Pawtuckaway Beekeepers Association

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1 Pawtuckaway Beekeepers Association Monthly Newsletter October 2013 Presidents Notes October 2013 Time to get your extra honey extracted and for those of you who need to have this done, Reginald Henshaw a PBA life member is available to help. Reginald resides in Candia and can be reached at (603) It is my understanding that his fees for this service are nominal. I have learned that once again there were a very limited number of entries for honey judging at this year s Deerfield Fair. I don t yet know if any PBA members participated or who the winners were, but will and get the info for our Monday meeting. The upcoming fall meeting of the NH Beekeepers Association will be held once more at the Bow Community Center Oct 26 from 9am - 3pm. Tickets are $20 for members and this includes lunch etc. Kim Flottum, the highly regarded authority on apiculture will be the sole presenter. For those who may not know, Kim is recognized worldwide as an expert in the field of apiculture and has published a number of books on the subject. He is Associate Publisher and Senior Editor for Bee Culture magazine and a regular and frequent contributor to it and other bee related publications! This is also the state meeting where your honey can be judged and voted on and where you can win pretty ribbons along with a number of items of apparel shirts, caps, jackets, etc.! A meeting not to be missed! I don t know what the cutoff date is so you need to get your checks in as soon as possible if you want to attend. Send checks to the attention of the new NHBA Treasurer, Ms. Becky Herrmann, at 260 Old Shaker Rd, Loudon, NH 03307and can be ed at: becky@handcut.com. By now, preparatory for winter, I m sure you ve all ridded your hives of any unwanted inhabitants and put your mouse guards on. Last month, when I was inspecting my hives, I looked in on a nuc I had left out, the result of a failed split attempt. In addition to four frames of drawn comb, it also housed a family of two adult mice and three of their offspring all comfortably ensconced in a very large nest they d built on the bottom board between the empty frames. After they hurriedly bailed out, I shook out the nest, put on the top cover and put it back on its stand leaving the entrance fully open. To date, they haven t returned and I will continue to check periodically. As I mentioned last month, the dwindling supply of nectar can contribute to the possibility of robbing. If this is apparent, immediately reduce your entrances. I think this occurred with my only new colony so I waited until dark then closed the hive completely and left it closed for two days to hopefully deal with the problem. It seems to have worked. If you see robbing in progress, reduce or close your entrances as soon as you can. Reopen them in a couple of days and monitor the colony closely. I ve started feeding 2:1 syrup and will add pollen patties to a couple of my hives that seem a little light. Any of you who don t think your colonies have enough honey and/or pollen should be making both available and let your bees decided if they need the assistance. If you intend to cover/wrap you hives for winter or just leave them alone, make sure you provide for reducing the moisture accumulation. We ll touch on this and other preparatory suggestions at Monday s meeting.

2 President s Notes continued: Do as I say not as I do! A couple of days after last month s meeting and before I had either of my bear fences up, I was visited by something that knocked over the two colonies closest to my house. One was a deep with six mediums, the other two deeps and 3 mediums. The intruder just tipped them over! Fortunately none of the supers were torn apart or the frames strewn about and both remained more or less together on their sides but together! Speculation is that it was a young bear who was perhaps deterred from further damage by a whole lot of angry bees! I certainly hope so! As was also mentioned last month, any member who would like to get more involved in the Associations business should make themselves known to myself or any of our other officers. The Association needs members to serve for the upcoming year so this could be your opportunity to make a contribution to your club! Don t forget, there are only two more meetings this year, so make sure and bring your unwanted but useable items for the raffle table. Hope to see you all on the 21 st. Thanks, George September, 2013 Secretary s report President George Dean called meeting to 7:05 Motion to accept Treasurer and Secretary reports. All in favor, none opposed. Call Reggie Henshaw for extracting your honey The State Meeting is at the Bow Community Center on October 26. Speaker is Kim Flottam. $20 for members with meal, $10 w/o meal. There will be a Honey tasting at the fall meeting. There is no raffle. Honey bee nutrition will be the topic of the presentation. To submit someone for Beekeeper of the Year, you can go to NHBA website. The November meeting is the annual pot luck dinner and voting in of the new officers. EAS is in need of a representative from NH. If you have an interest, talk to Barbara Lawler/ Discussion was held on swarms and bear hits. The Guy s was a great success. It was a beautiful day. Is it too late to treat? If there is warm weather or they have not formed a cluster, you can treat. Discussion on treatment. Keep in mind that treatment labels are not for this area. Discussion on testing before treating for mites. Discussion on Nosema, and aggressive hives and leaving enough honey for hives. Thanks, Ellie

August 25, 2013 Secretary s report PAWTUCKAWAY Beekeepers Monthly Meeting President George Dean opened the meeting at 3:00pm Dee & Guy Lessard s backyard in Manchester.

The Treasurer s report was read. NH State Fall Beekeepers Meeting Kim Flothum will be the main guest speaker at this Fall s meeting. He will present, The Top Ten Things Beekeepers Should Know.

3 August 25, 2013 Secretary s report PAWTUCKAWAY Beekeepers Monthly Meeting President George Dean opened the meeting at 3:00pm Dee & Guy Lessard s backyard in Manchester. The meeting followed the 30 th Annual Pawtuckaway Picnic. Approval on the left over tonic from the picnic was voted on and will be donated to the NH State Fall Annual Meeting. The Treasurer s report was read. NH State Fall Beekeepers Meeting Kim Flothum will be the main guest speaker at this Fall s meeting. He will present, The Top Ten Things Beekeepers Should Know. The Pawtuckaway Beekeepers Association will be the host for this years Fall meeting. We will need volunteers from our club on Friday, October 25 th from 4:00-6:00pm to set up tables in chairs at the Bow hall location. The day of the meeting, Saturday, October 26 th please bring a breakfast item to the state meeting. Friday, October 25 th from 4:00-6:00pm To set up chairs and tables Saturday, October 26 th Volunteers needed in the following areas: - in the morning to get the hall set up. - for the honey tasting contest -logistics for help during the day of the meeting Pawtuckaway Club Fundraiser Volunteers and support for having a fundraiser at this Annual Meeting to support the Pawtuckaway Beekeepers Association. We will meet again in October and finalize our plans for the yearly NH State Fall meeting. More PBA Summer picnic pictures Thanks to all of you who came and helped make this a wonderful event.

4 NH State Beekeeper s Association Annual Fall Meeting Bow Community Building 2 Knox Road Bow, NH 0330 Saturday October 26th, am - 3 pm $20 for Members includes lunch, $10 for Members no lunch Add NHBA dues if not a member(membership is for January 2013-December Our Speaker -Kim Flottum Editor Bee Culture MagazineTopics: Honey Bee Nutrition Top 10 things every Beekeeper should know Delicious lunch again by CC Tomatoes Honey tasting contest This year s host: Pawtuckaway Beekeepers Association Bring a breakfast item to share Soda and water will be provided Beekeeping Supply Vendors available Please mail your order and a check made payable to NH Beekeepers Association to: Becky Herrmann 260 Old Shaker Rd. Loudon, NH 03307Tel. (603) NHBA 2013 Fall Meeting Registration Form Saturday October 26th, am - 3 pm Name(s) Street or POBox Town State ZIP Phone # and name attending with 20 each # and name attending without meal $10 each NHBA 2013 Membership (January 2013-December 2013): Single $15 Family $20 New: Renewal: Donation to Bee Research fund $ Deadline for meals October 22, 2013 Newsletters available via unless otherwise requested. Check here to switch from paper to the version. Send to: Becky Herrmann 260 Old Shaker Rd. Loudon, NH Tel. (603)

5 Secretary s report continued: Discussions Members compared notes to what the bees are bringing in and some members have seen pollen from goldenrod-orange/yellow Japanese knotweed-white. A discussion about Carnolian queens that need re-queening was discussed. The queen is now laying for the winter bees. It is not too late to put a second box on the bottom. Ben Chadwick led a discussion about getting ready for wintering. The members discussed, treating vs. not treating for disease. Barbara reported she did not treat bees in the past and found that the colonies are weaker. Alden added that testing for varroa before treating will allow you know how effective treatment will be. Feed your bees 1:1 syrup until the third week of September. Then change to 2:1 syrup as the queen will have stopped laying. Make sure your hives are getting a balance of pollen and syrup. Decide: How much honey do I have, how much to take off, and treating the bees. Now it is almost too late for mouse guards. If you have not put them on, now is the time. Deerfield Fair September Enter your honey for the contest. The deadline is the 15 of September. Here are some hints: Mike judges ½ pints of honey. Looking for moisture content, do not use a wet towel to wipe your containers. Make sure your honey is filled properly to the fill rim on the jar. Try using plastic wrap on the tops, bring extra jar tops, and consider a refractrometer and eyedropper. The meeting adjourned at 3:30, Barbara inspected Guy s two colonies. Calendar 2012 Officers George Dean, President (603) gmdean@metrocast.net Don Bibeau, Vice President (603) donbibeau@yahoo.com Elizabeth Norton, Secretary (603) elizanh@yahoo.com Moe L Heureux, Treasurer (603) jutrasrealty@hotmail.com Lorry Roy, Newsletter Editor, (603) lorryroy@comcast.net October 21, 7-9 PM Pawtuckaway Beekeeper s Monthly meeting Masonic Lodge South Road, Candia NH NH Beekeepers Association Fall Meeting Saturday, October 26, 2013 Bow Community Building Bow, NH

My wife gardens a lot and we thought they would be neat to have. How many hives do you have? I have 3 at one friend s home and 7 at another friend s.

6 Meet a Beekeeper For the October newsletter I interviewed Scott Coleman. Scott works at Seacoast Mill in Brentwood, NH where he turns trees into kiln dried stock. How long have you been a beekeeper? I started in We found a feral colony at work. That s how I got my first colony through trial and error. What got you interested in beekeeping? My wife gardens a lot and we thought they would be neat to have. How many hives do you have? I have 3 at one friend s home and 7 at another friend s. I also have one at home and one at my boss s house. (12) What would you do differently if you were to start over again? Not much. The whole thing is a learning process. You just learn as you go. It s always a pleasure meeting up with a fellow beekeeper on his or her own turf. You really get a sense of how important bees are to beekeepers and how much they are a part or our lives. Although Scott s hives are in several locations, he has a good sense for what is happening within his colonies. The beeyard I visited was nesteled in a vegetable garden. Scott showed my husband and I how he protects his bees from bears, bugs and mites and cold north winds. While he was talking to me a bee got entangled in my hair. Scott got to see me do my version of the bee in the hair dance. It wasn t pretty. Just a lot of jumping, running and arms flailing. Lesson learned: next time I visit any beeyard I will bring my bee suite. Thank you Scott for being so generous with your time and for your grease patty recipe: Grease Patty: Crisco, sugar, honey, spearmint/mint oil (a few drops), Megabee

Hive Side Lessons Hive Maintenance Mentoring Tending and Inspecting Guest Speaking www.

com Wendy Booth (603) 557-7468 Local Bee Supplies Spring Fever Farm Ben & Bev Chadwick 49 Lane

We sell everything you need to get started keeping bees; frames, supers, foundation, tools,

7 Hive Side Lessons Hive Maintenance Mentoring Tending and Inspecting Guest Speaking Wendy Booth (603) Local Bee Supplies Spring Fever Farm Ben & Bev Chadwick 49 Lane Drive Alton, NH We are MANN LAKE Dealers! We sell everything you need to get started keeping bees; frames, supers, foundation, tools, veils, suits, feeders, medications, IPM supplies, jars, HoneyBHealthy, pollen substitute and patties and much, much more! We ll be setting up at all future Printing By Find us on the web: Phone:

8 PAWTUCKAWAY BEEKEEPERS' ASSOCIATION c/o Lorry Roy 217 Normand Road Goffstown, NH (603) PAWTUCKAWAY BEEKEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 2013 Membership ANNUAL DUES for PBA $15.00 New Renewal ANNUAL DUES FOR PBA and NHBA ($30.00 person, $35 family) To receive newsletter by check here GIFT CONTRIBUTION TOTAL: Name Date Address Tele. No. Mail check payable to PBA and send completed form to: Treasurer PBA, Moe L Heureux, 83 Hanover St. Manchester NH 03101

Pawtuckaway Beekeepers Association

Pawtuckaway Beekeepers Association Monthly Newsletter www.pawtuckawaybeekeepers.org December/January 2016 Hello Pawtuckaway Beekeepers, I wish every one of you a Happy New Year and a restful off-season.