WELCOME TO OUR CLUB!
We are beekeepers and bee-lovers in the Washington County, Virginia area who meet monthly to educate ourselves and the public about how to nurture honeybees for the benefit of Earth and its inhabitants. Please join us.
We are beekeepers and bee-lovers in the Washington County, Virginia area who meet monthly to educate ourselves and the public about how to nurture honeybees for the benefit of Earth and its inhabitants. Please join us.
Our next meeting will be held on Monday, May 3 at 6:30 p.m. at Abingdon Bee Company, 19274 Bethel Road, Abingdon, Virginia
Topic: HONEY EXTRACTION & PACKAGING
"A Hands-on Workshop -- Taking Honey from the Hive to the Bottle"
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PLEASE NOTE THE NEW LOCATION FOR THE MAY MEETING! Bethel Road is about 4 miles south of I-81 Exit 19, off of Jeb Stuart Hwy, Rt. 58. Follow Bethel Road around the curve. Abingdon Bee Company is on the right.
Jeremy Blackwell, owner of ABC, is offering extraction room services, packaging supplies, and sugar syrup at cost to HBA members. YOU CAN HELP BY: (1) Bringing a folding chair and one to share, (2) Bringing your own extraction or bottling equipment to demonstrate or (3) serving as a Parking Guide between 6:00 and 6:30 p.m. Contact Jeremy at 276-492-5369 or abingdonbeecompany@gmail.com. HELP WANTED:VDACS is looking for a GYPSY MOTH TRAPPER in southwest Virginia - Lee, Scott, and Wise Counties. This is a part time position from April to November. The job posting is at https://virginiajobs.peopleadmin.com/postings/221126.
Contact: Keith Tignor, Office of Plant Industry Services, Virginia Dept. of Agriculture & Conservation Services (VDACS) 804-786-3515 |
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THANKS to Dr. James Wilson, VT Extension Apiculturist, and Phil Blevins, VT Extension Agent, for a successful May 1 workshop on VARROA MITE MANAGEMENT & CONTROL. Thanks also to Tater Miller for providing his bee yard for our "hands-on" afternoon and to Mother Nature for providing the sunshine and cool breezes.
Resources you need to know about:
* Honeybee Health Coalition (honeybeehealthcoalition.org)
Search for Tools for Varroa Management -- and other helpful honeybee guides.
* VT Resources for Beekeeping (pubs.ext.vt.edu)
Choose from a dozen different guides.
* MiteCheck app - The Bee Informed Partnership (beeinformed.org)
Citizen science at its best.
Review of the April 2021 meeting on SMALL HIVE BEETLES
presented by Dr. James Wilson, Extension Apiculturist by Zoom from VT
(Twenty members were present in person and about 17 by Zoom.)
Background: Small Hive Beetles (SHB's) originated in Africa and were discovered in the U.S. in 1998. Adult SHB's are attracted to the alarm pheromone of the honeybee. There are 2 female SHB's for every 1 male, and the females can lay up to 2000 eggs. Both the adults and larvae are destructive pests of honeybee colonies.
[There is a LARGE hive beetle, but not in the U.S.]
Honeybees can corral SHB's to control them, but are often duped by the SHB's to feed them while in confinement. The SHB relies on heat from the honeybee cluster to survive the winter. Small populations of honeybees cannot control SHB's as well as larger colonies. A large infestation of SHB's can lead a colony to abscond.
Damage: The larvae of the SHB tunnel through the comb, discoloring the honey with their feces and creating a citrus smell. The larvae are mobile in the moist yeast slime, and pupate in the bottom of the hive.
Monitoring: 1. Keep a healthy colony and place hives in a sunny location with dry soil. 2. Use a control trap like Beetle Blaster, Jail, Barn, or Bee Gone. Do not use homemade remedies that might poison the honeybees or cause the SHB's to become resistant to the chemical. 3. Use Diatomaceous Earth at the base of the hive to kill the larvae. 4. Other remedies: nematodes, soil drenches. Coumaphos (CheckMite) is not recommended because the SHB is developing resistance to it.
Q's and A's:
Thanks to Morgan Roth, PhD student at VT in Honey Bee Pest Management who contributed her research results.
And thanks to Blountville Bait Company, who donated three raffle prizes.
Background: Small Hive Beetles (SHB's) originated in Africa and were discovered in the U.S. in 1998. Adult SHB's are attracted to the alarm pheromone of the honeybee. There are 2 female SHB's for every 1 male, and the females can lay up to 2000 eggs. Both the adults and larvae are destructive pests of honeybee colonies.
[There is a LARGE hive beetle, but not in the U.S.]
Honeybees can corral SHB's to control them, but are often duped by the SHB's to feed them while in confinement. The SHB relies on heat from the honeybee cluster to survive the winter. Small populations of honeybees cannot control SHB's as well as larger colonies. A large infestation of SHB's can lead a colony to abscond.
Damage: The larvae of the SHB tunnel through the comb, discoloring the honey with their feces and creating a citrus smell. The larvae are mobile in the moist yeast slime, and pupate in the bottom of the hive.
Monitoring: 1. Keep a healthy colony and place hives in a sunny location with dry soil. 2. Use a control trap like Beetle Blaster, Jail, Barn, or Bee Gone. Do not use homemade remedies that might poison the honeybees or cause the SHB's to become resistant to the chemical. 3. Use Diatomaceous Earth at the base of the hive to kill the larvae. 4. Other remedies: nematodes, soil drenches. Coumaphos (CheckMite) is not recommended because the SHB is developing resistance to it.
Q's and A's:
- Screened bottom board? Yes, can help.
- Soil nematodes? More research coming.
- Attractants to bring SHB's into a bait trap? Yes, must be refreshed. Research continuing.
- Black plastic under hive? Yes, can help.
- Life cycle of SHB? Can overwinter and create more than one generation per year.
- Mating of SHB's? Males move faster than females.
- Do Africanized bees have SHB's? Africanized bees may have adaptations that limit SHB's, such as use of more propylis.
Thanks to Morgan Roth, PhD student at VT in Honey Bee Pest Management who contributed her research results.
And thanks to Blountville Bait Company, who donated three raffle prizes.
Virginia State Beekeepers Association
VSBA MEMBERSHIP
Treasurer:
Ian D. Henry
434-823-8600
5771 Hill Top St.
Crozet, VA 22932
treasurervsba@virginiabeekeepers.org
VSBA MEMBERSHIP
Treasurer:
Ian D. Henry
434-823-8600
5771 Hill Top St.
Crozet, VA 22932
treasurervsba@virginiabeekeepers.org
