFB will be killed, but scale will remain, so you won’t know whether it is old or new scale in the future.
    • Do anything to soil around hive that had AFB?
      • Never had that come up as an issue.
      • Should remove and burn any bees.
    • Effect of Iotron on honey?
      • Recommend extracting as much honey as possible before sending equipment to Iotron.
      • Honey also acts to block the Iotron radiation.
    • How long until AFB or EFB shows up in a caught swarm?
      • Depends – you just have to watch the colony and see how strong the colony is. Use best judgement.
    • If your hive swarms, can you put it back in your original hive or a new hive?
      • Put it into a new box, otherwise they’ll likely just leave again.
      • You can eventually recombine them later in the season.
    • Do the spores survive the Iotron?
      • No
    • When you burn, what do you burn?
      • Generally the whole thing, although you can potentially save the boxes by sending to Iotron or scorching the box.
      • If you cannot burn, the club has a pass to dispose at Hartland dump.
      • Important that you do it with CRBA permit so it is disposed of properly.
    • Where can one purchase AFB resistant queens?
      • Tara will send some names of general sources of strong bees.
  • Tara’s contact information is on the government site.
  • Thank you to Tara for joining us tonight.
• Iotron visit
  • Trip at beginning of March
  • iotron@capitalregionbeekeepers.ca
  • Truck leaves in the morning and returns the same day.
  • Higher level radiation being used this year
  • Due to prevalence of AFB and EFB on mainland.
  • Honey in the frames may be “cooked”.
  • Generally not a good idea to have honey in the frames going over.
  • Do an inventory of equipment you want to send NOW.
  • Bag in garbage bags and tape. Do not want it to fall apart in transit.
  • Check for instructions on website.
• Larry – What to do in February/March
  • AFB – it is much simpler to burn your frames than to send to Iotron. Bees have to tear all the comb down anyway to remove scale.
  • Frames going to Iotron should contain no honey. It reduces the radiation.
  • Monitor your hives
  • Make sure your tops are aligned – wind
  • May find dead bees – usually older foragers.
  • Should have completed vapourizing for mites.
  • Keep bottom boards and entrances clear.
  • If it gets above 15C and no bees flying – check that hive.
  • Remove mouseguards. Can clog up with dead bees.
  • Heft your hives. If light – feed.
  • Emergency feed – fondant candy board or dry sugar – if warm you can switch to liquid. Pollen – will stimulate brood rearing – increase chance of swarming.
  • Can use up to 2lbs of honey per day while brood rearing.
  • Can bump side of hive to listen for buzzing.
  • Ventilation – upper entrance is great for ventilation and if bottom gets blocked.
  • Assess equipment for coming year.
  • Replace old dark comb in frames not currently in use.
  • Render wax for sale
  • Develop new markets for your products.
  • Read journals, books, etc.
  • Weather is the ultimate calendar for taking care of your bees.
  • Stick with proven methods for treating pests and disease.
  • And a story…a Canadian government scrapyard.
  • Thanks to Larry.
• Open the floor to further questions
  • Note from Bill – don’t be tepid new beekeepers – you’ll need more equipment than you think.
    • Get 2 hives
  • How do you check hive weight?
    • Put your hand in handhold of bottom super.
    • If you can lift with 3 fingers without too much effort, you need to feed.
  • Hive registration
    • Update registration every 2 years.
    • Update if the number of colonies changes significantly.
    • You will be notified of disease outbreak in your area.
    • If you have multiple locations each needs to be registered
  • What is the cutoff for mites in hive for permit to sell?
    • Below 1%
  • What temperature can you do your first inspection after winter?
    • Greater than 10C. 15C preferred.
    • If bees covering 7 frames, add up to 3 supers.
• Bill thanks everyone and wraps up the meeting at 8:15 pm.