Minutes of October 8, 2011 Club Meeting

Thirteen Cheatham County Beekeepers met at the Ashland City Library on October 8. The morning’s focus was Preparing our Hives for Winter. As each aspect of fall management was brought up, members shared valuable hints and interesting tricks they have learned throughout the years.

For the hive:

Tip it forward to allow for moisture drainage from rain and dampness

Use an entrance reducer with opening up, so dead bees will not block the entrance

Install a few brads in the reducer opening to keep out mice & snakes

Remember to remove entrance reducer when treating with formic acid

Use an Imirie shim in winter for ventilation (keep opening at front of hive)

Winter is a good time to paint & repair woodenware – no paint inside the hive

Winter is a good time to read more about bees or study them via Internet

For the bees:

Check for disease – if uncertain, ask advice from a seasoned beekeeper

Check the Queen’s condition – requeen now for a good start in Spring

Check stores – need 60-80 lbs for a strong colony – equivalent of 9 deep frames

Rearrange frames in both hive bodies – center frames ought to be two-thirds filled to allow room for the cluster – move honey frames to within reach of it

Feed heavy syrup: 25 lbs sugar with 3 gallons water makes 5 gallons syrup; “superfine” sugar is easiest because it dissolves in tap water

Scott Honey Farms in Columbia has sold 5 gal. sugar for $12

Paul Carter checking a place in GA with “dirty” sugar for $50-60/drum

Try feeding syrup in qt. Ziploc bags – make small slit on top of bag AFTER laying bag across the top bars

When very cold, feed with fondant patties – check website soon for recipe

Alternate feed: raw sugar spread on paper laid on top of bars – doesn’t add extra moisture to your winter hive

Feeding honey instead of sugar syrup would be ideal (but NEVER STORE-BOUGHT HONEY or HONEY from a diseased hive)

Since the scent of syrup might attract potential robbers be cautious not to over feed and make the hive honey-bound

Unite a weak colony (those with <5 frames of brood & bees) with a stronger one

For pest control:

Formic acid must be used with great care and according to precise directions. 65% strength – temps between 50 and 80 degrees – without entrance reducer

Ed Johnson (Gallatin) has sold formic for $25/gallon

Jonnie Bell brought pads for us to use to administer the acid; thank you, Jonnie

Jeff McLaughlin folds a paper towel and staples it to a section of cereal box

Formic acid treats for both Varroa and Tracheal mites

Beetle blasters can be used and re-used with vegetable oil or hydrated lime

West Hive Beetle trap used hydrated lime or diatomaceous earth and provides easy access from back of hive, without suiting up or disrupting the hive

For us: Next meetings: Nov. 12 at Library and Dec. 10 Riverview Restaurant, 1 PM

The Cheatham County Library is having a Festival on Saturday, Oct. 29, noon-2:00 and is offering us a booth. No one at today’s meeting seemed interested. If any club members want to take up this invitation (might they let you sell some honey??), please call the Library at 792-4828.

Monthly Beekeeping Tasks: October

 Thanks to our friends at Hivetool.com for the following which is specific to TN

Beekeeping Calendar of Management Practices: October
All tasks for the month

• Place entrance reducers in the entrance.
• Check each colony for a laying queen.
• Treat with Terramycin every seven days until three treatments are completed to prevent diseases or use an extender patty.  [Note:  Remember that best beekeeping practices developed through researching the use of antibiotics and pesticides recommend treating with Terranycin (or any other medication) only if the need is verified.  Preventative treatment is NOT recommended as your bees may develop a tolerance to the treatment.]
• Leave one shallow super completely full of honey plus the honey in the brood chambers for winter's dining.
• Feed all colonies that do not have at least 40 pounds of honey stored. (A deep super or brood frame holds six pounds; a shallow super frame holds 2½ pounds.) A deep super completely filled will hold 60-80 pounds of honey. A shallow super completely filled will hold 25-30 pounds of honey.
• Feed a mixture of two parts of sugar to one part hot water if needed. 
•  
• Overwintering a Colony
• A colony of honey bees will over winter well when you prepare them for winter conditions. The colony must have enough bees to cover five or more brood frames. Smaller colonies usually will not survive the winter.  
• A young prolific queen introduced into the colony in August lays a large number of eggs during September and October. The young bees emerging during the fall maintain the colony through the winter.  
• Give the bees comb space for storing nectar and pollen in September and October. Remove the empty supers and store them under fumigation after mid October. A colony should have either two hive bodies and one super or one hive body and two supers during the winter. [Note: Some people use different combinations - like one hive body and one super for example.  Depends upon different factors - like the type bees you have - some form a smaller winter ball.  Also, there are different ways to store empty supers - try keeping them in a location where light will shine on the frames - another way to discourage wax moths. lmn]
• The upper hive body and the supers should be filled with honey. A colony should have at least 40 pounds of honey in mid October for winter stores. This is equal to one full super and six frames in the second super. One hive body filled with honey weighs about 60 pounds.
• Check the brood chamber for a laying queen and healthy brood in early October. Treat the colony three times at weekly intervals with Terramycin in sugar or once with a Terramycin extender patty. Treat with Fumidil-B in November. Give a colony one gallon of the Fumidil B medicated syrup.  [Note:  See comment earlier in this note about being sure you need to treat before you do so.  lmn]
  Reduce the entrance opening by inserting the entrance reducer in early
  October. 
• Ventilate the top of the colony in November to vent excess moisture from the colony during the winter months. Vents and exits can be made by cutting slots 5/8 inch or wider through the inner cover cleat. Turn the slotted inner cover upside down - cleated side down and slide the outer cover forward over the hive. 
• 
  
• Have a great October!