2022

Dear Members and Students,

the next meeting is March 14, 2022, at 6:00 pm,

with class continuing at 7:00 pm,

at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church friendship room, 6807 Northumberland Hwy., Heathsville, VA 22473. NNBC President Nancy Burgess can be reached at nburgess@nucps.net or 804-366-6649.
Technology note:  HughesNet occasionally suffers slowness and connectivity issues (raise your hands – I know you are out there!)Things go down or become intermittent with ·       Bad weather here (Virginia receiving location)·       Bad weather at the gateway (Utah emission location)
·       A10 Warthog jets/Airforce 1/other equipment with electronic countermeasures – though in this case your cell phone and your GPS also go down temporarily, and your GPS takes forever to reconnect with its satellites.
Today is a good day.   : )   The past week was difficult.

Contents:

Treasurer’s Report

Housekeeping

Upcoming Events

Education and Public Outreach – volunteers requested for three April events – please contact Nancy Burgess

Meeting discussions:  pollen colors, beekeeping goals, and more

Beekeeping Class Update

Purchasing Equipment:  new convenient vendor delivering to NNBC at final beekeeping class

Virginia Grant Equipment (re)Funding lottery – how to apply

Continuing Prep for Student Support – Mentors needed:  if your bees survived a winter, you qualify!

State inspection information – if selling nucs or queens, please sign up through NNBC

   Note:  requesting an inspection satisfies the law, whether or not they get to you.

Please help suggest topics!

2022 Virginia Household Water Quality Program –you can get your water quality tested through VCE

Equipment Care:  check those frames! 

Bee care:  mid-winter care and feeding

Editor’s Topic:  Thoughts on Virginia Household Water Quality Program

Minutes:

President Nancy Burgess called the meeting to order at 6:00 pm.

Minutes from Jan 10, 2022, were not read and were accepted without amendments.

Many thanks to Fran King for providing meeting snacks!  We appreciate you!

Treasurer’s Report: 

Matt Miller was unavailable to report for February.

·       NNBC is divesting itself of the old laptop.  It will be donated to the computer recycling center.

·       As a reminder, the January balance in the account was $5,844, with ~$800 in equipment.

·       As always, Membership dues of $15 can be paid at the next meeting, or mailed to Matt Miller, P.O. Box 337, Hague, VA 22469.

Housekeeping:

·       Northern Neck Beekeepers (NNB) Facebook Page will receive updated content periodically:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/136296719714571/.

·       NNBC Website (https://groups.io/g/nnbeekeepers) is now completed.  Previous discussions indicate meeting minutes will be posted monthly.

·       Meeting minute archive collection:  deferred, with Hyte Smith.

Upcoming Events:

·       March – Please contact Nancy at nburgess@nucps.net or 804-366-6649 to sight up for State inspection of hives to occur starting mid-March

·       March 28^th, at St. Stephens:  vendor delivers pre-ordered equipment and more.  (Save receipts.) 

·       April 2,3 – Stratford Spring Wine & Oyster Festival – outreach event https://www.stratfordhall.org/wineoysterfestival2022/

·       April 11 meeting – NNBC welcomes Mike Ledoux of Gloucester to speak about how he runs his apiary.  Mike runs many colonies and sells bee-related products at farmers’ markets. 

·       April 16 – Heathsville Farmer’s Market – outreach event

·       April 17 – Heathsville Earth Day, – outreach event  https://www.napsva.org/single-post/naps-earth-day-festival-heathsville-sat-apr-17

·       May 28 (rain or shine), 8:30 am – 2:30 pm – St. Stephen’s Heathsville Strawberry Festival – outreach event https://ststephensheathsville.org/strawberry-festival/.

·       July – NNBC honey harvesting

·       Late July to early August – applications for VA equipment funding lottery are due.

·       Aug 1-5 – Eastern Apicultural Society Conference, Ithaca, New York

·       September 17,18 – Stratford Fall Wine & Oyster Festival – outreach event https://www.stratfordhall.org/wineoysterfestival2022/

·       Oct 5 – water testing through Virginia Cooperative Extension for Counties of Richmond, Lancaster, Northumberland, Westmoreland.  Pre-register:  https://www.wellwater.bse.vt.edu/events.php

Education and Public Outreach:

Educational outreach is an important component of NNBC activities.  Local events are a great opportunity to educate the public and invite membership.  Contact Nancy Burgess at nburgess@nucps.net or 804-366-6649. 

You don’t need a lot of experience to help at an event, just a willingness to talk with people. 

2022 Farmers Market Schedule:    

·       Irvington:  1^st Saturday, May – Nov, 9:00 am to 1:00 pm https://www.town.irvington.va.us/irvington-farmer-s-market-1

·       Heathsville:  3^rd Saturday, Apr-Oct, mornings https://www.virginia.org/listing/heathsville-farmers-market/12456/

·       Tappahannock:  3^rd Saturday, Apr – Nov, mornings http://www.tappahannockmarket.com/

February Meeting Discussions: 

·       Did you have a dead out?  Please see the Bee Care section for a link to diagnose it.

·       Questions about syrup that Nancy mentioned?  Please see the Bee Care section.

·       Nancy’s update on bright red pollen:  it is likely Henbit, a prolific lawn weed.  See https://carolinahoneybees.com/common-weeds-that-attract-bees/ for this and other early spring weeds that bees like.

Curious about pollen colors?  (Take it with a grain of salt;  I don’t know how rigorous the sources are… Be careful when searching for charts, as many are for the United Kingdom.)

A Wikipedia list for cooler zone 5 Ohio has significant overlap with our warmer zone 7 Virginia, but we have earlier bloom times.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_pollen_sources

See also charts from Eversweet Apiaries in West Virginia, e.g. https://www.eversweetapiaries.com/products/spring-pollen-poster/

Region 12, Coastal Plains Virginia Bee Forage list (no pollen colors):  https://honeybeenet.gsfc.nasa.gov/Honeybees/ForageRegion.php?StReg=VA_12

·       The goal-oriented beekeeper:  Take some time this month to review your approach. 

o   Why am I beekeeping?  (To support bees and the environment?  For commercial pollination services?  To sell bee-related products such as honey and wax?  To produce queens and nucleus colonies for sale?  As a hobby, to satisfy your own curiosity and continuous learning?  To mentor others?)

o   How many hives do I want to keep?  (Two hives?  Eight?  Two hundred?)

o   How much time do I want to spend?  (Check once a week?  Or is it a full-time job?)

o   Do I want to experiment with new equipment?

Beekeeping Class:

1.     (Class 1 – Intro – Mike Church)

2.     (Class 2 – Equipment and woodenware Nancy Burgess)

3.     (Class 3 – Colony dynamics with Mike Church)

4.     (Class 4 – New pests and diseases with Matt Miller)

5.     (Class 5 – Pests and diseases, part 2, with Carl Barber)

6.     Class 6 – Beekeeping year with Mike Church

7.     Class 7 – Floral sources and bee nutrition with Hyte Smith

8.     Class 8 – Pot luck and arrival of equipment supplier Honey and the Hive (Doug and Keith are coming from Goochland, so please pre-order!)

Note:  You will have time to assemble equipment.  NNBC Nucs should be available in April or May. 

Purchasing Equipment:

·       New students should order basic equipment and woodenware for two hives.

·       The new convenient vendor is Honey and the Hive Beekeeping Supplies  

·       Please pre-order to ensure your specific needs are met.  Contact Doug and Keith by phone at (804) 501-8266, (804) 690-9904, or email info@HoneyandtheHiveVA.com.  They have a mobile trailer full of beekeeping supplies, so you can make additional last-minute purchases.  They will drive to St. Stephen’s all the way from Goochland for this group delivery.  Catch them while they are here!

·       March 28^th Equipment will be bought and purchased at the potluck closure of the beekeeping class.

·       Note: An alternate vendor is Mann Lake https://www.mannlakeltd.com/, but you may pay to ship.

·       Jan Lodge may be contacted at JVCLodge@gmail.com for barely-used equipment and books that she would like to sell, particularly to new beekeepers.

Virginia Grant Equipment (re)Funding (previously sent in a separate email):

·       Keep your receipts for bee equipment.  There is a list of acceptable equipment (see website); regarding woodenware, only receipts for Langstroth style will be considered.  (Alternative hives are funded on your own dime…)

·       Virginia Beehive Distribution Grant is funded for 2022 for Beekeeping hardware. https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title3.2/chapter44/section3.2-4415/

·       Recipients are determined by lottery from received applications, due to overwhelming response.

·       To apply go to https://www.vdacs.virginia.gov/pdf/beehive_distribution_program.pdf and request an application by contacting the Office of Plant Industry Services (OPIS) at (804) 786-3515 or VABees@vdacs.virginia.gov.

Continuing Preparations for Student Support

Mentoring builds our club – Will you be a mentor for the 2022 class?  Please contact Nancy (above).

This is a great opportunity to support our developing beekeeping community. 

Also, NNBC tries to supply our students with locally adapted nucleus colonies.  Sign up for state inspection if you will provide nucs. 

Sign up for Spring State Hive Inspections

Nancy Burgess can add your name and physical address to the NNBC signup sheet at nburgess@nucps.net or 804-366-6649.  Luke Hallman will perform state inspections based on this list to ease commuting time.

Inspections typically start early to mid-March.

For additional information, contact Luke Hallman at (804) 385-2312 or luke.hallman@vdacs.virginia.gov

For AFB or other critical issues, contact

Keith Tignor, State Apiarist
(804) 786-3515

keith.tignor@vdacs.virginia.gov
VABees@vdacs.virginia.gov

If you are selling bee nucs, queens, or used equipment, Virginia requires you to request an inspection of your hives by the state.  If they don’t make it out to see you, the request still fulfills the requirement.  https://www.vdacs.virginia.gov/plant-industry-services-beekeeping-apiary-inspection.shtml Inspections include assessment of general health of the colonies, alcohol mite counts, etc.

Virginia Regional Map https://www.vdacs.virginia.gov/pdf/Apiary%20Inspection%20Map.pdf 

Help NNBC meet member interests: 

·       Please send “DropBox” suggestions, ideas for guest speakers, and photos to Nancy Burgess at nburgess@nucps.net or 804-366-6649.

·       Find an interesting bee-related website to discuss.

2022 Virginia Household Water Quality Program

·       Why?  The water test may alert you to pH issues (as when making bee syrup), salt issues when watering plants or yourself (as salt can strain injured kidneys, and fluorosis affects developing teeth), and bacterial contamination that you may need to treat.

·       What is the water test?  Visit here for a description of the clinics. Water samples collected by participants are analyzed for 14 parameters, including bacteria, metals, nitrates, and hardness.  (Note:  Pesticides/farm chemicals are not included in the analysis.  VCE doesn’t test these organics because it’s very expensive and there is no affordable group panel.)

·       What is the cost?  $60 through Virginia Cooperative Extension (which is better than an expected ~$300 by a private company).  Financial assistance is available if needed. 

·       Who gets the report?  You.  VCE website says the information is kept strictly confidential and is not shared with government agencies.  (I suspect anonymous raw numbers – no personal information – are statistically processed by county location.)

·       When?  Clinics are held once a year in each of ~60 counties all over Virginia.   See https://www.wellwater.bse.vt.edu/events.php, to locate your county for the date plus the local Virginia Cooperative Extension office contact information.  Contact your site to pre-register.  (Four of the Northern Neck counties are each listed for Oct 5th, but please check.)

·       For more information, visit the Virginia Household Water Quality Program website: https://www.wellwater.bse.vt.edu/

“So, what’s the big deal about water?” you may ask, “The Northern Neck gets rain.”  The question really is, “How do I use well water from the tap?” and “What is the pH, salt, and mineral content?”

Take your garden, for example.  Have you noticed that plants in your garden jump up when it rains, but just survive when you irrigate?  This is likely due to mineral salts and pH issues.  pH issues also come up when you make bee syrup – how much apple cider vinegar do you have to add?  Do your kids’ teeth have fluorosis?  This is likely due to high fluoride content.  Do you see a lot of limescale?  This is high mineral content (hard water).  Are you thirsty soon after you drink tap water?  This may be high salt content (soft water).  Are the fish in your pond/tank stressed?  This could be pH, nitrates, minerals, or salts.  Water taken from Northern Neck aquifers decades ago is different from well water coming now from your tap.  If the Northern Neck uses well water sustainably, well water can remain potable.

What to do?  Talk with the VA Coop Extension office, who may refer you to experts, for example, if you have bacterial contamination.  If your test comes back with high salt or as non-potable, you can purchase spring water or drinking water, especially if mixing with baby formula (because of fluoride).  

Note:  Avoid using distilled water;  prolonged use actually leaches minerals from your tissue and bones. 

Note:  Potable water (suitable for drinking and cooking) is mostly used for other purposes.  In fact, the greatest household use of potable water is flushing toilets.  What happens when potable water becomes non-potable?  If you are interested in how/why things are changing, see the Editor’s Topic at the bottom.

Equipment Care:

·       Check stored comb in plastic tub periodically, and add paramoth (1,4-Dichlorobenzene) on a paper plate on top as necessary.  (Note:  avoid mothballs/camphor.) 

·       Cull frames after 3-5 years of use.  Brood comb is often black with dirt and old bee cocoons.  Mike mentioned old brood frames were akin to wearing your lucky sports socks without washing them for years.

·       Render wax from old frames (or let wax moths eat the old comb).  https://glorybee.com/blog/how-to-render-beeswax/  Note:  plastic foundation may be cleaned by power washing.

·       Now that you have your best hive bodies in use protecting bees, it’s time to patch, repair, or replace any damaged woodenware.  Clean and scorch, or replace and assemble. 

Bee care: 

(Note:  We enjoy a lively discussion about different approaches at meetings among experienced members, but also try to include as much information as possible to support our new students and members.)

What is normal?  The days are getting longer and there are more warm days to fly.  Our bees are collecting bright red pollen.  Some eager queens may start laying.  Cold snaps will still occur, and chilled brood may happen if the colony is too small to keep it warm or can’t cover it all.

Feeding Review:  Important:  Feeding stops when the nectar flow starts.  The flavors of honey are derived from nectar sources.  Sugar feed does not create honey. Feeding should be for emergencies in late February and March.  Most dead-outs due to starvation seem to happen in March when hive stores are low.
If you lift one side of the hive gently about an inch and it feels light, you still need to feed so the cluster can stay warm in cold snaps. 
If you switch to light syrup (see below), keep an eye on the weather changes. 
Caution:  Temperature changes can force liquid out, and a wet queen = dead hive.

Our bees?  We put (solid) fondant on them in early March, came back after 7 days and they were chewing up the paper plate to extract more sugar from the paper fibers.  The floorboards were covered with fluff, fearing a few more cold snaps, we put a little more on them. 

Cold weather emergency feed options:  Ensure the cluster is close to honey or emergency sugar feed, as they can’t travel far in cold temperatures. If they are in the lower hive body, use a shim to make space for the fondant.

·       Fondant.  If it can be placed atop brood frames in ≤1 minute, feed anytime.  Recipe:  https://wolfcreekbees.com/pages/fondant-bee-candy-recipe  Note:  this author uses more apple cider vinegar than the above recipe to obtain a slightly acidic pH verified by pH meter – our well water is very basic, but nectar is acidic.)

·       Dry sugar is an alternative, poured onto a sheet of newspaper placed over the cluster frames.  Some hives take it that way, which is great.  Other hives may see it as a housekeeping problem as indicated by a pile of sugar moved outside the hive. Warm weather emergency syrups are for small new hives and nucleus colonies that are not going to be harvested for honey.  To establish their new hives, beekeepers should not harvest honey in the first year. 

Note:  syrup provided is progressively heavier over time, as the bees no longer have the advantages of time and warm sun with approaching winter.

Note:  If a hive was light on stores, March is likely when they will starve out.  Check the weight of the hive by lifting one side gently about an inch.

·       Late winter and early spring: Light syrup 1:2 = One part sugar to two parts water.  This is used to stimulate queens to lay eggs and workers to build comb (since more space is needed to store syrup), especially if it’s a nucleus colony or a new hive/split.   

·       Spring and summer: Medium 1:1 = One part sugar to one part water.  This is used to feed brood larvae;  bees have to work to remove the water and this continues to encourage comb building.  Note:  Medium syrup is also used to prepare other bee foods (e.g. pollen patties or essential oil supplements).

·       Autumn:  Heavy 2:1 = Two parts sugar to one part water.  The heavy syrup is ideal for adding weight to hives.  Due to its low water content, bees can store heavy syrup almost immediately with little additional processing.

Should I provide a pollen substitute?   Once natural pollen is available, bees tend to ignore the substitute pollen (our bees are already gathering natural pollen).  However, small pieces of pollen patties may be placed directly on top of brood frames.  A little at a time helps avoid issues with small hive beetles.  Also, too much patty may overstimulate brood production, resulting in a drain on hive resources that become chilled brood at the next cold snap.  Dry substitute pollen is unnecessary if bees are not flying. 

What to do?  February continues with the usual winter watchfulness for the beekeeper, but with an eye to a growing population.  Temperatures ≥54°F are suitable for quick inspections.

·       Order equipment through the NNBC – you want to receive it and have it assembled by March! is Two hives are the standard for beginners.  Why?  If one hive crashes, you can split the remaining hive and return to normal maintenance.  Note:  friends don’t let friends order 10-frame deeps.

·       Inspections:  Quick external inspections work for cold days; tap and listen for the cluster to respond, and continue to ensure that the entrance is kept clear of snow, debris, dead bees.  Choose a very warm day ≥ 60°F for a full inspection, and keep it short!  Do not disturb brood or spend time looking for the queen. 

Note:  On a very warm day with little wind, do a thorough inspection, and consider culling out old frames before they are filled with brood. ·       Reverse the hive bodies, if necessary.   (The cluster has steadily eaten its way from the bottom hive body to the top.)  “Reversing the hive” swaps top and bottom hive bodies so that the cluster is back on the bottom in preparation for warmer weather so that the .)Our bees?  We did a reversal on one hive that reached the top body.  The other two have the cluster right in the middle, so they are not ready to reverse yet because a reverse would split the cluster.
·       Swarm prevention:  Spring is reproduction time.  Bees naturally overproduce queens.  Each queen takes a swarm with her when she leaves – about half the hive. Having feral colonies is great for the environment.  Mike Church estimates that the survival of these swarms has risen from 1 in 10, to 1 in 4 – great news! 
Caution:  If a hive is empty or at low capacity, call your mentor for diagnosis.  Bees may also have absconded due to disease, pests, or other reasons.

Options to control swarms include:  o   If the nectar flow is abundant, ensure enough space by adding another honey super with frames of foundation.  Honeybound hives (those with supers full of honey) have limited real estate more honey and eventually for laying eggs.  Such hives swarm to expand their spring population.  They grow out instead of up, and you lose honey production capacity.  Left honey bound, a hive can repeatedly swarm until it “swarms out” and only a tiny cluster with no real production capacity is left – you would then treat the colony as a nucleus colony.

o   If you have the woodenware, you can split hives, or produce nucleus colonies. 

o   Demaree method:  requires queen excluders and a lot of manipulation, but maintains the whole colony in one hive, though you must cull queens that develop in the top body.

o   Snelgrove board method (or use two bottom boards), essentially a split performed with one stacked atop the other to conserve warmth in early spring.

o   If you lack woodenware, you can cull queen cells during the inspection.

·       Care in winds/storms/snow:  Ensure the hive entrance is clear of snow/ice/debris/dead bees.  Ensure that hives are together and have tops on – you may need to place a ratchet strap around each hive if high winds are forecast.  Provide a windbreak.  Our bees?  We lost one hive due to high winds and rain because a strong gust toppled the top body.

·       Assess Deadouts:  it is important to investigate the reason a hive has died.  It could be simple, such as exposure to a storm or loss of food stores.  You can perform a mite count on dead bees.  Lastly, use your handbook from the class to identify possible diseases.  Consult your mentor.  Corrective action should be taken to protect the other colonies.  (If American Foul Brood is suspected, you are required to call the state apiarist as soon as possible.).

Refer to FAQ – Huguenot Beekeepers Association, click “Why did my bees die?” then “Diagnosing Deadouts”
The meeting adjourned at 6:58 pm.

The next meeting will be Monday at 6:00 pm, March 14, 2022, at St. Stephens in Heathsville.