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MINUTES
Tampa Bay Beekeepers Association
January 11, 2007
New website! www.tampabaybeekeepers.com
The Tampa Bay Beekeepers Association monthly meeting came to order on Thursday, November 9, 2006 at 7:35 pm at the Hillsborough County Extension Office new meeting hall. President Jim Alderman presided. Guests included Sylvia Garson and Joe Davis. Approximate number of attendees: 40. Rebecca and Gail Conroy provided the refreshments. Door prizes provided by Bert Kelly.
Treasurer’s report: balance is $3,074.14 in the checking account with. Treasurer’s report and November minutes were accepted.
Sylvia Garson discussed her cable TV show “Kids can Cook” which airs in New York and the Fort Meyers area. She also does other radio and television stories on Florida communities and wants to promote beekeeping and TBBA. She featured beekeeping with our own Bert Kelly on a recent Ronald McDonald House television show. As a professionally-trained chef Sylvia will consider being the chef on honey day at the state fair 2/14/07 – Valentines’ day. She has also given radio and newspaper interviews to promote upcoming TBBA club events.
Beekeepers are reporting die-offs in their hives. The problem has been bad enough to keep beekeepers from moving hives out of state. Some beekeepers are losing whole yards and as much as 50% of their hives. Don’t ignore the problem, call your inspectors. Preliminary tests show a fungus in the bee’s gut that scars the stomach. If your hives are at or near a grove, be mindful of spraying for the early greening. The spray will kill the bees. If your grove is not spraying, his neighbor might, so you might want to move the bees. Try to keep from over-stressing the bees. Colonies that don’t get moved around as much do better than those that do.
Max force combat roach traps were recommended for small hive beetles. The Beetle trap (West trap from Dadant) uses lime and also works well for small hive beetles. Don’t want more than ¼” of lime on pan. Bengal balm was recommended for ant problems. Sprinkle a little on the mound. It works on fire, bull, and Australian ants. . You can find Bengal at your local feed store. Don’t use a lot. A little goes a long way. Bees won’t eat it. Aspertame (nutra sweet) was also reported to be effective ant killers
Plants in bloom: Willows, maple (tail-end), Blumbago, Spanish needle, Citrus, blueberries, yellow mustard.
Queening: Try to find a good queen breeder w/o problems. Queens are not living as long as they used to. Better to wait until after the Orange Blooms. The Keatings sell queens – Italian and Minnesota. It Takes 30 days to re-queen with a queen cell. Wait time to order queen is mid-March. Noel Blanchet and Sean McKay also sell queens.
New Business:
Bert Kelly is organizing volunteers to help man the honey stand at the Florida State Fair. He passed around a volunteer schedule. If you would like to help out, please contact Bert. Suggested we provide a sign-up list for potential club members at the fair, also update TBBA website to include details about the honey stand at the Fair.
Bert Kelly motioned that TBBA support “Kids Can Cook” organization. $300.00 donation was voted on and accepted.
Beekeeping Seminar: Date is to be determined, but we expect sometime around early May. Jim A. will check the availability of a pavilion at the park. Coordinators are needed to make this event successful. Sylvia Garson has agreed to be the media coordinator. She will contact the newspapers. Other volunteer coordinators include Charlie Hammond, Robert Messineo, and Julie Nichols. Bert will advertise in state paper. Suggested we contact the Hillsborough and surrounding counties’ garden clubs. Guest presenters might include L. Cuts, Elmore Herman, Malcolm Sanford (pesticides) and Jerry Hayes. Frame volunteers. Grill available. Fee charge $20.00 for one, $25.00 for a couple, includes lunch and donuts. Participants will need to sign a waiver to participate. Detailed map to park is very important. We need to get busy on this event now.
The March TBBA meeting will feature a dual presentation beekeeping certification and bee research.
Old Business:
David Kennedy has volunteered to take over librarian duties!! Thanks, David!
December Work party went well. Bees (60 hives) are doing fine, but hive bodies are in need of TLC. David Smith reported that prices were not increasing. Club will get .75/pound for the Brazilian Pepper honey. Plan for next work party, Saturday, January 13th: Clean frames replace boxes. We still need more help in the bee yard. Need trash cans and bags.
Motion was made for $60.00 gift and retirement card for Mary Chemeski, who has been instrumental in allowing TBBA to meet here. TBBA is the only agricultural group allowed to use this new room. David Keating seconded motion.
Some club members have not paid dues. If you wish to continue receiving the club newsletter, please see our Treasurer at the next meeting.
Meeting adjourned at 9:50.
NEXT MEETING:
Thursday, February 8th, 2006, 7:30 p.m. at Hillsborough Extension office: Julie Nichols and Glenda Womble will team up to bring the refreshments.
- Submitted by A. Hammond
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