January 2017 Newsletter of the Wake County Beekeepers Association WCBA Officers for 2017: Editor s note: The last newsletter we published was June 2016. I m sorry for the delay. One way to stay in contact a bit more timely is to view our Facebook group Beekeepers of Wake County. Susan Benton President: Mike Childers Vice President: Ben Crawley Secretary: Susan Benton Treasurer: Dawn Childers Membership: Kim Rossi Program Chair: Marc Larin Sergeant-at-Arms: Tom Underhill Board of Directors: Steve Andrijiw (3 years); Ricky Barbour (2 years); Sarah Myers (1 year) Membership The Membership campaign has opened for 2017. Membership Chairman Kim Rossi and Treasurer Dawn Childers are collecting new applications and renewals. This year, we are not collecting dues for the NC State Beekeeping Association (NCSBA), but request that you renew your membership directly with them. Please see the website for the form: http://www.wakecountybeekeepers.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/2017-wcba-ncsbamembership-form.pdf WCBA dues remain $10 per year. Be sure to pick up your new nametag at an upcoming meeting. The Master Beekeeper program, administered by the North Carolina State Beekeeping Association (NCSBA), consists of 4 levels; Certified Beekeeper, Journeyman Beekeeper, Master Beekeeper, and Master Craftsman Beekeeper. Please visit the NCSBA website to take a practice quiz. Go tohttps://www.ncbeekeepers.org at the bottom of the home page for the practice test questions. The questions are changed each month. The written test for the Certified Beekeeper will be administered by our club as needed. Please contact Secretary Susan Benton when you are ready to take the test. The practical test will be given in the club s bee yard at Historic Oak View Park, 1:00 to 3:00 pm, each 3 rd Sunday between April and September. For the Journeyman and Master levels, test is only administered at one of the State Meetings. The next State meeting is March 3 in Rock Hill, SC. 2017 marks the 100 th year of the NC State Beekeepers Association. Look for a celebration! The summer meeting will be held July 13-15 in Winston Salem, in honor of the first meeting on January 11, 1917. 1
Looking Forward in 2017 Here is our meeting plan for 2017 (however the plan is subject to change) January 10 Wake County Commons Building Building Frames (this plan was canceled due to ice/snow) February 11 Raleigh Police Club Beginning Beekeeping Class (pre-registration required) February 14 Wake County Commons Building All about swarms March 14 Wake County Commons Building How to install a package, plus Q&A April 11 Wake County Commons Building Honey Extraction May 9 Wake County Commons Building Hive Beetles and Treatment June 13 Wake County Commons Building Movie night July 11 Wake County Commons Building (or alternate location) Making Mead August 8 Raleigh Police Club Blue Ribbon entries for the fair or state competition Bug Fest September 2017 September 12 Raleigh Police Club Presentation from Eastern Apiculture Society meeting October 10 Raleigh Police Club - Annual BBQ October 2017 NC State Fair November 14 Wake County Commons Building TBD December 12 Wake County Commons Building - Holiday Party Monthly Hands on Workshop 3 rd Sunday of the month at 1:00 pm at the Bee Yard near the cotton field of Historic Oak View County Park, April September. Join Ben Crawley to get a monthly look inside the beehive. The practical part to become a Certified Beekeeper will be offered at each workshop. The written test will be offered if anyone who is a member of the NCSBA wants to take the test. Anyone interested in learning is encouraged to attend. Treasurer Dawn Childers is organizing a Cooking with Honey workshop. Date and place TBD. Looking back to 2016 here is a summary or our club meetings: July Mike Childers and Ricky Barbour gave a hands on presentation on Honey Extraction. 2
August Preston Peck of Toxic Free NC spoke on Keeping Hives Alive. We learned that pollinators and aquatic species are at risk due to pesticides. September Rebecca Irwin from NCSU September Rebecca Irwin from NCSU spoke on Nectar and pollen in honeybees and bumblebees. The drivers of bee declines are land use changes, parasites, climate change, and pesticides. Resin has antimicrobe properties. Do bees self-medicate? Are some types of pollen more beneficial to bees and do bees make plant choices? An experiment showed that sunflower pollen reduced Nosema infections in honeybees. She explained some of the plant and pollen chemistry. Research has found that bees with parasites prefer flowers with higher iridoid glycosides. This suggests that bees make plant choices. 3
Bill Lamb coordinated volunteers for Bug Fest. Pictured above: Bug fest exhibit on September 17. We were in the shade! Kim Rossi coordinated our exhibit for the State Fair in October 2016. 4
October Ricky Barbour cooked the pig for our annual BBQ. The winning raffle ticket for the extractor was drawn at the BBQ. George Alexiou won! T-shirts were distributed that night, based on pre-orders. 5
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See how many tickets George bought for the raffle! 8
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November Will Hicks, Apiary Inspector from the NC Department of Agriculture answered questions and shared experiences. December Holiday Dinner. We enjoyed a great meal together. We learned that Mr. Knox was sick. To honor Mr. Knox, the club purchased a brick at the NCSU Bee Lab. Additionally, Charlie Gaul engraved a beehive with a bee and honeycomb logo, in honor of Mr. Knox. This beehive will be installed at the club s apiary in the Historic Oak View Park in the spring. Mr. Knox was pleased with the honors and feels that the club is in good shape. 10
With great sorrow, we announce that our Patriarch, Mr. James Knox, passed away on January 8, 2017. He was a long-time member of the club (back to 1968). He regularly told us what to do in the hive, as shown from the picture taken at the June 2016 meeting with Mike Childers. Mike spoke at Mr. Knox s funeral and called him a legend. We will miss him. Mr. Knox and Mike Childers at the June 2016 meeting. 11
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What to do in the hive in January: Get your equipment in order, build frames, and order your bees. Committees for 2017 Our club plans to sponsor a representative to the Eastern Apiculture Society in August. The attendee will give a report at the September 2017 club meeting. A committee is being form to select the representative for EAS (headed by Mike Childers). Additionally, committees will be formed for the State Fair exhibit (headed by Kim Rossi); Community Outreach/Teaching (headed by Susan Benton); Swarm list (headed by Ricky Barbour); Bug Fest (headed by Bill Lamb). Please indicate on your membership form which committee you are interested in serving. Meet a Beekeeper This feature to return next month. 13