GBA Monthly Newsletter
August 2013
Editors: Gina Gallucci and Linda Tillman
Mr. Bobby Colson of B&G Honey in Statesboro, teaching Thomas Lariscy about beekeeping. Photo by Denise Lariscy
Fall is approaching and bringing exciting activities for all members. The
topics of the recent board meeting in Macon centered on the fall club
activities. The state meeting, which is scheduled for September 20th & 21st,
in Gwinnett County and is hosted by several north GA clubs, promises to be an
informational and busy weekend for beekeepers of all levels.
Note: All clubs have one vote at the GBA state business meeting in Gwinnett county. The representative, who is usually the club president or the designated voting member, MUST be a member of the state club. If the club president is not a GBA member and thus unable to vote, the name of the designated member must be sent to Mary Cahill-Roberts ( maryc7@aol.com) two weeks prior to state meeting. Make sure that your club president is a GBA member so that your club's voice can be heard at the state meeting.
Two separate opportunities exist this fall for placing honey in a juried
show. The first is the state meeting with cash awards being given in
several divisions. The other contest, which will be held at the Georgia
National Fair in Perry in October, will not include cash awards but ribbons
will be earned. Hope you are able to participate.
Jerry Edwards
President, GA Beekeepers Association
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Membership Report
by Roseanne Dorn
Thanks to everyone for promoting GBA! We currently have over 200 paid memberships, of which a little over thirty percent are family memberships. That gives us a total of 277 members!
If everyone will encourage their local club members to join GBA, we can easily reach 300+ members by the fall meeting. (Don’t forget to renew your own membership!)
Memberships can be renewed online at www.gabeekeeping.com and the printable mail-in registration for the fall meeting is also available. Online registration is available.
Early registration will end Sept 14th, registration at the door will be $10 per person higher so don’t wait!
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Life is the flower for which love is the honey. ~~ Victor Hugo
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Your editors are lucky to receive a number of newsletters from Europe every month. Here's an article from the Nottinghamshire Beekeepers Association newsletter that we thought would be of interest to all:
COULD A BEE SURVIVE A FALL FROM A SKYSCRAPER?
by Stuart Ching (adapted from BBC Focus magazine)
A bee (presuming it cannot fly for some reason) can survive a fall from any height because it is very light. Although Galileo demonstrated that gravity accelerates bodies at the same rate, irrespective of mass, this will only continue indefinitely in a vacuum.
When falling through air any falling object – in this case a bee – is subject to friction and this increases the faster it falls. At a certain point the deceleration from air resistance exactly balances the acceleration due to gravity and the bee stops getting faster. This is what’s called terminal velocity for that object. The terminal velocity of a skydiver is about 55m/s; a diving peregrine falcon can reach about 90m/s.
A bee, on the other hand, will stop accelerating by the time it has reached 1-2m/s. Not only is this much slower but the bee’s slight mass also means that it’s kinetic energy at a given speed is much lower. So a bee hitting the ground at terminal velocity only has to absorb a miniscule fraction of the energy of a human falling from the same height.
In fact, anything up to the size of a mouse can survive a fall of any height without injury and cats regularly survive falls from tower block windows with only minor injuries.
However, if the bee is inside a hive then a different end result will occur. The hive having a large mass will hit the ground with considerable terminal velocity and smash to smithereens. According to Einstein, the bee, being part of this bigger system, will be crushed to a pulp!!!
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Interview with Jennifer Berry
Research Professional III and UGA Bee Lab Manager
Done with Gina Gallucci by telephone
Photo by Linda Tillman April 15, 2010 at Metro Atlanta Bee meeting
How long have you been involved in beekeeping and how did you get started?
About 17 years ago I took a class with Dr. Delaplane at UGA. By the second day I knew honey bees were going to be apart of my graduate work. Then the next week, when we opened our first hive, I knew honey bees would be apart of my life forever.
You have done a tremendous amount of teaching beekeeping. What are the hardest question new beekeepers ask?
It's hard in the beginning for new beekeepers to even ask the right questions because they don’t have a solid base yet. This understanding comes with time and experience; trust me I know, I was a beginner once. Yet, the hardest concept to get across to beekeepers is the seriousness of Varroa mites; how to control them, how to manage them and understanding the whole mite/bee relationship. There are some people who think they can purchase a hive of bees, put them in the backyard, and leave them be. Months later, when they finally do check in on their bees, they are confused as to why they’re dead. There’s simply more to keeping bees now than before mites came ashore.
There was a time when that approach was common, how long ago do you think that was?
I’d say anytime before the 80s. The 80s brought in Tracheal Mites and Varroa. Also since that time, bees have had a whole array of things to deal with: destruction of natural habitat which leads to lack of natural forage which leads to nutritional deficiencies, compound that with diseases, and a toxic environment inside and outside the hive.
What is your favorite part of teaching beekeeping?
Overall, the whole process, especially teaching new beginners; but I focus so much on Varroa IPM. Now I am really working toward encouraging “realistic” natural beekeeping. What that is in a nutshell, is keeping your bees alive, which means one day, you may have to feed or treat for mites. But let's try as many “natural” approaches as possible first; purchase resistant Queens, use screen bottom boards, do drone brood trapping, and brood cycle disruption all to keep the Varroa mites below the threshold level. (the threshold being 40 mites in 24 hours). But if the mite levels become too high and are threatening the life of your colony, you have to do something, and treatment is usually our only option. I believe when you become a beekeeper, you must take on the responsibility for those bees: their care and welfare It’s just like taking on the responsibility of any pet you take home: dog, cat. And if need be, you would treat your dog or cat for fleas and ticks, so why not your bees?. If you don’t want to take care of the bees then you shouldn’t be a beekeeper. This may be a strong statement, but it is not fair to the bees.
How do you compare teaching at beekeeping clubs and the Young Harris Institute?
I really enjoy Young Harris because I get a lot of down time with individuals. I get to really talk with them. At the clubs, I’m usually driving home after the meeting is over and don’t have as much time to talk with them.
Who are your beekeeping mentors?
Bob Binnie! Let me see, did I mention Bob Binnie! I call upon him numerous times during the year to ask questions and he always makes himself available. Also, Carl Webb, Jerry Hayes, Dr. Marla Spivak, and Dr. Tom Seeley.
What is your favorite book or movie about beekeeping?
For books, I recommend several, Biology of the Honey Bee by Mark Winston. Honey Bee Biology and Beekeeping By Dewey Caron and Larry Connor, The Beekeepers Handbook by Diana Sammataro, ABC & XYZ of Bee Culture, and The Hive and the Honey Bee.
Plus All of Tom Seeley's books, (Honeybee Democracy, Honeybee Ecology, and The Wisdom of the Hive.)
Plus All of Tom Seeley's books, (Honeybee Democracy, Honeybee Ecology, and The Wisdom of the Hive.)
No movies, well maybe Ulee’s Gold (1977). I have seen several documentaries which I have found disturbingly incorrect and not addressing the seriousness of what honey bees are truly facing today, but instead highlighting silly beekeepers, rubbing their mustaches on bees to show how cool they are.
Where do you see beekeeping in the next 10 years?
We have some serious issues ahead. It’s going to be rough for our bees, yet I am optimistic. There is no single answer; there are layers upon layers of complexities that we need.
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Recipe of the month:
Recipe for Honey Rosemary Lemonade
12 lemons, to make about 2 cups of juice
1/2 cup sage honey or a local variety
Fresh rosemary
1 cup + 8 cups water
Make a simple syrup. Combine the honey with 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil. Turn off heat. While the syrup is still hot, add whole rosemary rosemary springs and leave in the syrup. Squeeze 12 lemons. Combine the lemon juice with the rosemary syrup. Add water to syrup/juice mixture. Add more water if needed, remembering that once you add the juice to ice in a glass, the ice will melt and dilute the mixture to some degree. Put a spray of rosemary in the glass and serve!
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Heart of Georgia Beekeepers Speak to Master Gardeners on Beekeeping
Jesse McCurdy and Steve Prince, both GBA Members, spoke to the Master Gardeners (MGCG) on June 4th in the Old Perry Courthouse hosted by the South Chapter MGCG. According to the July Weeders Digest this was “a very entertaining presentation on beekeeping“.
In another article they reported it “the meeting was a-buzz …were treated to all things bees…” by local beekeepers Jesse McCurdy who has been beekeeping for over 70 years. He explained the importance of bees for propagation, the precarious state of the bees. He also had an empty hive with a super and described how each part was used in the production of honey. And, the main occupants queen, drone and workers. Plus, their function and how they interacted with each other.
Steve Prince discussed some of his beekeeping experiences and both Jesse and Steve took many questions about bees, including “Killer Bees”, honey extractions, Chinese dumping contaminated honey on our markets. The audience asked many questions and the meeting ran longer then usual. Jesse also discussed why a growing number of homeowners wanted to have bee hives in their back yard.
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Beekeeper Bytes
GBA member Linda Tillman was featured in a Weather Channel video shown across the country in early August. If you'd like to see the video, click here.
P.S. If a Georgia beekeeper you know is on TV or in the news, pass that on to us so we can share it in Beekeeper Bytes
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Ask Ten Beekeepers a Question…..
When is a Swarm not a Swarm?
by John Wingfield
Before answering, read my story! Got a visit from a neighbor I had never met She lives about five blocks away in our subdivision. Her first words were "do you keep bees?" Well she told me about her friend who had a swarm of bees at her house. Could I help? After getting the friend’s number I called and headed to her subdivision about four miles east of Perry, Georgia.
The friend was in her yard, waiting for me. Her home was a very nice two story brick constructed in the last ten years. The swarm was in the corner where two walls met on the west side. It looked like the bees would fill a five gallon bucket. I told her I could remove them. So, I called Jesse McCurdy, local beekeeper guru, asking him to loan me his bee vac system. He said "yes".
Returned home and collected
The friend was in her yard, waiting for me. Her home was a very nice two story brick constructed in the last ten years. The swarm was in the corner where two walls met on the west side. It looked like the bees would fill a five gallon bucket. I told her I could remove them. So, I called Jesse McCurdy, local beekeeper guru, asking him to loan me his bee vac system. He said "yes".
Returned home and collected
Raining again, this time with lightning! Going to sit in my truck until this storm moves away. Kept checking cell phone weather maps to see when it would stop. Must have spent over 45 minutes waiting. Beginning to clear. Set up the equipment and the ladder. Ready to capture the bees. The lady of the house and her daughter are watching from the yard at a safe distance.
Climb the ladder and start vacuuming bees into the deep hive. Then, I see it. Comb, big comb hanging from the metal soffit. Some comb hanging down greater then 12 to 15 inches and lots of it. I need to stop as I expected a swarm of happy bees who would not be defensive. Did not have on veil or gloves. Better put them on as these girls are not in a swarm mood.
Climb the ladder and start vacuuming bees into the deep hive. Then, I see it. Comb, big comb hanging from the metal soffit. Some comb hanging down greater then 12 to 15 inches and lots of it. I need to stop as I expected a swarm of happy bees who would not be defensive. Did not have on veil or gloves. Better put them on as these girls are not in a swarm mood.
From the coloration of the brood comb I estimate that at least two or maybe three generation of brood have emerged. Maybe more. This colony has been here for at least several months. So, the colony got started late May or early June. Borrowed a long PVC pipe and dislodged most of the comb which fell to hurriedly spread plastic bags on the ground.
So I suit up and start collecting bees again until I have most of them. Still have a couple of combs that I have not been able to dislodge. Will return tomorrow and remove the comb and pick up my ladder.
This colony was in the open under the eve. Since it was a working colony, it is not a swarm. All though it first look like a swarm, it is really a hive without walls....a colony that had been thriving for months. It may look like a big swarm, but it just may turn out to be something else. It could be a colony masquerading as a swarm.
So I suit up and start collecting bees again until I have most of them. Still have a couple of combs that I have not been able to dislodge. Will return tomorrow and remove the comb and pick up my ladder.
This colony was in the open under the eve. Since it was a working colony, it is not a swarm. All though it first look like a swarm, it is really a hive without walls....a colony that had been thriving for months. It may look like a big swarm, but it just may turn out to be something else. It could be a colony masquerading as a swarm.
LESSON LEARNED. When you go to capture a swarm, take a tool for removing comb, plastic bags or other containers for storing comb with brood and comb with honey. You might even want to bring a smoker.
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Dear Aunt Bee,
My wife is angry and I need your help. The first thing I did wrong was to borrow her best apron to wear while I harvested honey. The second thing I did wrong was that I harvested my honey in her kitchen and afterwards everything was sticky, even the doorknob. The third thing I did wrong was to tell her we were lucky to get such a large honey crop.
I think I’ll be sleeping on the couch for a while. Can this marriage be saved?
Signed,
Sticky Footprints
Dear Sticky Footprints,
What a mess! Next time try putting flattened cardboard boxes under your hive boxes that are in the kitchen waiting to be harvested. Also you can put flattened cardboard on all the counter tops and over the floor surfaces.
When you are done, take the cardboard , covered with sticky honey, out to the yard so the bees can clean it up (they will, enthusiastically).
Good luck moving back into the bedroom,
Signed,
Your Aunt Bee
(contributed by Linda Tillman)
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Survey Results from July
29 people answered our survey about critters in the hive.
27 have found small hive beetles
23 have found ants
19 have found roaches
16 have found wax moth larvae
13 have found earwigs
4 have found mice
Others reported lizards, spiders, wasps, tree frogs, and a luna moth. Oh, and varroa mite - can you believe we left it off of the list - I suppose because they are in everyone's hives.
Luna Moth hanging on a beehive (an unusual critter on rather than IN the hive) Photo by Linda Tillman near Emory on 6/14/2013
This month our survey is about how you learned to keep bees. It's fun and only will take a minute. To participate in this one question survey, just click here. (Or answer the questions below!)
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We have been informed that Freda Sikes, long time GBA member and supporter, has been diagnosed with colon cancer. She will be having surgery in the next month. She and her family need our thoughts and/or our prayers.
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Club of the Month:
Metro Atlanta Beekeepers Association
by Curt Barrett, Vice President
Metro Atlanta Beekeepers Association is a thriving club of over 200 members living in and around the city of Atlanta. The club promotes public awareness of the value of honeybees and hive products, provides learning opportunities through meetings, classes and the Internet and assists its members and others with beekeeping. MABA is the state's oldest beekeeping club and its members range from 1st year "newbees" to veteran masters with decades of experience.
MABA's monthly meetings are held the 2nd Wednesday of each month at the Atlanta Botanical Garden. Featured speakers include top domestic and international scientists, local and regional experts and seasoned club members. Topics run the education spectrum from beekeeping basics to hive products to the latest in scientific research news.
Each January the club offers a full, one-day "Short Course" for those contemplating beekeeping. This popular event taps out at 110 attendees and sells out every year. Bee biology, colony dynamics, hive components and integrated pest management are among the lecture topics. Attendees enjoy a nice lunch, honey ice cream and adjourn with a goody bag full of helpful information and a one-year club membership. Attendance to the Short Course is free for 5 student scholarship winners.
Club members enjoy access to free, frequent hive inspection clinics in several locations around the city while seasoned members safely remove swarms in the metro area during swarm season. The club maintains honey extraction equipment and makes it available to members for a reasonable rental fee. New members learn from mentors and through the club's "Bee Neighbor" program.
In the Summer the club puts on a Junior Beekeepers Program where fully suited children ages 7 to 12 participate in a live hive inspection, put together a beehive frame, view presentations about honeybees and help with honey extraction.
Summer is also a time when the club, in conjunction with the University of Georgia Master Beekeeper Program, offers a review and testing for the program's "Certified Beekeeper" level, the first of four. Instruction and testing for the remaining levels of certification is done at the Young Harris – UGA Beekeeping Institute.
Each September the club holds its annual Honey Contest and Auction fundraiser and hosts a Holiday Party in December.
Visit the MABA website to learn more about us.
Curt Barrett,
Vice President
Metro Atlanta Beekeepers Association
We have been informed that Freda Sikes, long time GBA member and supporter, has been diagnosed with colon cancer. She will be having surgery in the next month. She and her family need our thoughts and/or our prayers.
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Bring your Friends and Come to the GBA Fall Meeting:
The theme of the conference is Interconnection.
Speakers include Bob Binnie, Jennifer Berry, Patty Parsons, Jay Parsons, Bill Owens, Keith Fielder, Robert Brewer, Dave Miller, Mary Cahill-Roberts, Bear Kelly, Chris Wiley, Tom Hill and Serge Vohlzhskiy. The meeting will be held at the Gwinnett Environmental and Heritage Center in Buford. There's a honey show, silent auction and the award of Beekeeper of the Year. Do come and support your state organization. It all happens on September 20 and 21.
You can register and pay your annual dues online by clicking here.
Lodging is available at a rate of $89 per night (including breakfast) at the Holiday Inn Express in Buford, GA 30518. Tell them you are with the “Bee Group.” Their phone number is 678-318-1080
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"The reality today is that we are all interdependent and have to co-exist on this small planet. Therefore, the only sensible and intelligent way of resolving differences and clashes of interests, whether between individuals or nations, is through dialogue. "
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Upcoming Bee Events
August 5 - 9:
Eastern Apicultural Society,
West Chester University,
West Chester, Pennsylvania
September 20 - 21:
GBA Fall Meeting,
GBA Fall Meeting,
Gwinnett Environmental and Heritage Center, Buford, GA
September 27 - 28
Alabama Beekeepers Association
Taylor Road Baptist Church
Montgomery, AL
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The Final Buzz
Linda and I get really excited to share with you what you all share with us and all of GBA. Kudoos to John Wingfield for telling us his “not swarm” story this month and his photos. In the electronic newsletter of today, we make use of color and shape to better communicate with each other. Please get a friend to help document your beekeeping life and share some pictures with us for the GBA newsletter. Pass along the joys and knowledge.
Gina and Linda
What a great newsletter! I loved Aunt Bee - she's really smart. I don't keep bees you know but I think this rocks.
ReplyDeleteProud Sister of Linda