FfffFeb. The Diablo Bee. Monthly Meeting: Thursday, March 13 th - 7:30 PM

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1 FfffFeb The Diablo Bee a monthly newsletter of the Mt. Diablo Beekeepers Association March 2014 Monthly Meeting: Thursday, March 13 th - 7:30 PM The Gardens at Heather Farm ~ Camellia Room ~ 1540 Marchbanks Dr., Walnut Creek, CA In this issue: Page 1 - March Program - Mike Harrel, G & M Honey Page 2 - President s Message, Membership Information Page 3 - Financial Report, Raffle Page 4 - Package Bee ordering, Community Education Page 5 - Spring Workshop Page 6 - February Meeting Snapshots Page 7 - Classifieds, Lost and Found FEATURED SPEAKER: Mike Harrel, G & M Honey Mike Harrel is our speaker at the March meeting. He will be speaking about bee health and what s happening in your hives. He owns and operates G&M Honey, as well as manages his father s company, Dicks Pest Control. Mike specializes in all things bees. He is licensed by the state of California to do bee removal from structures and buildings. Mike is a commercial pollinator here in the Bay Area and is also a licensed pest control operator. He has a degree in Business Management and Accounting, which is an invaluable asset to managing his various businesses. He has bees in his blood. He is a third generation beekeeper and knows a thing or two on how to keep bees alive and colonies strong. AND he is currently the MDBA President of the Board. March

2 2014 Meetings & Programs January 9 Program - Neil Hannigan, Mann Lake Ltd. February 13 Program - Joy Pendell, Pendell Apiaries March 13 Program - Mike Harrel, G & M Honey April 10 MDBA President s Message Hello again. So February was a dry one. My bees were doing well. They are growing and taking in all kinds of pollen and nectar. They are growing fast and I am on the the look out for queen cells and making sure that they have enough space. Take a look and insure that your queens are not honey bound. See you at our March meeting. ~ Mike Harrel, MDBA President April 12 - Beekeeping Workshop May 8 June 12 July 10 August 14 September 11 October 9 - Annual Barbeque No meetings November and December Membership sign-ups and dues will be taken from 7:00 to 7:30. The business table will be closed during the guest speaker s program. Bee Chat will be held immediately after the program. The business table will reopen during the break and raffle Membership Dues - Renewal or New - Are Being Collected Now! Please visit for the membership form. You will need to print it, fill it out and mail it with your check to: 2014 Board Members President Mike Harrel Vice President Sylvia Goemmel Secretary Lois Kail Treasurer Ann Moser VP, Community Education Kelly Bradley VP, Membership Jan Spieth VP, Member Education Gabrielle Harrel VP, Newsletter Editor Debórah Walker Director at Large Brian Wort " " " MDBA!!! PO Box 4688!!! Walnut Creek, CA You may also pay at the monthly meeting. Membership renewal is due January 1 st of each year. Renew before March 31 of each year - dues are $20. Renew after March 31 st - dues are $25. Note: Bee packages are available only to PAID members, in good standing. Important notice to 2013 members who have yet to renew for 2014: Your inclusion on the 2014 Membership Roster will continue for the month of March. This allows you to receive the monthly MDBA Newsletter. However, if you do not renew by March 31, you will be dropped from the roster and will no longer receive monthly newsletters. The 2014 Membership Roster will be ed to all 2014 members on or around March 31 st. The Roster will include name, city of residence and address for new and continuing members. Look for it! Questions? Jan Pinkerton Spieth at VPMembership@diablobees.org 2 March 2014

3 MDBA Financial Summary January 2014 Income Donations Extractor Rental Membership Dues 2, Raffle Proceeds Speaker /Education Revenue Swarm Fees Total Income 2, Expense Bank/P.O. Box fees BBQ Board meetings Dues and Subscriptions Education/Demo Hive Expenses Extractor Repairs Insurance Expense Legal/Accounting Nametags Newsletter/Postage/Copies Rent Expense Speaker Expenses Raffle Supplies 1, Total Expense 2, Net Revenue Bank Balance 12/31/13 22, Net Revenue Bank Balance 1/31/14 23, Join us on Facebook Find us on the web at Raffle Report Submitted by Sylvia Goemmel The March raffle will be another good month to get prepared with necessary equipment and supplies for all the newcomers and additional materials for the existing beekeeper. Make sure when you are preparing your equipment for this season that you focus on hive bodies, veil & hat, suits, tools, etc. I will stock the raffle with useful items for you to view and answer any questions you may have. A big THANK YOU! to Nancy Burke and Dan Goemmel for their continued assistance with the raffle table. I look forward to seeing you at our March meeting. Raffle Ticket Prices: 12 tickets - $10.00, 6 tickets - $5.00, 1 ticket - $1.00 Magnetic Name Tags Ordering and paying for a magnetic name tag is now at the discretion of a member. Lois Kail, Secretary, will take orders from new and renewing members who wish to purchase a magnetic MDBA name tag for $12. Name tags are no longer included in the dues. Paper name tags will be available at each meeting, should you prefer to write your name and wear the tag during meetings. March

4 Package Bees Still Available for Order New World Carniolan Bees Place your order with Mike Stephanos at the March 13 th meeting or send to the address below, through April 1st., for New World Carniolan honeybees. Cash or a check is due when your order is placed. 3 lb. package - $93.00 Queens - $27.00 each Please send your check, made payable to Stephanos & Company, along with your name, address, phone number and address on a separate piece of paper to: Stephanos & Company Tice Valley Blvd #156 - Walnut Creek, CA Contact Mike S. at mike@stephanosandco.com if you need more information. Package pick up will be at the Spring Beekeeping Workshop. AV/Sound team NEEDED The MDBA needs an AV/ Sound team! No experience necessary. Do you have a hard time hearing the speakers at the meetings? So do we! We need a group of volunteers to learn how to set up and run the club s sound system. Training will be from a real DJ! We also need a volunteer to store the equipment between meetings. Please me if you are interested. Gabrielle Harrel VPMemberEd@diablobees.org Hawaiian Queens Mike Harrel is providing Italian queen bees from Hawaii. They are $26 each. They are extremely prolific layers and only a few more are available at this time. Contact Mike at info@gandmhoney.com or if you need more information. Cash or a check is due when your order is placed. Package pick up will be the Spring Beekeeping Workshop. Hold Harmless statement Please be advised that Mary Andre, Mike Stephanos and Mike Harrel provide this service as a personal favor for members of the Association. By submitting an order for packaged bees you are agreeing to purchase them at your own risk. Therefore, if the bees are injured, die or are in anyway harmed, before or after they are in your care, Mary A., Mike S., Mike H. and the Association will be held blameless of financial or any other responsibility or compensation. MDBA s Local Activities Submitted by Kelly Bradley The Community Education volunteers have been busy since January visiting many local school science fairs. These volunteers with their demonstration hives help to educate kids and their parents about the importance of honey bees to pollination and our food supply. In March and April, Gary Lawrence will be hosting mini-workshops at his home on the Saturday following the general meeting. For the small cost of membership, anyone can go to a workshop to learn more about beekeeping. This month the Oakland Museum is featuring bees and beekeeping in an exhibit at the Oakland Airport. The MDBA was invited to contribute to the informational display. For more information or if you have questions, please contact Kelly Bradley VPCommunityEd@diablobees.org 4 March 2014

5 MDBA SPRING WORKSHOP This is a FOR MEMBERS ONLY event! SATURDAY, APRIL 12, AM to Noon TWINVIEW DRIVE, PLEASANT HILL HOME OF GARY AND JOAN LAWRENCE MARY ANDRE will have your packages of Italian bees in the garage. JAN SPIETH and LOIS KAIL will register you on the front porch. MIKE HARREL will have your Italian queens on the front porch. MARELLA HONEY B s will have some beekeeping equipment for purchase in the front driveway. VALERIE SCHMIDT will make coffee and coordinate breakfast snacks on the deck. Please speak to her if you are bringing something. MIKE STEPHANOS will have your packages of Carniolan bees (from Slovenia) on his truck in the back lot. THREE BEEKEEPERS with loud voices will open three hives simultaneously and describe what they are doing as they pass frames around for you to inspect. Some honey may be gathered and extracted manually. STEVE GENTRY with GEORGE helping JUDY WEATHERLY with NANCY helping MIKE VIGO with MORGAN helping MAJOR BRANZEL will install a package colony in Gary s hive. GARY LAWRENCE will mark queens for use in demo hives. THINK SUNSHINE! But know that we will proceed rain or shine. Please bring last year s clean, empty package bee boxes (no cans) to the March or April general meetings. Bringing them to the Spring Workshop is too late. March

6 February Meeting snapshots Featured Speaker, Joy Pendell 6 March 2014

7 Classified Advertisments PERSON WANTED Seeking the person who has my extractor. It is a Mann Lake Version that was last seen with our friend the South African pilot. Please call Mike at CLUB EXTRACTORS FOR RENT For more information contact Lois Kail (Concord area) lois.kail@gmail.com or Leo Tscharner (Alamo area) leotscharner@comcast.net Rates: $10 for 1 st day - $5 for days 2 thru 5 - $10 per day thereafter. LOST AND FOUND Found: red Glad bowl with lid. Batz written on tape. Please pick up at the raffle table at the next meeting. IN SEARCH OF raw milk, goat preferred. Call Gabrielle at WANTED: Help in the kitchen before and after the monthly meetings! PLAQUE MISSING The MDBA Beekeeper of the Year plaque is still missing. If you know its whereabouts please contact Lois at or lois.kail@gmail.com Cappings Requested If you have unwanted cappings I will melt and clean them for the beeswax. AND: Bee Suit Repairs Please contact Lois Kail lois.kail@gmail.com or Beekeeping Supplies MarElla Honey B s 1960 Monument Blvd.Concord, CA Traveling north on Monument Blvd. turn right into the driveway at the Happy Donut. Phone: Fax: To submit articles for consideration or ads for the classifieds please contact Debórah Walker at NewsEditor@diablobees.org Deadline for submission is the 20 th of each month. March