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TEXAS BEE SUPPLY
Monthly
Cover Photo: Casey Turner
July 2022
Feature Topics Varroa Mite Season Summer Requeening Storing Supers Summer Hive Care Bees vs Heat Oxalic Acid Treatment
Edition 25
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Table Of Contents
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6 Monthly Tips 10 Varroa Mite Season 18 Summer Splits 22 Quick Tip - Should I Put My Supers Back on After Extraction? 24 Why Requeen in the Summer? 28 Summer Trickle Feeding 30 Can I Feed My Bees Too Much? 31 Pop Quiz 34 Pollen Subs Now? 36 Storing Supers 40 Bee-Oh-Bee It's HOT! Bees vs Heat 44 Interview Series - Mary Reed 48 Topics Beekeepers Can't Agree On - Oxalic Acid 52 Sign of Disease with Dr. Jamie Ellis 54 Extraction Process - Small Scale vs Commercial 56 Summer Hive Care 62 Products From the Hive 66 Pop Quiz Answer - What's All The "Fizz" About? 68 Recipe - Watermelon Cucumber Salad w/ Honey Lime Dressing 70 June Webinar Q & A 72 Club Announcements 76 Drought Chart
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MORE INFO
Learn what you need to know to keep bees and produce honey in this extensive 1-day, 6 hour beginning beekeeping class. Our experienced beekeepers lead you through topics such as the basic functions of the hive, types of bees present in your hive, necessary gear, identification and treatment of bee diseases and pests, managing a beehive, honey production, honey harvest, collection of nectar and pollen, how to get bees for your hive, a year in the life of a beekeeper, and much more. We will cover the necessary information you need to begin producing honey and raising healthy bees in this exciting 6 hour class. Plus - You'll get to work with live bees! Lunch included!!
Kim Townsend & Shannon LaGrave
HOUSTON AREA
James & Chari Elam
DALLAS AREA
BEGINNING BEEKEEPING SUMMER CLASSES
1. For the vast majority of Texas, the flow is completely finished by early July. If you plan to harvest your honey, it should be harvested quickly to ensure the bees do not consume too much of their stores. See the June notes regarding honey harvest. 2. Your bees are entering one of the most critical periods of the entire year. Varroa mite populations typically peak in July, making treatment critical once honey is removed. Use a treatment that is able to withstand high temperatures, like Apivar. Any thymol-based treatment does not do well in high temperatures. Oxalic Acid is only effective during a broodless period. Apistan and Checkmite are no longer viable due to mite resistance. Hopguard can be somewhat effective, but make sure to test for mites after treatment as it can be ineffective in some conditions. Apivar is currently the most effective and reliable treatment in high temperatures. 3. Of importance immediately after harvesting honey, is feeding your bees. In July there are virtually no major nectar producing flowers blooming. But your bees are still rearing brood and still require large amounts of food to maintain their strength. Thus we encourage all beekeepers to begin feeding and not stop until each hive has a 30 lb surplus of syrup stored in the second box. This will guarantee your hive of bees have the resources they need to live and thrive. Even a few weeks without enough food, or with excessively high mite levels can drastically damage your hive. 4. Heat is much harder on bees than cold, and Texas heat poses some unique challenges for hives. In addition to treating for mites and feeding immediately, be sure to provide a water source for your hive and to slightly crack the lid for additional ventilation. Adding an empty box above your current boxes can provide some dead air space and a buffer from the hot lid. Make sure your hive has a least 2 boxes instead of 1 deep box. 5. One of the most important things to keep in mind as a beekeeper is the fact that winter preparation begins as soon as you harvest honey. Many beekeepers begin winter preparation when the first major cold front hits in October or November, but that is far too late for winter preparation. Most "winter" losses are actually a result of improper care during the summer months. Hives may appear alive and well over the summer, but can actually be starving and infested with mites, and mites transfer viruses to the bees. You may not notice a dramatic decline until the issues have reached a critical point in fall or winter, but the invisible damage was done over the summer. 6. If you want to grow your hive-count in the following year, you can place supers of foundation directly on top of your brood nest, and feed the hive heavily over the summer. The bees will draw out the comb, which can give you your comb for the next year, eliminating the need to draw out foundation on a honey flow. The constant food and the chance to work is great for the bees over the summer months as well.
By: Blake Shook
JULY T I P S
Texas Bee Supply - Austin Area Elgin, TX
By: Chari Elam
As promised (and anticipated I’m sure) – Varroa Destructor is my topic of the month! Those of you that have attended a seminar (or two) know all too well the drilling we get about Varroa mites. Over and over again the importance of testing and treating for Varroa, until we get it!! OK, WE GET IT! In last month's article I mentioned HoneyBeeHealthCoalition.org. I will say, in my opinion this is the most all-inclusive website available to beekeepers on the topic of Varroa mites. My goal this month is to overview the publication, “Tools for Varroa Management” for those folks “on the run” with no time to read the in-depth publication. I’ll be skipping over the seasonal aspects of Varroa mites but know this – post-honey harvest and the months following are crucial to you and your bees as far as getting the mites “back” under control. Know this moving forward. The crux of the publication revolves around Integrated Pest Management (IPM). In this methodology a beekeeper is given the opportunity to “cover all bases” in controlling Varroa mites. Not all beekeepers are going to use all methods in the pyramid but they are here for us to consider. It’s my belief that we use this pyramid as a tool and make educated decisions based on where we are as beekeepers and our desires to stay on top of Varroa. Your goal is to maintain a Varroa mite load of less than 2% . This number is gained by testing. Arguably one of the most intimidating aspects of beekeeping for new beekeepers is testing for mites. Most treat without testing. When we were new, our lack of confidence in testing resulted in just treating, as opposed to test and treat if needed. Don’t be this person!! You have options to help accommodate your comfort level. Listed in order of accuracy of testing: Alcohol wash (<2 mites per 100 bees) Powdered sugar shake (<6 mites per 300 bees) Sticky board (<9 mites over a 24-hour period) All three of these methods require you take the center 2 or 3 frames of bees (less the queen) and shake the bees off on to or in a container to test. In my opinion, this is the trepidation point. Once you get past this you are home free. Second, third, fourth year (and so on) beekeepers should have the confidence to do an alcohol wash on your bees. This is the most accurate and recommended method. New beekeepers: the sticky board is better than not testing at all – but don’t let it be your final testing method. Only use it until you get more comfortable with your bees. 3 Seasonal Phases Population Increase (PI) Population Peak (PP) Population Decrease (PD) Dormant (D) Knowing the phase your colony is currently in is key to “how to treat” for Varroa mites. ALL of the treatment methods consider the colony phase (brood cycles,) and temperature in its treatment plan. Ex: Where some treatments work well in PI, others do not … and can actually be harmful to your bees.
Varroa Mite Season
Most of the products listed on the following printable charts have been used with extreme effectiveness and very good results. I believe, along with most of the industry, that using “mechanical and cultural methods” in harmony with treatments are the best way to go. Treatment-Free beekeeping is a another form of mite management that is growing in popularity, but does NOT mean "do nothing" and the bees survive. I have some very successful beekeeper friends that have achieved acceptable mite thresholds by using VSH queens, brood interruption, and other noninvasive means. But make no mistake, these beekeepers work extremely hard to control mites in their hives. Requeening more frequently can become expensive if you aren’t in the segment of this industry that generates queens. Having said that – I fully support those who can achieve low mite counts and do so without chemicals. For the rest of us – I (we) strive to keep the healthiest hives possible and in doing so take the stance that we are open to treating our hives on a case-by-case basis. It’s more important to me to keep our bees as mite-free as possible and do so by making an educated decision based on the most current information available. By: Chari Elam Credits: Honey Bee Health Coalition Elen, P.J., Westervelt,D. ABJ 2002 Vol. 142
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Watch as Blake shows exactly how to do the most accurate method of testing -Alcohol Wash-
Join Blake Shook virtually as he teaches 4 simple methods of Varroa control! Genetics/Breeding Only Chemical Free Options Chemical Options An IPM Approach to All of the Above Blake dives into each method, exploring what is required to successfully manage Varroa. The primary focus is on applying quick, simple, proven methods in each category, and simplifying each to make it quick & easy for small scale beekeepers. We can't wait to share some of our exciting findings, and be able to finally make simplified recommendations that will actually work in each category!
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Live in the Bee Yard ! Prepping for Summer Winter Prep...in July! Varroa Testing Varroa Management Summer Feeding How to Tell the Honey Flow is Over
Upcoming Agenda
Summer Splits
Making summer or fall splits is very similar to spring splits, but with a few important differences. Regardless of where you are in the USA, it is ideal to split as early as possible in the summer. Many in the south wait until after they harvest honey (usually by July 4th), while northern beekeepers often split in July or August, during the honey flow. As a result, they sacrifice their honey crop, but hives tend to grow more quickly due to the abundant natural nectar and pollen flow. The main goal is to split as early as possible in the summer thus ensuring more time for the split to grow before winter. To that end, I recommend splitting with a minimum of 4 frames of brood, covered with bees for summer splits. I also recommend using mated queens rather than queen cells for splits, and not allowing the hive to raise their own queen. You are in a race against the upcoming cold weather, and you need the hive to grow as quickly as possible. The most common reason I see for failure in making splits is letting the hive raise their own queen and not giving a split enough brood to grow quickly. But, if all goes well, you should be able to add a second brood box to the split within 4 weeks. That second box should be filled within 4-6 weeks. Continuous feeding is essential in the south. In the north, it will vary based on the area. If bees are not bringing in large amounts of nectar & drawing out new comb, then feeding is needed. Here's, step by step, how to make a summer split: 1. Select strong hives with a minimum of 1 deep box full of bees (or its equivalent if using all medium boxes). Ensure they have at least 8 deep frames of brood, or their equivalent in medium frames of brood. 1 medium frame full of brood is equal to ⅔ of a deep frame of brood. 2. Find the queen and set the frame she is on aside until step 5. If you plan to requeen, kill the queen after finding her. If you cannot find the queen, you have 2 options. The easiest is just to proceed with the split, ignore the queen, and go back and look at all the hives 3-4 days after moving the splits and see which hive has eggs. The hives that don’t have eggs need a queen. Wipe out any queen cells present and install a queen. The second option is after you’ve completed steps 3 & 4, right before completing step 6, shake all the bees into the bottom box. The workers will migrate back up through the queen excluder, while the queen will be trapped in the bottom box. 3. Leave 4 frames of brood and ideally 2 frames of honey in the bottom box. Fill the rest of the space with frames of empty comb, foundation, or frames of honey/pollen. If you have less than 2 frames of honey you can still split, but will need to feed immediately after step 8, and feed up to 2 gallons per week for the first few weeks. 4. Do the exact same thing for the second deep box. If your hive was already a double deep hive, this is easy. Simply put 4 frames of brood & two frames of honey in the second deep. If it was a single story hive, you will need to have an extra box & frames to use. If it was a deep and medium, you can leave the medium box on the original hive. You will want to give the split at least 4 frames of brood and ensure the original hive has (between the deep box and medium) the equivalent of 4 deep frames of brood. 5. If applicable, place the frame with the queen in the bottom box. 6. Place a queen excluder on top of the original bottom brood box (Deep & medium hives - place the excluder on top of both boxes) and place your new deep split on top of the queen excluder. 7. Replace the lid, and let the hive sit until dusk or dawn the following morning. If you didn’t kill the queen, the hive can be left in this configuration for several days if needed as you wait for the arrival of a new queen. 8. At dusk or dawn pull the split off the original hive and put it on its own bottom board. Moving the split a mile or more away will ensure that all the foragers remain with the split since they will reorient to their new location. If you move them a few hundred feet or yards away, some of the foragers (usually less than 10% of the total population) may fly back to the original hive. There are a few alternatives to moving your split a mile away. You can rearrange the whole bee yard, so no hive is where it once was. The foragers tend to drift back to all the hives fairly evenly. You can also move the original hive with the old queen 10-15 feet away and leave the new split in the original location. This will ensure the split has a bit higher bee population, since they will grow more slowly since they have to accept a new queen. The hive moved with the mother queen in it still has a laying queen and will rebound quickly. 9. Feed both hives if there is not a strong natural flow. They have a lot of growing to do! 10. Install the new queen ideally within 0-12 hours. If you wait more than 24 hours, you will need to remove any queen cells the bees have begun to raise. 11. Continue feeding 1:1 syrup at approximately 1 gallon per week until the bottom box is 80% full of bees. When that has been achieved, add your second brood box & continue to feed until they have about 40 lbs of honey/syrup stored. This will take most hives until early/mid fall to accomplish. Finally, don’t forget to control Varroa mites! They peak in the summer, and infested hives will have difficulty growing. If you are in a major drought or pollen dearth, you may also need to feed pollen substitute to help your splits grow quickly. By: Blake Shook
Checking back on Summer Split hives
Check out our honey containers! We have a variety of shapes and sizes, in-store and online!
Should I put my Supers Back on after extracting?
CONTAINERS
Yes! Make sure you put them back on in the late evening to help reduce the chance robbing will occur. Within 24 hours the bees will clean up any residual honey, fix damaged comb, and have the supers ready to use next year! After that 24-hour period, you can remove the supers, and store the comb for next year. It is important that your bees have at least a total of 2 boxes throughout the summer. So, if you only have 1 brood box, leave 1 super on for the queen to lay eggs in over the summer, and for the bees to store extra food in preparation for winter. This should become your second brood box. If you already have a second brood box, whether it’s a deep or medium, you don’t have to leave any honey supers on the hive.
Quick Tip
Why Requeen in the Summer?
European Foulbrood
There can be many signs & reasons to requeen a hive. In general, it’s a good idea to proactively requeen each hive every year before they begin to show signs of needing to be requeened. It’s important to note that what may look like a failing queen is often the result of other factors. Below are the conditions when a hive actually needs to be requeened: 1. Your hive is consistently aggressive. If several bees are following you post-inspection for several minutes, even as you walk away, and they behave this way consistently, it’s a good idea to requeen for your own comfort's sake. 2. The brood pattern is “spotty” throughout the hive. Many things can cause a spotty brood pattern. Such as: A failing queen - As queens age, they begin running out of sperm, and begin laying a more “spotty” pattern mixed with drone brood. A spotty pattern as a result of a failing queen will look spotty on every frame of brood, not just 1-2 frames. Only spotty on some frames, as the queen lays around cells of honey and pollen, giving a “spotty” appearance. Keep in mind that a failing queen does typically have a spotty brood pattern. However, it should be on all the frames throughout the hive. If it has been a year since you’ve requeened, it is most likely time to requeen. Varroa mite infestation - As a hive becomes increasingly infected with Varroa, the bees will begin pulling infected larva and pupa out of their cells, causing a spotty brood pattern. Treating for Varroa is critical if it gets to this point. You can learn how to treat for Varroa here. Chalkbrood - Brood infected by the fungal infection chalkbrood will die, causing a spotty brood pattern. It’s typically found in the spring months, and is best treated with probiotics, and warmer drier weather. You can read more about it here. European Foulbrood- This disease affects the larva and causes developing larva to look yellow and melted. It is also commonly found during the spring. Probiotics, warmer weather, requeening, and feeding can help. Check out our article on EFB here. Time of year - During the summer months, queens often slow down egg laying as pollen and nectar become scarce. As a result, brood can often look spottier during the heat of the summer. It will often improve once pollen and cooler weather returns. Poor nutrition - If a hive is starved nutritionally, they will begin to cannibalize the brood, causing it to look spotty. Rapid growth & laying around resources - When the queen is laying faster than the bees can move cells of honey or pollen out of her way, she will often lay around them, causing a spotty pattern. However, you typically only see this on a few frames of brood, and the rest of the brood will look normal and compact. 3. Dwindling population or not growing when it should be. Between February and July, a hive’s population should be ever increasing. If a hive has been consistently well fed, doesn’t have a mite issue or a brood disease, yet has not been growing or is dwindling for a few months, you should requeen. 4. Drone brood is mixed in with the worker brood. A queen running out of sperm will result in unfertilized drone brood being mixed with worker bee brood. This will result in random large bumpy cells of capped brood mixed with the more even & flat worker brood. This will be visible throughout the hive, and you should see hundreds of these larger cells mixed with worker cells. Drone brood isolated on certain parts of frames is normal and expected rather than scattered throughout the worker brood. 5. There are no eggs, larva, or brood. This is a really tricky one! Depending on the stage of queenlessness, the hive may have already begun raising a new queen. Since this is a more complex issue, we need to look into it further. No Eggs, Larva or Brood First, make sure you are able to spot eggs and larva. If you are confident there are no eggs, larva, or capped brood, then you almost certainly have a queenless hive. The most important question at this point is how long have they been queenless? 1. If there is still capped brood in the hive, then there is a good chance the hive has a virgin queen that hasn’t started laying yet but should soon. Give the hive a frame of eggs and larva from a stronger hive (see how to here) and check back in 2 days. If they are beginning to raise queen cells all over the frame then they are queenless, and you will need to add a queen. If they don’t raise queen cells, give them another week, and you will most likely begin to see eggs from a new queen. If you don’t, give them another 2-3 days. If there is still nothing, then proceed with adding a new queen. If you don’t have a frame of brood to give the hive, just wait another week then check back for eggs. 2. If they have no brood, not even capped brood, they have been queenless for at least 21 days. In that span of time, they should have been able to successfully raise a new queen, and she should have begun laying. Assuming your hive is strong enough to survive then give them a frame of brood from a stronger hive (not necessary if you don’t have a second stronger hive) and give them a new queen as quickly as possible. If your hive matches any one of the above symptoms, it’s a good idea to go ahead and requeen as quickly as possible. For more information on this topic, you can always go to our Bee Help & Questions page on our website.
Summer probably isn't your first choice of when to requeen. But check out this video showing the improvement in this hive. The results speak for themselves. Queens are still available, so if your hive has any of these issues, taking corrective steps can make all the difference going into fall.
New Summer Queen
When to Requeen a Hive
How to find Eggs in your hive
For those of us in the south with hot, dry summers, ensuring your hive has plenty of food available is critical. After your summer harvest I recommend “trickle feeding” through the summer months if your hive has less than 30 lbs of honey stored in their second brood box. Simply put, summer trickle feeding entails feeding ¼ - ½ a gallon of 1:1 syrup each week rather than infrequent large amounts of syrup. This concept maintains this will simulate a natural nectar flow, and will encourage the hive to continue to grow or at least maintain during a time of year when they typically begin to decline in strength. This is especially true in regions that have very hot and dry summers with little nectar or pollen flow. This is not critical, so if your bees are not located on your immediate property, or you want to go on a vacation for a month, your bees aren’t going to die if you don’t practice trickle feeding. If this isn’t a good option for you, then the goal is to feed your bees more syrup, more quickly, until they have about 30 lbs of honey stored in the second brood box, and 2-4 frames of honey stored in the lower brood box. This will ensure they do not go hungry over the summer. Check back every 2-3 weeks, and feed to help maintain that 30 lb excess in the second box. Remember, a medium box completely full of honey is about 40 lbs, and a deep box completely full is about 60 lbs.
Summer Trickle Feeding
Answer Page 66
Have you ever seen "bubbles" in your uncapped honey? What is going on?
Can I Feed My Bees Too Much??
Photo Credit: Rafael Dugarte
Finding a balance between the need to feed and feeding too much can be a bit confusing. We have been stressing the need to feed after honey harvest yet often the bees have done a good job of storing honey in the lower boxes. Take a look at this short video on what to look for. Also look back at the article "Fixing Honey Bound Hives" if you find your hives are just that, "Honey Bound"!
Pop Quiz
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REVIEWS
And the Answer is... Probably So! As we embark on what will no doubt be a long hot summer, supplementing pollen can accomplish three primary goals throughout the year:
Pollen Subs NOW?
Preventing nutritional deficits during pollen dearths. If you have a hot dry summer or a late spring freeze, and thus little to no pollen producing plants, your hive can begin to starve nutritionally if sufficient pollen and pollen variety is not present. When this happens, the bees begin to cannibalize the brood, which dramatically reduces the health and population of the hive. Feeding pollen substitute and syrup during these dearths can save your hive! Feeding 2-3 months before the first freeze helps our bees rear healthy babies going into the winter by ensuring they have all the nutrients needed. In essence, during the late summer & early fall workers rear a different kind of bee...a “winter bee” that is raised to live much longer than summer bees. These winter bees need a nutritionally complete diet to have the fat stores & immune system needed to survive the winter. With a poor pollen flow, or a single source pollen that isn’t nutritionally sufficient (think eating nothing but pizza), they won’t be able to raise healthy winter bees. Feeding pollen substitute and syrup if needed, ensures they have the needed protein and nutrition to successfully raise winter bees. To extend brood rearing, feed pollen substitute approximately a month after the first freeze, and 2 weeks before your first pollen blooming plants in the spring. This helps the bees rear brood later and longer than normal. It also helps increase the hive's population, which is always a good thing!
Check out our Pollen Substitutes HERE!
Watch Blake show us how to determine if your hive needs pollen supplemented
1. The easiest, and most guaranteed-to-work method is to use wax moth crystals. If you only have a few supers, store them in a bag with the crystals (NOT mothballs). The container will come with directions on exact quantities to use. If you have several supers, you can stack 5-7 supers up, place a sheet of paper on the top bars of the top super, and place about 3oz of crystals on the paper. Replenish every month, or when crystals evaporate.Be sure to air out your supers for 2-3 days before use next spring! 2. If you have the freezer space, freezing your supers works! Just be careful because frozen comb is extremely fragile! 3. If you only have 1 or 2 supers per hive, you may be able to leave them on your hive all summer. Each hive should have a minimum of 2 boxes (a brood box, plus a box above your brood box). If both of those boxes are full, adding a 3rd box is a great idea to help keep the hive cooler, and let them expand further if you are trickle feeding. You can remove it during the fall/winter if it becomes empty. 4. A riskier method is standing your supers vertically in the open air under a roof of some form. Wax moths don't like the light and moving air. However, a hungry wax moth can still cause damage, as can other pests and animals.
Regardless of how you protect your bees' hard-earned honeycomb from wax moths, it's critical you take care of it!
This upright freezer holds up to 100 deep and medium frames
Watch this step-by-step video on how to store supers using ParMoth
Storing Supers
Photo Credit: Nanette Davis
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Michael Kelling Past President Central Texas Beekeepers Association Master Beekeeper
Cameron Crane Liberty County Beekeepers Association Owner Crane Meadows
Listen to what these Experts have to say about what causes bearding and what to do about it!
Bees vs Heat
Bee-Oh-Bee it's HOT Outside!
What’s a bee to do? Living in a house with 45-60 THOUSAND of your sisters - wing to wing - antenna to antenna…packed in like…well, bees! This can really generate some heat! Are you seeing this? Join the club! Most bees (not all) will exhibit this behavior this time of year. Some areas have very high humidity making it even more prolific. Regardless, heat is harder on our bees than cold. Therefore, their only recourse is to relieve some pressure. I often wonder how they decide “who” will go out and take their turn hanging out on the front…drawing straws perhaps? No…seriously, it’s the 10–20-day old bee (pre-forager stage) that tends to hang out on the front porch to relieve overcrowding as well as fan the hive to help reduce the temperature inside. Have you ever noticed these bees will often “washboard” as if they are bored? Maybe – just maybe, that’s what wash”bored”ing really is?! Hmm… Instead of freaking out like I did when I was a new beekeeper, understand that these bees are performing an important task and it is very much helping the hive. There are some measures we can take to do our part to help them in this heat. Ventilation Prop the front of the lid up slightly (resting on the inner cover) Place spacers (pennies, toothpicks) under all four corners of the outer cover (between the lid and inner cover) Screen bottom board w/o the insert Screen inner covers Remove entrance reducers. Utilize a robbing screen to mitigate robbing opportunities with the entrance fully open. When resources are scarce, robbing will commence!
Water Keep a “cool” water source available. Most shallow containers and streams can become very hot and often dry up. If no pond or deeper water source is available, provide one that is maintained in the shade. It prevents evaporation as well as being so hot the bees won’t visit it.
Summer Splits Although not the most popular time of year to make splits – summer splits can go a long way in reducing the population of the hive thus cooling the hive a bit, while giving your bee yard a boost in numbers going into fall. See Blake’s article on doing Summer Splits.
Dodie Stillman Vice President - Texas Beekeepers Association President - Austin Area Beekeepers Association Master Beekeeper
Harrison Rogers Vice President Harris County Beekeepers Association Treasurer- Real Texas Honey Program Certified Texas Master Beekeeper
Shade Keep bees where they can have some shade in the afternoon. If their location is in full sun, you can either move them to an afternoon shade location or place a canopy over the hives. Providing “some” shade can go a long way to helping – but this isn’t always feasible. If not, don’t worry about it. Follow the ventilation methods above and they will be just fine.
Tara Chapman Featured on the Today Show, Vice Media and Eating Well Magazine Two Hives Honey - Austin, TX
How to Protect Your Bees From Aerial Spraying for Mosquitoes!
Contact your local County Commissioner and tell them, “I am a beekeeper that keeps bees at _______ address. Please put me on a list to be notified of any and all street fogging and/or aerial spraying to be done in my zip code of ________.” Most will respect this request and, in some places, avoid spraying your area all together. In the case you are notified your area will be sprayed either by fogging or aerial, here are some methods to help save your bees.
QUICK TIP
Move your hives to another location outside of the spray area. Cover your bees with a wet sheet for the night and remove it in the morning when the chemical has dissipated. Place an “over-sized surface” on top of your hives, creating a “porch” that will overhang the front entrance by as much as possible. This will help prevent the chemical from drifting into the hive and hopefully protect the bees that are hanging out on the front of the boxes too. Close off the entrance to the colony. Use caution with this method. The heat buildup in the hive could be excessive even for overnight. If you choose this method, create as much ventilation as possible through the lid and use corner beading to close off the entrance (it has vent holes).
with Chari Elam
Interview Series Introducing Mary Reed
If you haven't had the opportunity to meet this dynamic lady, here's your opportunity! Mary Reed is Past Chief Apiary Inspector for Texas (the 1st woman to ever have that position) and current Assistant Chief in the Division of Plant & Apiary at the Florida Department of Agriculture. Join me as I talk with Mary about what we should be watching for with the onset of summer. Including nutrition, pest and diseases and overall good solid advice in hive management.
Summer Splits Class
July 9th Dayton, TX
Join our expert beekeepers to learn how to effectively and safely split your summer hives! We cover all the basics in making splits, both inside the classroom and in an apiary. Topics covered for this popular class include: Ordering queens for your split How to prepare your hive to split Hive strength requirements for splitting Making the split Feeding & installing a queen To Move, or not to move Post split care Queen acceptance and more Class begins at 9:00 am and concludes at 12:00 pm
It's time to split hives! Will you bee ready?
Photo Credit: Erin Carver
Last Splits class of 2022
By: Lynne Jones
Topics Beekeepers Can't Agree On!
"Oxalic Acid"
Like all options, OA Dribble has its pros and cons.
Pros Easy to apply Very inexpensive Organic Not lipid (fat) soluble and will not build up in wax comb 70 times as toxic to mites as it is to adult bees. Can be used in hot weather Now approved for use with honey supers on Can be very effective (depending on the amount of capped brood)
How to apply an oxalic acid dribble, is a good article on the basics of the Dribble method and I encourage you to read it before trying this method yourself. The article is on Rusty Burlew’s blog, Honey Bee Suite.com
As detailed in previous articles in this month’s issue - Varroa mites are a serious problem, and we are all faced with the responsibility to control them. Control methods range from hard chemicals, regular requeening with VSH stock, to screened bottom boards and culling drone comb. What is more important than the method(s) you choose, is to choose and do. Some treatments and methods are more effective than others, and some more labor intensive than others. Choose and do – and if it doesn’t end up being a good choice for you and your bees, choose and do something else! One of several “soft” chemical options is Oxalic Acid (OA). Oxalic acid is an organic acid found in the common weed Oxalis, aka wood sorrel. It is also found in many edible plants including spinach, rhubarb, and kale, and even found to be a component of honey! The use of OA for treating Varroa mites is considered an organic or natural treatment and approved by the EPA. Oxalic Acid can be applied in three ways: mist, sublimation (referred to as oxalic acid vapor or OAV), or by drip/dribble. The mist application is only approved for caged bee use (typically package of bees); but for bee removers – a wired bee vac container would also be considered caged. The other two methods – OAV and Dribble are used for bees in hives. OA is very effective when brood is not present; but it can still be used with brood present, but it just won’t be as effective. For the most part, in Texas we don’t have broodless periods. At best we have periods with less brood, so don’t let the “broodless” aspect dissuade you from using OA. Cons For “summer treatment” when brood is present, it must be applied three times at six-day intervals. (Winter treatment is only applied once!). There is some bee and brood mortality, but minimal when directions are followed precisely. It may reduce the queen’s lifespan. Not as effective with brood present Once your solution is prepared, fill a 60-cc syringe with 50-cc of OA solution. Practice with the syringe by dribbling evenly back into the container and noting each 5 ml mark. Personal Tip: I have trouble applying only 5 ml using the large syringe and instead use ten of the smaller 6-cc syringes per hive, filling each to the 5-cc mark. It is a little more cumbersome, but it’s what works best for me. The maximum treatment per hive is 50 ml. Since you are only treating one box of the hive, smoke the bees into the bottom box so you can apply the solution to as many bees as possible. The goal is to apply only 5 ml per ‘seam’ of bees. For the two outside seams, divide 5 ml between them. Like every treatment option, OA has its pros and cons, and vapor is more effective than dribble. If you are having trouble deciding on what method of Varroa control to use, consider giving OA Dribble a try.
Items needed: Plastic bowl or container Oxalic Acid Distilled water (if your water is high in calcium) Measuring cup with “ML” measurements (for making 20 hive quantity) Eye protection Gloves 60-cc syringe Scale that weighs in Grams
For an excellent list of safety recommendations and formulas for making the solution, click on the image below - Randy Oliver - ScientificBeekeeping.com
Lynne Jones is owner of Brazos River Honey Secretary-Treasurer of the Fort Bend Beekeepers Association and Advanced level in the Texas Master Beekeeper program
EPA Registration approval AND the approved label & directions for use:CLICK HERE Rusty Burlew, Honey Bee Suite blog:CLICK HERE
Dr. Jamie Ellis Gahan Endowed Professor of Entomology Department of Entomology and Nematology at the University of Florida
As we continue the Varroa Mite conversation, it’s often said that you can’t “see” Varroa and if you do your mite infestation is so high your colony is doomed. Viruses and diseases are often the result of an overpopulation of Varroa mites and are easier to spot than the mites themselves. Therefore, identifying them can give you that clear indication action needs to be taken. Dr. Jamie Ellis does a very good job of describing exactly what you can “look and see” with your own eyes to aid in the health of your bees.
Signs of Disease
PHOTO CREDIT: THE FOOD AND ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH AGENCY (FERA), CROWN COPYRIGHT
This video gives a glimpse into Desert Creek Honey's extraction process prior to moving to a much larger facility, accommodating the growth and space requirements of the company.
Aside from the joy of beekeeping - honey harvesting is a reward beekeepers enjoy! Never-mind the size of your bee yard; honey extraction is a fun and exciting event for ALL!
Small Scale Honey Extraction
Small Scale Beekeepers make up a better part of the beekeeping community across Texas and nationwide. Home extraction was and is a viable method of reaping the benefits of successful beekeeping.
Large Scale Honey Extraction
It may be hard to believe, but your hives are preparing for winter RIGHT NOW! But wait, this article is titled “Summer Hive Care” Yep! What you do now will directly affect your bees going into and through winter. That may sound daunting but it’s not really. Following a simple schedule will ensure your bees have the help they need, and they will take care of the rest! To list the “components” of summer care, you have: Varroa Control Nutrition (feeding) Summer Boxes Keeping Hives Cool Water Sources Managing mean bees Equalizing hives The points highlighted in blue have been addressed in this issue or previous issues and are linked to take you straight to them. Let's get to the others. Nutrition Beyond Varroa control, nutrition tops the list as important intervention required by us. Keeping these few points in mind will make this portion easy. 30 lbs. stored honey in the second deep or 15 lbs. in a single deep – if you have anything less, feed. For those unclear on how to gauge weight of honey in your deep boxes – each frame fully capped front and back weighs approximately 10 lbs. Pollen diversity – as summer heats up, less and less pollen of value will be available for our bees. Feed pollen patties inside the hive to boost health and area-feed dry pollen to continue brood rearing. Water sources will diminish as rain becomes sparse. Provide your bees with a good dependable water source within 50 feet of their hives. Water is required to cool the hive and mix with honey to feed larvae. See “Trickle Feeding” Summer Boxes A key factor in beekeeping is to know when to add boxes and when to take them away. Often, we are better at one than the other! It’s common knowledge that we add boxes at the 80% full mark (whether that be brood boxes or honey supers). Most colonies will not require you “add” boxes at this point. Taking boxes away on the other hand can be a bit more complicated! In all reality the exact same 80% rule applies. As population peak turns to population decrease, due to the queen slowing her laying in the summer dearth, we need to take action if we now have too much unused space. If you find the hive has reduced enough to condense down to 1 deep (or 2 if you were at 3), the only frames you would want to eliminate are the “unused” frames - keeping brood in the center and resources to the outside. Keep in mind you would only do this if your colony has really reduced in size. For the most part, hives sustain their strength if we continue to feed and manage them well. Managing Mean Bees This should be a key topic for the August issue so I won’t elaborate…but I will say this – dearth will make colonies grouchy. Period! Other factors are: Hunger Queen issues Too many bees in 1 location Outside aggravation (varmints, weed eaters… etc.) Keep an eye out for the next issue where we dig much deeper into causes and remedies for mean hives. Equalizing hives We actually have the opportunity to equalize hives at various times of the year. Depending on what your hive needs, your actions will vary. But regardless, your donor hives need to have Varroa mites under control, be disease free and robust. Otherwise, you could put them in the same position as the needy colony – then where would you be? Right back to where you started! Equalize Brood Take a capped brood frame nearing emergence. This would be one of the darkest colored capped brood frames. Shake off the bees and leave them with the donor hive. Insert it left or right of the center of the needy colony. You will obviously have to remove a frame to have room for the new one. As long as the frame is Varroa and disease free you can trade it with the donor hive. Equalize Bees Choose an “open larvae” (uncapped) brood frame Either shake the nurse bees off at the donor hive or transport them with the frame. If transporting them, shake them off at the entrance to the needy colony but smoke just prior to doing so. These bees will be more readily accepted and go right in and get to work. Repeat up to 3 frames – BUT do so from various healthy hives. You wouldn’t want to stress another hive to help this one. Same applies with the frame(s) you remove as mentioned above. Equalize Honey? This one is easy… there is most often that over-achiever hive that has plenty of honey frames to share. Simply add to the outside of the brood nest of the needy colony. They will be happy to get it! Note: Adding new undrawn foundation is fine but consider they will have to draw the comb and non-stop feeding will be needed. Trickle feeding is ideal for this! Summer is hard on bees… and let’s face it – us too! Keep your bi-weekly hive check timely and act when you see an issue. Test and treat for Varroa if needed and keep feed on your bees until after dearth (at least). With all this – we’ll go into fall with healthy, happy bees!
Photo Credit: Randell Brown
Summer Hive Care
BeeInformed.org
Fun Fact: Honey bees use thermoregulation techniques to cool the hive. When the inside hive temperature goes above 95 F bees begin to take up fanning positions around the inside of the hive. In turn, when the temperature goes above 104 F, 30 (thirty) bees go to the landing and begin a fanning party - dividing themselves into quadrants to fan various spaces inside the hive. The warm stale air is replaced with cooler fresh air. Water placed in various locations in the hive plays a very important role in the exchange of air.
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Directions: Scrape or use a hot knife to remove cappings from honeycomb. Separate as much honey from the cappings as possible using the filtering bucket, or if you are using the cut comb and strain method, squeeze as much honey from the comb as possible. Add about an inch of water to your pot and add cappings. Heat the pot to about 180 degrees or until the cappings start melting (watch and stir the entire time! The wax will bubble up and overflow if not watched carefully.) Remove from heat and allow to cool. The wax will separate from the honey and water. Scrape the debris off of the bottom of the wax. Add water and wax to the pot again and heat. Repeat this process 3-5 times or until the wax looks filtered. Melt wax in a candle wax pitcher (I use the double boiler method). Pour wax through cheesecloth into the ice cube tray.
Meet George and Paige Nester! As fairly new beekeepers, they started Creek House Honey Farm in 2011 with just 2 hives. After expanding in 2020, they have over twenty employees including children Carley, Blake and Caiden and can be found in numerous retail locations such as Texas Bee Supply! They offer a full line of skin care products and honey, host bee tours and have an event rental facility at their farm. Here are some recipes they kindly shared in an article they wrote for us in August 2020. Most beekeepers have wax left from recent extractions, and with these simple recipes, you too can enjoy some wonderful skin care products from our own bees!
Products From the Hive
Candle wax pitcher Large Pot Glass measuring cup Filter bucket Filter Water
Beeswax Rendering Items Needed Wax Cappings Cheesecloth Old pot for wax (non-stick material work best) Old spatula or spoon for stirring Rubber ice cube tray Rubber band Sharp knife
Creek House Honey Farm products available online or in-store at TexasBeeSupply.com or for the full line of products visit CreekHouseHoneyFarm.com
Beeswax Lip Balm Recipe Yield: 20-25 .15 oz Lip Balm tubes Ingredients needed 1 oz. Beeswax 1.5 oz. Sweet Almond Oil 5 drops Vitamin E Oil 1.5 oz Cocoa Butter Items needed Glass measuring cup Pot 8 oz or 16 oz canning jar with lid Water 25 lip balm containers Instructions Measure all ingredients and add to the canning jar. Place in a pot full of water at 180 degrees and melt down. While you are waiting for it to melt, prepare your lip balm containers. Once melted, pour into a glass measuring cup with spout. Pour immediately into tubes.
Available at Texas Bee Supply locations and online at DesertCreekHoney.com
DESERT CREEK HONEY Raw.Unfiltered. 100% Real.
What's all the "Fizz" about?
Short of a “phenomenon,” this very rare occurrence has been spotted recently, as evidenced by the photo! What is it? It’s simply in-hive fermentation! With very little documentation on this subject, one is left only to speculate what is causing it - outside of the scientific explanation of fermentation. But why would this happen with the frame still in the hive and prior to being capped? Does the weather play a role? With the extreme heat the nation is experiencing - could it be heat? Possible moisture or the lack thereof in the hive? When asked - Blake Shook said, "I've seen this happen before - especially if water leaks into the hive. Also, if the hive is weak and can't cure nectar fast enough, it can happen. And, I've seen it randomly in strong hives too! But I've only seen it in southeast Texas... never anywhere else." What we do know – this is not honey you would want to eat nor should your bees. Yes, bees can get drunk on fermented honey! Will it hurt them? Not likely in small amounts, but it does affect their ability to be “bees.” You wouldn’t want your bees stumbling out the door to go to work, would you? Therefore, if you find a frame or two of “fizzy honey,” simply shake the frame(s) out away from the hive and return it to the hive. What little is left in the frame won’t hurt them. Now you know!
Answer to Pop Quiz
YIELD:Makes 6 servings INGREDIENTS For Dressing: 2 T - extra virgin olive oil 1 tsp. - lime zest 2 T - honey 4 T - lime juice For Salad: 4 cups - watermelon, cubed 1 - English cucumber, sliced and quartered 1/3 cup - fresh mint, thinly sliced 1/3 cup - feta, crumbled sea salt to taste (optional) DIRECTIONS In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, zest, honey and lime juice. Put the cubed watermelon, cucumber and fresh mint into a medium bowl and gently toss. Drizzle dressing over watermelon and then top with crumbled feta. Add sea salt to taste, if desired. Recipe courtesy of Mitzi Dulan, RD, CSSD, made for the National Honey Board
WATERMELON CUCUMBER SALAD WITH HONEY LIME DRESSING
Webinar Q&A
I'm ready for my Summer Bees!
DALLAS, HOUSTON AND AUSTIN AREA!
SUMMER BEES
Some GREAT questions from the last Webinar meeting! Click on the button below to read them all!
Check out our last Webinar!
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Hunt County Beekeepers Association 2nd Tuesday each month @ 6:30 American Legion Post 4509 Moulton St. Greenville, TX 75401
Walker County Beekeepers Association 1402 19th Street Huntsville, TX 77340 Last Thursday of each month Q & A on the front porch at 6:30, meeting at 7:00 PM
Denton County Beekeepers Association Meets the 2nd Tuesday of each month both in-person and on zoom! Details on www.dentonbees.com and on Facebook
Williamson Co Beekeepers Association 4th Tuesday of each month at the Georgetown library in Georgetown. Zoom attendance also available. Click Here for more info
Elm Fork Beekeepers 3rd Thursday each month in person or Zoom at the VFW Hall in Gainsville, TX. Go to: elmforkbeekeepers.org for Zoom link
Tri-County Beekeepers Association 4th Tuesday @ 5:30 pm of each month Sam's Restaurant - Fairfield, TX
Lamar County Beekeepers Association Meets 1st Thursday each month at 6:30 Red River Valley Fairground - Building B Paris, Texas
Montgomery County Beekeepers Association 3rd Monday of each month 9020 Airport Rd. Conroe, TX 77303 Non-members welcome! www.mocobees.com
Kaufman Area Beekeepers Association Second Tuesday each month at 6:30 pm United Methodist Church, 208 S. Houston St. Kaufman, TX New Beekeepers Q & A 5:45-6:15
Comal County BeeKeepers Association First Thursday each month at 6:30 - 7:00 dinner - 7:00 - 8:30 meeting Beefy's on the Green - Spring Branch, TX
Pineywoods Beekeepers Association 2nd Thursday each month Lufkin Angelina County Chamber of Commerce 1615 S. Chestnut Lufkin, TX
Hill County Beekeepers Association In - Person meetings every 3rd Tuesday of the month 6:30 at Hill County Annex Office, Hillsboro, TX
Wood County Beekeepers Association 1st Tuesday of the month at 7:00 pm! The current meeting location is the Winnsboro Civic Center
Travis County Beekeepers Association 1st Monday 7-9 pm Zilker Botanical Garden ~ Gift Shop 2220 Barton Springs Rd. Autin, TX 78746 www.TravisCountyBeekeepers.org
Harris County Beekeepers 4th Tuesday each month - 6:30 Meet & Greet - 7:00 meetings start - 5001 W. Oak, Pasadena TX 77504 Harris County Beekeepers Association
Your Club Announcement Could Be HERE!
Austin Area Beekeepers Association Third Thursday each month at 7:00 pm Frickett Scout Center For meeting details CLICK HERE!
Fort Bend Beekeepers 2nd Tuesday of each month (except Dec) in person or online. Bud O'Shieles Community Center 1330 band Road, Rosenberg, TX
Hays County Beekeepers Association In - Person meetings every 3rd Wednesday of the month 6:30 -9pm at Suds Monkey Brewing Company - 12024 US-290, Austin, TX
Need a Guest Speaker for your Club? Contact us for details!
Central Texas Beekeepers Association Washington County Fairgrounds VIP room 4th Thursday of each month, 7:00 pm CentralTexasBeekeepers.org
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Houston Beekeepers Association 3rd Tuesday each month in person at Bayland Community Center, 6400 Bissonnet St Houston, TX 77074 HoustonBeekeepers.org
Liberty County Beekeepers Association First Tuesday each month at 6:30 Texas Bee Supply in Dayton/Huffman For more information go to LibertyCountyBeekeepers.org
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What did the bee say to the flower? Hi Honey!
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