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MINUTES
Tampa Bay Beekeepers Association
July 12, 2007
www.tampabaybeekeepers.com
The Tampa Bay Beekeepers Association monthly meeting came to order on Thursday, July 12, 2007, 7:30 pm at the Hillsborough County Extension Office meeting hall. President Jim Alderman presided. Guests included Morrison Pryor, Diana Ewing, Cody and Christa Hammond (Charlie’s Kids). Approximate number of attendees: 40. Charlie and Annemarie Hammond provided the refreshments. Door prizes provided by Charlie and Annemarie Hammond, Bert Kelly, and the Roberts’.
Jim Alderman welcomed guests and new members and explained the TBBA mission, work parties and upcoming training. Jim discussed ongoing studies on mite treatments. Jim expressed how delighted he is with the meeting turnouts over the last couple of months. He thanked everyone for coming. He also expressed how important for the beekeeper mentors to help in the bee yard and encourage folks to help in the apiary. Todd Jameson added still gets calls and compliments about our great seminar from May.
Treasurer’s report: balance is $4,485.55 in the checking account. Treasurer’s report and June minutes were accepted. CD with Bank of American is renewed each 6 mos. The current interest rate is 2.3%. Interest is deposited into club checking account. The CD was a donation from Lottie Tipman to the TBBA. Bill Roberts explained that Mr. Tipman donated $1000 to the club and asked that the interest money goes toward a party. Lately the interest has been rather low, so it just gets deposited.
Also, the American Beekeeping federation renewal is due. Last year the club sent $500. ABF represent beekeepers at State and National Legislatures. Donations can be broken up to different funds such as the queen breeding fund, membership, president’s club
Guest Speaker – Sean McKay on queen introductions – Sean brought different types of queen cages to demonstrate. Four types discussed were:
- Benton 3-hole cage (Wooden box with screen)
- CA mini cage
- zjbz plastic cage
- Push-in cage - #8 screen mesh wire
Queens come in a cage with attendants (usually 3) and are placed in a battery box. When introducing a new queen, the old queen must be located first. A nuc is created with a frame of pollen, frame of brood, a frame of food and an empty frame. Cage is placed between the 4th and 5th frame. Try to center the brood frames in the hive. Keep the cages in for one month. Queens purchased from a breeder are usually marked. Marked queens are easier to locate and you know that they are not AHB. Five frames to build the nucs don’t all have to come from the same hive. The old queen goes with the nuc. The hive entrance must be blocked so the bees won’t abscond. Cages should be installed with candy-side down or sideways. Many texts say to place candy-side up, but this method does not do as well in FL, as the candy can melt down and coat the queen (could kill her). When ordering queens from a magazine, ask what kinds of cages they will come in. Release the attendants (that come with the queen). Removing the attendants can increase the acceptance rate. To release the attendants, carefully remove them without releasing the queen. It is best to do an enclosed area so you don’t lose your queen. If you lose your queen, she usually goes back to the cage.
Show-n-Tell: Bill Roberts displayed a steam-heated uncapping knife which provided as a door prize.
Todd Jameson reported “beetle mania” is taking a lot of time with the state inspectors. Guard star does not work as well because rainstorms wash it away. Mangrove is in full bloom in Pinellas County. Cabbage Palm is hot in the panhandle. Bees are overall healthy. August is “mite month”. Heat can be very stressful to bees. Make sure that you are well hydrated when working on bees in the summer. A few samples Todd collected came back “hot” on some beekeepers’ hives. Todd recommends using marked queens as a BMP. Highly encouraged beekeepers to register and follow the BMPs. Keep a good neighbor policy – use honey as gifts. Be considerate to your neighbors. Todd gets calls from many people who do not like honey bees. Pinellas County has an ordinance against beekeeping due to heavy development. Growth is happening everywhere and we need the bees.
Club Apiary report: Charlie Hammond thanked everyone for helping at the last month’s work party. It was the best turnout we have had. At the June work party, many boxes and honey supers and 200 plastic foundations were replaced and the trailers were organized. Dwight, Bill, Cliff and John Stonehouse inspected hives and shared their knowledge with the new beekeepers. Waivers need to be provided to all who help at the bee yard. High school kids can work the apiary with parents’ permission. This is great experience and a learning opportunity. Bee yard inspection by Todd Jameson scheduled on the 26th of July. Re-queening the club hives will occur in August and October.
David Smith has some of the club supers. We need someone to pick up supers from Smith’s house near Plant City
.Q&A and general bee discussion session.
- Bee lids make great wax melters.
- Because bees have an exoskeleton they can festoon or link together without tiring out.
- Best to get some deep comb for the apiary.
Old Business:
Marked queens will be provided my John Keating and Sean McKay in August and October.
New Business:
Bert Kelly on State Association update: Spring Meeting and workshop in Green Cove Springs was a success. The workshop was geared toward beginning beekeepers. The State Association’s regular annual meeting is November 1st – 3rd (Thurs – Sat). This meeting will feature another workshop event like the spring meeting. The Saturday workshop will be geared toward new beekeepers. The Friday workshop will feature guest speakers and directed towards more advanced beekeepers. At the last conference call Board Meeting, the State board voted to fund Jamie Ellis $4000 for mite economic threshold project. The State Association is also a member of the American Beekeeping Federation.
The TBBA club hives did not produce a lot of honey this year, thus we didn’t have a lot to sell. We should curtail unnecessary expenses. American Bee Federation membership is due, but the club voted to decrease the amount to give due to upcoming expenditures (queens, equipment). The club moved to donate only $100 this year as a minimum.
Charlie Hammond strongly requested a lot of help at the next Saturday’s work party.
Reminder: The October 11th meeting will be held in the old meeting hall due to a schedule conflict.
Meeting adjourned at 9:50.
NEXT MEETING:
Thursday, August 9th, 2007, 7:30 p.m. at Hillsborough Extension office.
Rebecca Conroy will bring the refreshments.
- Submitted by A. Hammond
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