2011 MONTHLY MEETINGS
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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. A link to directions to the Farm Bureau is available on the left sidebar.
19 DECEMBER 2011 MEETING
Minutes of the Meeting
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The Oglethorpe County Bee Club met on Monday, 19 December at 7 pm at the Oglethorpe County Farm Bureau on 925 Athens Road (US-78) in Crawford.
Award to Outgoind Chairperson Agatha Coggins
Secretary Glenn Galau gave some brief remarks about the over two years that Agatha Coggins has tirelessly served as the Chairperson of the Club. He noted the outstanding progress the Club has made from its beginnings in mid 2009 and attributed it in large part to Agatha and the officers she helped recruit. He then presented her with a stainless steel handtool engraved with the words:
Agatha Coggins
O.C.B.C. Chairperson
2009 - 2011
The award was largely the work of Betty Ward.
Election of Officers for 2012
The following were appproved by unanimous vote of the members: Gordon 'Tick' Bufford for Chairperson; Kevin Strawser for Vice-Chairperson and also for Program Chairperson; Glenn Galau for Secretary; Duncan Gannon for Treasurer; and Tony Sheppard for Communications Chairperson (aided by Wanda O'Callaghan as Communications Vice-Chairperson).
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21 NOVEMBER 2011 MEETING
Minutes of the Meeting
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The Oglethorpe County Bee Club met on Monday, 21 November at 7 pm at the Oglethorpe County Farm Bureau on 925 Athens Road (US-78) in Crawford.
Our guest speaker was Linda Tillman who talked about Low-Tech Beekeeping. The following is taken from her blog:
Linda Tillman has been interested in beekeeping since the 70s when she checked out all the books she could find in the Nashville library on how to have bees in your backyard. With raising children, finishing graduate school, and starting a career along the way, she didn't actually begin keeping bees until 2006.
Linda now has hives at her home and maintains hives at two community gardens. To keep records of her beekeeping experiences, Linda started an Internet blog in April 2006 when she installed her first nucs (www.beekeeperlinda.com). She writes about her beekeeping learning experiences, her mistakes and her successes. On her blog she demonstrates her passion for natural beekeeping, using no poisons and foundationless frames, among other natural beekeeping practices. She has made and posted videos on basic beekeeping skills such as inspecting a hive, harvesting honey without an extractor, using a simple solar wax melter, and other topics. She posts frequently on her blog which is visited by people from all over the world, gets about 750 visits a day in busy season, and has almost 1000 subscribers.
Linda has been interviewed for Internet podcasts and on Atlanta radio programs. She has given talks and workshops big and small, from local garden clubs, scout troops, and school groups in the Atlanta area to the Southeast Organic Beekeepers Conference in West Palm Beach, Florida. One of her favorite activities is mentoring new beekeepers. As a Director on the Metro Atlanta Beekeepers Association Board, one way in which Linda mentors others is through working with new beekeepers in Metro's hands-on hive inspection program.
When she is not enjoying her sideline interest in beekeeping, Linda has a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Vanderbilt University and is in private practice in midtown Atlanta. She also teaches in Emory's Department of Rehabilitative Medicine where she trains doctoral students in physical therapy to communicate well with their patients.
Linda uses only 8-frame medium boxes. This is for interchangeability, lower weight and more honey. The only downside is that one must start with package bees rather than nucs because nucs always use deep boxes.
She does not use foundation except for a narrow strip so that only 1/2 to 3/4 inch is exposed. In this respect the setup is very much like a top-bar hive. She had extensive comments about the wax tubes that are used to cement the strip into the foundation and has a video on how to use them properly. Linda also recommends replacing comb every year. Linda also demonstrated a very inexpensive solar wax melter and how to melt and purify wax.
There were plenty of other tips, including the use of Sonny-Mel beetle traps and robber/migratory screens. Of interest was her use of bee drapes to limit the exposure of frames when one is examining a colony. Use flour sack towels over those frames not being worked. They have a very tight weave that prevents entanglement of the bees and greatly reduces stress on the colony.
A delightful and very informative evening. Check out her blog and videos for more details.
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Photos by Glenn Galau © 2011
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17 OCTOBER 2011 MEETING
Minutes of the Meeting
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The Oglethorpe County Bee Club met on Monday, 17 October at 7 pm at the Oglethorpe County Farm Bureau on 925 Athens Road (US-78) in Crawford.
Our speaker for the evening was Bob Binnie of the Blue Ridge Honey Company of Lakemont GA. In addition to managing a thousand colonies in northeast and southern Georgia and western North Carolina, Bob has been President of the Georgia State Beekeepers Association, a member of its Board of Directors, President of the Northeast GA. Mountain Beekeepers Association, and in 2003 he was awarded the Georgia State Beekeeper of the Year by the Georgia State Beekeepers Association.
We were delighted that he returned for another visit, the first being in 2009 when the Club was just organizing. In recognition of all the many things he has done for the Club, and frankly for also being a heck of a nice guy, he was recently awarded an Honorary Membership in the Club and after his talk Carol Williamson presented him with a framed certificate in recognition of this honor. We were pleased that his wife Suzette joined us for the evening.
It was a very informal presentation, which he opened by reading a passage from Fifty Years among the Bees by C.C. Miller (reissued in paperback by Dover Publications). Bob noted that beekeeping is 50% science and 50% art. To be successful, one must have an inventive mind to meet its challenges. The bees always keep you thinking.
Bob said the beekeeper's year starts in August when there is active management to ensure survival of the colony and its making the highest number of bees early in the year for maximum honey production.
Control of mites helps in achieving maximum numbers of bees. If possible, treat when there is little or no brood, but mites must be controlled all year as a routine part of beekeeping. He recommended scientific beekeeping com as a source of more information. Formic acid and oxalic acid leave almost no residue and are effective, but oxalic acid is illegal to use in the US (but not in Canada). Thymol (Apigard) leaves some residue. Bob had some preliminary experience with Mitaway Quick Strips, recommending a dosage of one strip for a one-story brood box colony and two strips for more than one-story brood box colony. Two strips for one brood box is way too much. Bob had not yet tried Hopgard.
Bob will do 3000 nucs next year and is now only a wholesaler for quantities above 25. He also related several other practices for fall and spring management.
As before, a charming and informative evening!
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Photo by Glenn Galau © 2011
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19 SEPTEMBER 2011 MEETING
Minutes of the Meeting
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The Oglethorpe County Bee Club met on Monday, 19 September at 7 pm at the Oglethorpe County Farm Bureau on 925 Athens Road (US-78) in Crawford.
Our speaker for the evening was Dan Harris of Booger Hill Bee Company of Danielsville and Marietta. From the company webpage comes the following biography: "A decade ago I returned to school at the University of Georgia to work on a degree in horticulture. In the process, I took an elective 'Bee Biology and Management' and was bitten by the bug ... figuratively and literally. In addition to the apiary and bee outyards [of the company], I also organized a comprehensive annual training program that gives the aspiring beekeeper the fundamentals needed to establish and maintain a colony of honey bees."
Dan talked about Varroa mite; how to check for them and how to treat for them.
You want your bees healthy and have heavy hives before winter. A hive should have 50 lbs. of honey in late fall to last until spring.
Powdered sugar is not effective to get rid of mites, only at best to control them. If one follows Jennifer Berry's powdered sugar protocol, that may work to keep them knocked down all year.
Mites are immune to Apistan (fluvalinate), so avoid using it, it's not effective. Also, beeswax absorbs the poison and then it becomes poisonous to developing brood.
Checkmite (neurotoxin Coumaphos) is not effective.
Use a sticky board and do a drop test for a mite count to make sure the mite population is not out of hand. Place the board under the hive for 24 or 48 (divide by 2) hours. If more than 60 mites per day, you should treat. If you have a solid board, place a screen over your sticky board.
To do a sugar roll, using a plastic jar (a clean peanut butter jar; mark a 1/2 cup line on the side with a black marker) with a screened top, add 2 tablespoons of powered sugar and 1/2 cup of bees (about 300 bees). Use bees off brood frames. Roll the bees a few minutes and pour out and count mites. If there are 10 or more mites, treat.
Use Apiguard (thymol-based). Place on top of brood frames and add shims. Leave for 2 weeks and remove, add another. Total treatment time is 4 weeks.
READ ALL INFORMATION WHENEVER YOU USE THESE MITE TREATMENTS.
HopGuard is new. It is made from one of the organic acids found in the hop plant, Humulus lupulus. Dan will try it next year.
If the hive needs emergency feeding in the winter, place a newspaper on top of the frames, add granulated sugar, spray with water and close up.
He typically harvests honey late March to the end of June. He may get a bit more during the end of August to mid-October.
A very informative evening, and we thank him for coming!
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15 AUGUST 2011 MEETING
Minutes of the Meeting
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The Oglethorpe County Bee Club met on Monday, 15 August at 7 pm at the Oglethorpe County Farm Bureau on 925 Athens Road (US-78) in Crawford.
Our speaker for the evening was Wanda O'Callaghan. Wanda is a charter member of the Oglethorpe County Bee Club and has hosted many workshops with her hives in which we learned the basics of beekeeping. She is also the first of our members to become a Certified Beekeeper.
Wanda talked about her recent extended visit to Honeypie Hives and Herbals in a presentation entitled "Can Beekeeping be a Business?" This summer Wanda spent 2 weeks with her niece's family in Prince Edward County, Ontario, Canada. The family has over 70 honeybee hives. Wanda explained how this family of four has become self-supporting with their business of beekeeping over the last ten years.
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18 JULY 2011 MEETING
Minutes of the Meeting
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The Oglethorpe County Bee Club met on Monday, 18 July at 7 pm at the Oglethorpe County Farm Bureau on 925 Athens Road (US-78) in Crawford.
Damon Wallace was our guest speaker. He is a native of Georgia, and a graduate of the University of Georgia as an Agricultural Engineer, living in Opelika, Alabama for the past 20 years. He has been active in beekeeping for the past 9 years. His beekeeping leadership roles include the Founding Vice President of his local beekeeping association, President of that club, Board of Directors Member of the Alabama Beekeeping Association, current Vice President of the Alabama Beekeepers Association, Master Beekeeper - University of Georgia / Young Harris College Bee Institute, and is a Certified Welsh Honey Judge. Damon loves to talk any honey bee topic to anyone or any group for as long as the folks hang around. He produces extracted honey, comb honey, candles and beeswax based cosmetics for distribution at special agriculture related events, as well from the homeplace back door.
He showed us how to make a skin cream from beeswax, olive oil, water, borax, Vitamin E and Tea Tree Oil. It was indeed an entertaining and informative evening. Here are the directions:
Skin Cream
8 ounces (by weight) colorless Olive Oil
2.5 ounces (by weight) purified Beeswax
2/3 cup (by volumn) Distilled Water
1 teaspoon (by volumn) cosmetic grade Borax
5 drops Tea Tree Oil
5 drops 400 mg/ml Vitamin E Oil (from capsules)
15 drops Essential Fragrance Oil (optional)
Four 1 cup glass containers to hold ingredients
One 2 cup glass container to mix ingredients
Scissors to cut open Vitamin E Capsules
Small container to collect Vitamin E Oil
Kitchen Scale
Water Bath to hold the five large glass containers
(An electrical double boiler or a water-filled pan on range element)
Candy or Meat Thermometer
Whisk
Eye droppers or narrow straws
Teaspoon
Product Containers to hold about 2 cups (16 ounces) of cream
Pot Holders
Paper Towels
Add somewhat more than the required amount of olive oil to a glass container. Do the same with the beeswax and
the distilled water.
Place each of the three containers in the heated water bath
Place the empty 2 cup and 1 cup containers in the water bath
Allow the beeswax to melt and let any impurities settle to the bottom
Collect the Vitamin E Oil
Add the Water to the empty 1 cup container, mix in the Borax until dissolved, and return to the water bath
Tarr the mixing container on the balance and add 8 ounces of the Olive Oil
Quickly add 5 drops of the Tea Tree Oil to the mixing container using Eye Dropper or Straw
Quickly add 5 drops of the Vitamin E Oil to the mixing container using Eye Dropper or Straw
Wisk briefly
Retarr the mixing container and carefully decant 2.5 ounces of the Beeswax into the mixing container
Briefly wisk the mixture
Add the Borax-containing Water to the mixing container
Return the mixing container to the water bath to keep its contents near 140 oF
Turn off the double boiler or the range element to avoid burns
Wisk the mixture until completely smooth and white in color
(If desired, add Fragrance and mix it in well)
Rapidly pour mixture into the product containers; do not cap until completely cooled
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Photos by Glenn Galau © 2011
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20 JUNE 2011 MEETING
Minutes of the Meeting
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The Oglethorpe County Bee Club met on Monday, 20 June at 7 pm at the Oglethorpe County Farm Bureau on 925 Athens Road (US-78) in Crawford.
Our guest speaker was J. Keith Fielder. Keith was one of our first guest speakers back on 15 February 2010. Keith Fielder is 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 of the Association.
The program concentrated on the biology of the honeybee, which must be understood in order to avoid many problems beekeepers have. It was a very informative evening and we thank Keith for again being with us.
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Photo by Glenn Galau © 2011
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16 MAY 2011 MEETING
Minutes of the Meeting
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The Oglethorpe County Bee Club met on Monday, 16 May at 7 pm at the Oglethorpe County Farm Bureau on 925 Athens Road (US-78) in Crawford.
Our speaker was Robert Brewer, Jr. He is the County Coordinator of the Towns County Extension Office in Hiawassee, and has been a beekeeper since 1991. Robert was a co-founder of the annual Young Harris-UGA Beekeeping Institute and coordinates the Georgia Master Beekeeper Program. He is also a Certified International Honey Judge. He was recently awarded the 2010 Georgia Beekeeper of the Year by the Georgia Beekeepers Association. Please see his bio for more information.
Robert gave a detailed explanation of honey shows, how they are judged and how to prepare entries. There are a wide variety of categories from honey, to chunk and cut comb, frames, wax, to candles and more, each with their own set of rules for submission and judging. We thank him for a very interesting presentation.
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18 APRIL 2011 MEETING
Minutes of the Meeting
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Our guest speaker was John Newman, a long-time member of the Eastern Piedmont Beekeeping Association who often gives talks and demonstrations to local schools and organizations. John has been keeping bees for over 23 years and even often makes some money at it! His bees have been chemical free for ten years. He related how he manages hives for maximum honey production and showed us his demonstration hive. The hive was fascinating in its construction and was the hit of the evening.
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21 MARCH 2011 MEETING
Minutes of the Meeting
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The Oglethorpe County Bee Club met on Monday, 21 March at 7 pm at the Oglethorpe County Farm Bureau on 925 Athens Road (US-78) in Crawford.
The guest speaker was Bill Owens of Owens Apiary and Georgia Bee Removal. 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. He is presently webmaster for the Georgia Beekeepers Association. In 2006 Owens became the first beekeeper in Georgia to earn the highest certification: Master Craftsman Beekeeper, a title which he alone still holds.
Bill talked about Africanized Honey Bees in Georgia. The first Africanized colony was discovered in Albany in October 2010. It was a feral colony in a greek column that had been removed intact from a residence the prior winter and was being moved to a burn pile with a bulldozer. It broke open and the bees attacked the operator. He ran 60-75 yards before collapsing and dying. Subsequent surveys interviews by the State Agriculture Department found two additional colonies. One had been in and out of Florida, originally from Bee Weavers of Texas. The second derived from a swarm cap;tured by a person who was able to fully document everything about it except of course from where it issued. There has been more sampling, including the use of disposible swarm traps (paper mache' containers, baited with Lemon Grass oil, which are designed to be burned to destroy the swarm). No other Africanized colonies have been discovered.
Bill said it was just a matter of time before much of Georgia will have Africanized bees. He emphasized that there is a huge difference in the behavior of Africanized and Nonafricanized colonies, one which is easily recognized. Bill suggested several changes in how beekeepers handle swarms and colonies that will help protect beekeepers, family and neighbors and will also slow the northern advance of Africanized bees.
Buy queens, packages, and nucs from reputable sellers. Mark queens. Immediately replace queens in aggressive colonies. Use PPE (Personal Protective Equipment), including boot bands. If attacked, go to an enclosed area such as a vehicle or structure. Educate your family and immediate neighbors.
Assume a swarm is Africanized. All swarms are docile, including those from Africanized colonies. Isolate the contained swarm in an outyard until it is known not to be Africanized. Do not drop your guard around such a colony until it is very obvious that it is not Africanized.
Be very careful with feral colonies. Again, assume them to be Africanized until demonstrated to be otherwise. Contact a professional to have them removed or destroyed. Some juristictions already demand destroying all feral colonies and Bill thought that would eventually be be true as well in Georgia.
Be a good neighbor as well as a good beekeeper. Do not have more than 3-5 hives per residential lot. Include them within a fence if at all possible. Have hives placed so that flight paths are up and away from occupied buildings. Keep them from swarming by giving them room as they expand and by cutting out swarm cells and doing splits. Keep complete records for each hive. Provide water within the beeyard. Free honey to neighbors.
Finally, consider buying liability insurance.
Contact information:
Bill Owens
Master Craftsman Beekeeper
Georgia Bee Removal
404-516-1807
www.GaBeeRemoval.com
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21 FEBRUARY 2011 MEETING
Minutes of the Meeting
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The Oglethorpe County Bee Club met Monday, 21 February at 7 pm at the Oglethorpe County Farm Bureau on 925 Athens Road (US-78) in Crawford.
The guest speaker was Dr. Michael I. Huppert, Founder and President of Five Points Chiropractic in Athens. He taught us how to lift supers of bees and honey correctly to prevent the problem of back pain or injury. Better yet, two persons should lift a super together.
We also had a reports on the Spring Meeting of the Georgia Beekeepers Association recently held on Jekyll Island, our Beekeepers Fair in January at the Oglethorpe County Library, and our plans for the Winterville Marigold Festival. And, as always, there was time to talk about beekeeping.
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Photos by Glenn Galau © 2011
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17 JANUARY 2011 MEETING
Minutes of the Meeting
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The Oglethorpe County Bee Club met on Monday, 17 January at 7 pm at the Oglethorpe County Farm Bureau. It featured the Reverend Jim Harp of Watkinsville. He has degrees in Pharmacy, Biblical Counseling, and is an Ordained minister with The Christian & Missionary Alliance. He is Pastor of the Community Alliance Church in Athens. Jim started beekeeping as a hobby in 1987 in Florida, started beekeeping in Georgia in 2000 and has hives in Watkinsville and Walton County near Good Hope. His other hobbies are motorcycle riding and gardening.
Jim gave a talk about "The Amazing Honeybee" including some of the incredible facts about the bee, their honey, and the process they use in making honey.
As usual at our meetings, he entertained questions about keeping bees. It was a very informative evening.
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Photos by Glenn Galau © 2011
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