2010 Monthly Meetings | Oglethorpe County Bee Club

2010 MONTHLY MEETINGS

We have a meeting each month. There is a short business session and a program led by a local or regional beekeeper about some aspect of beekeeping which should be of interest for both novice and experienced beekeepers. And there is always time for discussion of what is happening with our colonies and other subjects volunteered by our audience.

The short summaries of each of the programs on this and archived pages should give you a good idea of the kinds of subjects we think important for local beekeepers and of the breadth of experience of the members of our community. Please contact us if you want more information about a past program, would like contact information, or if you would consider sharing your own experience with us.

Please join us the third Monday of each month at 7:00 pm. The Oglethorpe County Farm Bureau in Crawford very kindly provides the excellent space.

20 DECEMBER 2010 MEETING
Minutes of the Meeting

The Oglethorpe County Bee Club met Monday, December 20 at 7 pm at the Oglethorpe County Farm Bureau on 925 Athens Road (US-78) in Crawford. Officers and Committee Chairpersons provided a review of the accomplishments of our first full calender year.

For more information, contact beeclub@ocbeeclub.org.
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15 NOVEMBER 2010 MEETING
Minutes of the Meeting

The Oglethorpe County Bee Club met on Monday, November 15 at 7 pm at the Oglethorpe County Farm Bureau on 925 Athens Road (US-78) in Crawford. Members brought dishes and drinks made with honey for a Harvest Meal.

Glenn Galau, Secretary of the Club, gave a brief overview of bee plants; plants that you can grow to provide some extra nectar and pollen for your own or your neighborhood's honey bees and other pollinators. He discussed the characteristics to look for, but did not as yet have a comprehensive list for our region. Glenn is a professor in the Plant Biology Department at UGA and teaches a variety of undergraduate and graduate courses in plant biology and ecology.
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18 OCTOBER 2010 MEETING
Minutes of the Meeting

The Oglethorpe County Bee Club met Monday, October 18 at 7 pm at the Oglethorpe County Farm Bureau on 925 Athens Road (US-78) in Crawford.

Jennifer Berry, Research Coordinator and Lab Manager at the University of Georgia Bee Lab outside Watkinsville, gave a presentation about the research at the bee lab and its applications to the hobby beekeeper.

To quote from the above on-line cv, "She is actively involved in all aspects of honey bee research and education for the state of Georgia. Her primary areas of research have been a queen breeding program and Integrated Pest Management work for varroa mite control. The breeding project is a long term program in which resistant stock is continually selected for as well as traits for honey production, brood production and gentleness."

Jennifer travels extensively and speaks to local, state, national and international beekeeping associations. She was 2006 President of the Eastern Apicultural Society and successfully held that year's meeting in Young Harris, Georgia. She writes a monthly article for Bee Culture magazine."

She outlined the methods and the results of a two-year study of several mitacides, including several that are used 'off label' by commercial beekeepers. To this listener, it appeared that no treatment tested was without some detrimentantal effect on a colony. Jennifer also described a study, now in its second year, testing the extent to which powdered sugar applications reduce varroa mites. Finally, she reported that the Bee Lab had recently won a large collaborative grant to study managment practices for small hive beetle control and that they needed several local places to house 20-30 hives and would welcome the loan of hives to the Bee Lab for two years. They would be managed for honey production, with frames given to the owner for extraction.

Jennifer Berry helping to distribute Nucs, 13 April 2010
Photo by Glenn Galau © 2010 back to top

20 SEPTEMBER 2010 MEETING
Minutes of the Meeting

Special Meeting this month of the Oglethorpe County Bee Club!
The Oglethorpe County Bee Club met on Monday, September 20 at the Oglethorpe County Farm Bureau on 925 Athens Road (US-78) in Crawford.

There was a covered dish dinner at 6 pm that was very well received. The food was tasty and plentiful, with lots of leftovers going back home for the remainder of the week.

Lena Franklin and Samantha, a granddaughter, talked about getting kids involved in beekeeping. Lena is herself a long-time beekeeper, and more recently a certified beekeeper, and contributes to beekeeping in many other roles, including conducting outreach programs in local schools and as the Librarian of the Eastern Piedmont Beekeepers Association. They showed us the displays and demos that they use and Lena described her experience with several models of observation hives. A very interesting talk and another example of the many ways in which beekeepers can contribute to our community.

Photos by Glenn Galau © 2010 back to top

Several of our members attended the recent two-day annual meeting at The Calloway Gardens of the Georgia Beekeepers Association on 17 and 18 September. Members learned about organic beekeeping, the Feral Bee Project, and Russian bees among other topics. Three entered their honeys in the state-wide competition of the State Honey Awards Contest.

(L-R) Wanda O'Callaghan won 3rd place in the 'Black Jar' for best tasting honey, Betty Ward won 2nd place for light amber honey, and Carol Williamson won 2nd place for dark amber honey. This is quite an achievement, because they have been only keeping bees since April, and this was their first honey show. They had earlier received enthusiastic encouragement to do so from Virginia Webb, who had only a month earlier told the Club all about the ins and outs of showing honey.

Photo by Glenn Galau © 2010 back to top

The club brought home another award from GBA. It received a grant of $250 awarded to new bee clubs which are well organized and will promote beekeeping and honey in their local areas. Keith Fielder, County Extension agent in Putnam County and GBA representative, presented the grant request at the Board of Directors meeting on 16 September. OCBC Officers Carol Willamson and Betty Ward represented the club.

Other OCBC members who attended the conference were Agatha Coggins, Clarence Coggins, and Duncan Gannon.
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16 AUGUST 2010 MEETING
Minutes of the Meeting

The Oglethorpe County Bee Club met on Monday, August 16 at 7 p.m. at the Oglethorpe County Farm Bureau on 925 Athens Road (US-78) in Crawford.

Before the meeting started, Frank Alexander, Packaging Consultant for Inmark Inc., described his company and showed us several of its products. Inmark is a container distributer and plans within the year to be the major supplier of honey containers to commercial and hobyist honey producers. They have at present a modest line of glass and plastic jars, honey bears, and buckets. Frank encouraged us to inquire after containers not yet offered by the company; the request would be evaluated and the company would try to find the product and add it to their line at an attractive price. Volumn discounts are not as yet published, but are planned to be in the near future. Contact Frank for these and other details. Contact information is on the product description and price list here.

Our speakers for the evening were Virginia and Carl Webb of MtnHoney. They have won many awards in local, state, national and international honey shows. Over the past 15 years, they have received more than 100 1st Place Awards including 20 Best of Show Awards for honey and beeswax entries. In 2005 at the first ever World Honey Show held in Dublin, Ireland the Webb's Sourwood Honey won "Best Honey in the World". Again in 2009, at the World Honey Show, held in Montpellier, France, the Webb's Sourwood Honey won the Gold Medal for "Best Honey in the World". They are the only beekeepers to win this award twice. Their Web site is MtnHoney.com.

Virginia is also a judge at many shows in which she is not a contestant. She put on her judging lab coat and cap and kept the crowd enthralled as she described the various categories of honey, chunk honey, boxed comb, wax and wax candles and how they were to be prepared and packaged for judging. For each she had examples and stories of good and not-so-good entries.

Apparently the honey is not tasted in these categories, although candle entries are lit to see how they burn. Judging of taste is reserved for the final category, the Black Jar category. Here the presentation is less important; it is what is inside that counts.

She encouraged us to show our honey at a Honey Show associated with the upcoming 17 and 18 September meeting of the Georgia Beekeepers Association. In particular, since one's own honey is by definition the best tasting, Virginia said we should at least have some entries in that category.

It was truely an outstanding presentation. So much so that the photographers in the audience were so engrossed that they forgot to take pictures! So we have none of our own. The one below is from their website.

http://mtnhoney.com back to top

19 JULY 2010 MEETING
Minutes of the Meeting

The Oglethorpe County Bee Club met Monday, July 19 at 7 p.m. at the Oglethorpe County Farm Bureau on 925 Athens Road (US-78) in Crawford.

Becky Collins showed everyone how to make rolled beeswax candles. A triangular piece of wax sheet is rolled around a wick. It is really that 'simple'. The details are in where to get the colored wax foundation, the design of the candle and the shape of the wax sheet.

Becky Collins lives in Eatonton, Georgia. She is the Coordinator for the Discovery Program and Animal Care Specialist at the Rock Eagle 4-H Center in southern Oconne County. Becky became interested in bees while taking care of Rock Eagle's observation hive and has been an avid beekeeper since 2007. We were very pleased she joined the group for the evening.

21 JUNE 2010 MEETING
Minutes of the Meeting

The Oglethorpe County Bee Club met Monday, June 21 at 7 p.m. at the Oglethorpe County Farm Bureau on 925 Athens Road (US-78) in Crawford.

A certificate of congratulations was awarded by the Club to Gray, member Betty Ward's grandson, for "his outstanding participation and achievement in the 2010 Georgia 4-H District Project Achievement for his presentation on bees and beekeeping." Also shown is Chairperson Agatha Coggins and Program Chairperson Betty Ward.

Photos by Glenn Galau © 2010 back to top

Deborah Sasser and Charles Lynn described how they care for bees throughout the year at Sasserfrass Hill Bee Farms in Augusta Georgia.

Deborah is a television producer and photographer who was introduced to beekeeping several years ago by Charles, a master beekeeper who has kept bees for over thirty-five years. Deborah then took the beekeepers certification class through the Aiken Beekeepers Association in South Carolina and started keeping bees in 2008. They take care of about 70 hives and provide bee removal and bee venom therapy services. The Farms sell honey, lotion bars and lip balm. You may contact Deborah through the website or at (706) 855 5440.

Charles had helpful details of virtually all aspects of beekeeping. Of special interest is his use of 6 mil clear plastic sheeting in place of a conventional inner cover to aid in the control of hive beetles. Just remove the outer cover and squash the hive beetles that are between the tops of the frames and the plastic and replace the outer cover. The bees do the cleanup. He related how he manages colonies for maximum honey production, mostly by having very strong colonies at the start of the first honey flow. Colonies are fed in January; queen cells are removed every week; and many other methods are used to accomplish it.

He also described how he administers bee venom therapy and the remarkable response of his clients. He also advocated eating honey every day for better health.

Deborah showed remarkable photos of bees, hive management techniques, bee removal operations, and venom therapy. A very interesting evening and we appreciate their coming!

17 MAY 2010 MEETING
Minutes of the Meeting

The Oglethorpe County Bee Club met on Monday, May 17 at 7 p.m. at the Oglethorpe County Farm Bureau on 925 Athens Road (US-78) in Crawford.

Members and visitors discussed our participation in the Winterville Marigold Festival the preceeding weekend. Our booth was well attended and we judged that we did a good job in interesting many people to consider beekeeping. It also attracted beginning and more experienced beekeepers. Our taste-testing display was again a great success. Many visitors were disappointed that we had only one kind of honey for sale and others were more interested in obtaining very local honey. That was all progress, because last year we did not any honey for sale. We promised that next year we would have our own honey.

We also talked about our individual colonies and questions by several beginning beekeepers at the meeting.
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19 APRIL 2010 MEETING
Minutes of the Meeting

The Oglethorpe County Bee Club met Monday, April 19 at 7 p.m. at the Oglethorpe County Farm Bureau on 925 Athens Road (US-78) in Crawford.

Does one require a license to keep honeybees? Can a county restrict honeybee production or maintenance? The answers to these questions and many more were provided by guest speaker Bill Owens.

Bill Owens presented a program titled "Bee Laws and Regulations in Georgia." Having learned about honeybees from his dad, Owens converted his single hive hobby into a successful business. In addition to honey production, Owens' business Georgia Bee Removal removes unwelcome honeybee colonies from homes and businesses around the state. Owens has served as chairman of the Eastern Piedmont Beekeepers Association, president of the Georgia Beekeepers Association, and vice president of the Eastern Apicultural Society. In 2006 Owens became the first beekeeper in Georgia to earn the highest certification: Master Craftsman Beekeeper, a title which he alone still holds.

Contact information: Bill Owens
Master Craftsman Beekeeper
Georgia Bee Removal
404-516-1807
www.GaBeeRemoval.com back to top

15 MARCH 2010 MEETING
Minutes of the Meeting

The Oglethorpe County Bee Club met Monday, March 15 at 7 p.m. at the Oglethorpe County Farm Bureau on 925 Athens Road (US-78) in Crawford.

Beekeeper Cyndi Ball presented a very interesting program entitled "Honey - not just a sweetener." It mainly concerned its medicinal uses, in particular as a dressing for wounds and burns and as a treatment for various skin conditions.

Cyndi lives on a 7 acre farm where she and her family raise their own meat, grow their own vegetables and fruit, use the goat's milk to drink and make cheese with, and have fresh eggs from their chickens. Their experiences with homesteading, organic farming, homeschooling, and more are detailed at www.thelazybfarm.com, the blog lazybfarm.wordpress.com and other venues.

She has been beekeeping for 5 years and received her certification for beekeeping in May 2009. She also hosts a beekeeping course at her place, The Lazy B Farm in Statham, GA, in which Bill Owens and she instruct a series of 5 three-hour monthly classes for those who are serious about beekeeping as a hobby and want to acquire their own bees. It started this past year in November; the classes begin with the very basics and build up until you attend the Honey Harvest in June. Several members of the Oglethorpe County Bee Club are now taking the excellent course.
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15 FEBRUARY 2010 MEETING
Minutes of the Meeting

The speaker for the meeting was J. Keith Fielder, County Coordinator and Agent, Putnam County Cooperative Extension. He has held several offices in the Georgia Beekeepeer's Association; presently he is the Middle District Director.

Keith made extensive comments about the conditions of the one-time $ 250 grant from the Georgia Beekeeper's Association to new Beekeeping Organizations, the upcoming Young Harris Beekeeping Institute, and honey extractors.

Application to the Georgia Beekeeper's Association should be to President David Reed and should include: a Charter/By Laws; membership; minutes; previous programs; and proposed programs. The money should be used for education or advertizing. The Board of Directors must approve the request; they next meet in mid May.

He described changes to the format of the Young Harris Institute this summer, in particular discarding the two, beginners and advanced, tracts and he listed several of the instructors. Registration is through the UGA Bee Lab website and fills up rapidly.

Keith recommended a nine-frame, hand-driven radial extractor as the most efficient and fairly inexpensive honey extractor.

After the Business Meeting, Keith Fielder demonstrated how to assemble hive boxes, inner covers and frames. He was very particular about several items: Use a good waterproof glue on all adjoining surfaces; he very highly recommended Franklin Titebond III.
Use galvenized spiral nails for the boxes.
No need to carefully remove surplus glue; just spread it out.
Use extra nails on boxes and frames, tangential or perpendicular to the principal nails, to avoid the woodenware from pulling apart.
Three coats of exterior latex enamel. Thread boxes through an elevated, horizontal rope for ease of painting.
Paint the landing pad of wooden bottom boards, though he now uses IPM bottom boards year around. If wooden IPM bottom boards, paint all wooden parts inside and out.
Do not use Dura-guilt foundation (an embossed layer of wax on a relatively smooth plastic sheet). Use embossed plastic foundation lightly coated with wax, either by the manufacturer or yourself.

18 JANUARY 2010 MEETING
Minutes of the Meeting

Paul Smith, Chairman of the Eastern Piedmont Beekeepers Association and a hobby beekeeper for over 30 years, gave a presentation entitled "Honeybees and Your Good Health" in which he discussed the nutritional and medicinal properties of honey and other hive products.
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Modified 19 December 2010 by Glenn Galau | Web Design by Glenn Galau