 The Wings and Wildflower Festival was really a good time. Had a lot of conversations with potential new beekeepers and look forward to seeing them again at the November meeting. Toni and I got really cute bee  earrings, I bought a bunch of bee friendly plants from the extension booth really cheap and I had a hard time staying away from the bat booth! Thanks again to Billy, Chris, Toni, Mike, Vicky and William for helping with the club booth.
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Lake
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Beekeepers
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| The club still has about 27 bottles of Wildflower honey. The 1 pound bottles will be available for sale at the meeting for $8. |
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It’s time for nominations for Club Officers for 2017
 President- Vice President
- Treasurer
- Secretary
If you or if you know of a member who is willing to help the club by serving as a club officer, we will be accepting nominations at the meeting this week. Don't think you have to be an expert in beekeeping to be an officer. You just need to have a willingness to learn, network and have a desire to bring people together to do the same, all for the betterment of beekeeping and the club.
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 Wax moths were the leading beekeeping pests in some regions of the US until the mid- 1980s and until parasitic mites were discovered. But wax moths are still a problem and damage from these pests can be significant if not controlled. Wax moths can be a major problem particularly in the tropics and the subtropics.
In early evening, the adult female moths fly and often sneak by guard bees as  even strong colonies are vulnerable to passage of wax moth adults. The moths lay eggs in protected cracks and crevices and exit the colony in the early morning hours undetected by the bees. If adult wax moths are found in the hive during daytime hours, the colony is weak and is likely highly infested. If wax moths are becoming a problem, larvae are
  most often found tunneling inside frames leaving behind damage and webbing. Wax moth and small hive beetle larvae are very similar in appearance. The wax moth larval body is soft and fleshy, whereas the small hive beetle larval body is rigid and hard. Wax moth larvae leave behind a mess of webbing in comb, but small hive beetles do not.
Beekeepers should maintain strong and healthy colonies by maintaining a high bee-to-comb ratio for effective wax moth control. Swarming, supercedure, starvation, robbing, small hive beetl es, or varroa mites can weaken a bee colony and lead to wax moth problems. Don’t add more honey supers to your active hives than there are bees to cover and defend against pests. Wax moths are secondary invaders just waiting for a chance to become established.
There are many safe alternatives to control wax moths without chemicals. Some beekeepers have a zero tolerance for wax moth damage, but slight damage in stored comb can be tolerated easily because bees are excellent home repairers.
Collect wax scrapings & burr comb, and keep odd pieces of wax comb away from the vicinity of your hives as these may attract wax moths. Also, clean equipment like bottom boards in live bee colonies regularly to remove debris where wax moth larvae can hide.
Traps can play an important role in a wax moth IPM plan because of their safety in providing control without fear of hive product contamination. A homemade trap can be used in the apiary as well as in the honey house or comb storage room to attract and kill wax moth adults.
W ax Moth Trap
Take a 2 litre plastic pop bottle and drill a 1 inch hole just below the slope of the neck, then add 1 cup water,1 cup sugar, ½ cup vinegar and 1 banana peel. Wait a few days until it starts to ferment (I did not wait) then tie it up close to the hives. The trap will draw the wax moths, they enter the hole and can’t get out and drown in the liquid.
When honey-filed supers are removed from colonies, the honey should be extracted within about two days; otherwise SHB & wax moths can be problematic. Reduce wax moth problems in stored comb by preventing brood production in honey supers. Brood production leaves behind a food source of pollen and cast larval skins. Wet supers should be placed only on strong colonies for cleanup. Placing too many wet supers on colonies for cleanup can also be a problem.
Wax moth damage is expected when honey-extracted comb is stored in dark , warm, or poorly ventilated places. Unprotected, wet supers are highly attractive to wax moths. Don’t store freshly honey-extracted supers in tightly sealed trash bags as wax moth eggs or larvae are sure to show up in the equipment and the comb can be destroyed in a few weeks. One exception is to freeze the bee cleaned comb for 48 hours, allow the comb to thaw in a wax moth free room till dry and then store the frames in tightly sealed bags.
Maximum use of light and ventilation is recommended to control wax moths. A very effective and economical method of moth control can be achieved by storing supers of comb or individual frames of comb by wire from the roof or rafters of  a room or attic which has good light and ventilation. However, if wax moths have already become established and webbing is present in the comb, the use of light and ventilation option of wax moth control is not recommended.
The use of chemicals in an integrated pest management program is recommended as a last resort when other options have failed or are not possible. The chemical available in the US to control wax moths is paradichlorobenzene (PDB) for use in protecting stored comb, not comb in live bee colonies or comb honey. Honey readily absorbs PDB fumes resulting in honey being unfit for human consumption. Ten half-depth supers can be stacked vertically in beehive fashion making sure to secure any cracks or openings with tape to provide a good seal. The product label calls for 3 oz or 4 tablespoons (85 g) to be placed on a piece of cardboard on frame top bars of the top super with lid to cover the stack. The vapors are heavier than air causing them to move downward through the stacked supers killing wax moth adults, larvae, and pupae, but will not kill wax moth eggs. Crystals vaporize quickly at warm temperatures and have to be replenished periodically. Beekeepers are strongly advised to air out stored chemically exposed supers for a day or two away from PDB prior to placement on colonies because it is toxic to bees at high concentrations. Mothballs which contain naphthalene will not air out of the wax and will kill bees. Naphthalene moth balls are not registered for wax moth control and are illegal for use in protecting beekeeping equipment.
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Cookin' with Honey - by Marcia Wray
Even though the temperatures are starting to drop, a cool, delicious fruit salad is always a great addition to your meal. This recipe has a light honey and lime dressing that brings out the flavor of the fruits. It would be a colorful addition to your Thanksgiving meal!
Ingredients:
1 can of mandarin oranges, drained
1 can (8 ounces) pineapple chunks, drained
1 cup green grapes
1 cup fresh strawberries, halved
1 medium firm banana, sliced
3 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons lime juice
¼ tsp lime zest
¼ tsp. vanilla extract
¼ tsp. poppy seeds
Fresh mint, optional
Directions:
In a large bowl, combine fruit. In a small bowl combine the honey, lime juice, zest and vanilla. Pour over the fruit and gently toss to coat. Sprinkle with poppy seeds.
Enjoy!
Marcia |
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 Red Maple
Red maple, Acer rubrum, the state tree of Rhode Island is a deciduous Florida native tree common from Minnesota to Florida to Texas to Newfoundland. Buds, flowers, seeds and bark are food for many members of the insect world. Birds then feed on these insects which provide protein and fat for adult reproduction and young nestlings. Songbirds eat the seeds and bugs. The cavities of old trees provide nesting habitats for bats and some birds.
Red maples are very important for our bees by providing carbohydrate and amino acid rich nectar, pollen and heralding spring when other plants are typically lacking. Blooming  maples are the beginning of the annual beekeeping cycle. B4B (before beekeeping) I watched trees in the low areas along the Beeline/Beachline, SR 42 and US 192 start to change colors as early as late July. Leaves change colors to yellow, orange and finally burgundy and I was sure it had something to do with global warming. But alas it is as simple as working the midnight shift; early to bed and early to rise. Few plants bloom during late December and January; the early maple nectar and pollen is much appreciated by the bees. It is most often consumed by hungry bees at this time to support day to day needs and also stimulates colony and brood rearing. Occasional warm winters may see an excess to harvest, but most beekeepers prefer not to risk weakening or even starving the hive as it goes into the more lucrative mono-floral orange blossom flow. We are indeed lucky to live in paradise, as other areas of the country are too cool or wet to gain advantage of this early bloom. We are blessed with many winter days of deep steele blue sky, not northern dreary gray, and the contrast of scarlet leaves emerging against a clear blue sky is candy for the eye and hope that warmer days are soon ahead.
 The red maple is named for the red stem petiole, flowers, twigs and seeds rather than leaf color. Sap has been used to produce maple syrup, but with half the sugar content of "sugar maple" and saponins that cause froth during processing is not the primary product of commerce. It prefers moist, rich acid soils, although will grow on our dry Lake County sand-hills with supplemental irrigation. It can be pruned to grow as a large bush or clump with multiple stems. Less commonly referred to as Swamp Maple, in natural woodland areas it is a pioneer tree and enjoys full sun; however in residential lawns the shallow roots can surface and make mowing a problem so locate away from driveways, septic systems and overhanging homes. It grows fast and depending on location may reach a height of 60 feet. Plant more than one and you can have your own maple grove. Fresh leaf flushes are colorful even in summer.
 Male flowers (left) emerge followed by female flowers (middle) which give way to two winged "helicopter" fruit seeds called samaras (right). Seeds planted in the spring can grow into two foot tall young saplings by fall.
 
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 Is there a library you visit for bee related publications or a feed store that sells bee supplies? Consider posting a club flyer on their community boards. I've received permission from Rural King in Leesburg to do that in their retail bee section. I put a clear sleeve with flyers inside so people can take one home. If you'd like a copy of the flyer, email me at : lakecountybeeks@gmail.com and I can send you an electronic version or I can make you copies that you can pick up at the meeting.
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Also available are business cards with our club logo, meeting and contact info on them. Just let me know how many you want!
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Join now and have your membership extended until December 2017. If you have questions, please contact Susan Reu, ABF Membership Coordinator at 404.760.2875 or susanreu@abfnet.org.
Your membership helps sustain the industry and hobby that we all love.
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Jeremy Kadletz has some used telescoping top covers, inner covers, and varroa screened bottom boards with inserts for sale. They are in good shape, have been repainted white, and should last for several years.
 The telescoping covers (aluminum top) are $15 each, inner covers are $2 each, and the varroa trap screened bottom boards with insert are $15. 
They came off of good hives but he's switching to solid bottom boards and simpler tops as he grows. See him at the meeting this week if you're interested.
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lease 
remember to bring back the orange battery boxes and queen cages to the November meeting. 
