Coweta Beekeepers Association
April 2022 President’s Message
Hello, my fellow beekeepers!
Spring is here, flowers are blooming, and your colonies should be busy with bee activity! Now is the time to open those hives and take in all the sights. Check for brood, identify your queen, and see all that gorgeous nectar and pollen color. Do not be afraid to try new things with your bees; learn from your mistakes and adjust if it doesn't work. Observing, inspecting, documenting, and taking pictures can help you through your beekeeping journey.
Bobby Torbush and Phil Mitchell hosted a great March workshop on installing a bee package at our club apiary in Luthersville, GA. Thank you to Marilynn Parker (Buzz Factor Honey) for donating the package to our club. We had significant participation, and we hope it helped those who had to turn around and install their packages of bees. 😊
April Monthly Meeting
Our guest speaker on April 11th at 7:00 PM will be Karen Palmer. Karen Palmer is the owner of Honey Please, a bee farm that focuses on bee removals, producing quality queens and nucleus colonies, and other custom requests. She is the "Queen bee" of around 300 colonies in Emanuel and Washington counties. She is the Southeast Regional Director for the Georgia Beekeepers Association (GBA). Karen volunteers in many places and mentors many beekeepers. She will be presenting "Nucs vs. Packages." Our meetings are at the Coweta UGA Extension Office, 255 Pine Rd., Newnan, GA. Please use the parking lot behind the building.
Additional Beekeeping Education -
Registration is open!
Our own Steve Page will be a guest speaker!
Young Harris College/University of Georgia Beekeeping Institute
May 18-21, 2022 - Young Harris, Georgia
This marks the 30th year of the Young Harris College / University of Georgia Beekeeping Institute and the best part, we will be meeting in person at Young Harris College! Take a look at our fabulous program with over 90 bee related lectures and workshops, improved honey show with $1000 in cash prizes, local and national vendors, training and certification for the Georgia Master Beekeeping Program, Welsh Honey Judge, and the newly added Honey Bee Control and Removal Operator. This year will also include a Thursday cake and ice-cream anniversary gathering, along with a Friday night social and dinner, with live music and awards, so bring your dancing shoes. We look forward to seeing you this May!
Please feel free to reach out to me if you’d like to get more involved with our club or have fresh ideas.
Thank you,
Heather Shinn, President
cowetabeekeepersassociation@gmail.com
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The main nectar flow has started, but my bees are not making honey.
Don't feed your colonies when they do not need food. Don’t feed your colonies during the main nectar flow if you plan on harvesting honey, the honey will be contaminated with sugar. It is fraud.
The colony only makes beeswax when they need to because it is very expensive to make. When you find white wax in a hive they are making honey. If they are working in the top super, add two. They will draw out comb in the middle frames, go back in a week or two and move the drawn comb frames to the outside and foundation frames in the middle. If they are making honey do not inspect the brood nest, just keep adding supers as needed. A strong colony can make a super of honey a week. The week's honey production will end up in multiple supers.
Don’t expect a new colony to make honey this year. A new colony needs syrup, but it will not consume much during the main nectar flow. Read the article about feeding new colonies below.
Most beekeepers do not realize the potential for honey production from one beehive. This colony made 150 pounds (68kg) of honey.
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Support our Local Beekeeping Supply Stores?
SWEET KINGDOM, LLC
Full line of Beekeeping equipment & supplies including,
Mann Lake, Glory Bee, Dadant, Custom orders, and local builders
Store located at 4046 Sharpsburg McCullum Road (Hwy 154), Suite 213. Newnan, GA. 30265.
Hours are Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday & Saturday 11 am - 5 pm.
We are closed Wednesday and Sunday except by appointment.
We accept Cash, Charge/Debit, Check, and PayPal.
- Mated Queens $40 (All Marked)
- 5 Frame Nucs – price to be set when they become available
- Package of bees - $140 (Payable in advance of February 15, 2022) Pickup date starting March 24th.
Follow us on Facebook - Sweet Kingdom Bees Supplies and Products from the Hive
BUZZ FACTOR HONEY
2022
PACKAGES AND NUCS
* Packages 3 lb package Italian with mated queen $135
Delivery March 19th at the Coweta Extension Office
and at Douglasville American Legion
We have mated queens for $35 as available.
You must make reservations.
Will call for the exact time frame so I must have a contact phone number (and cell number).
A non-refundable deposit of $50 per package or nuc with order will hold your package or nuc.
* NUCS are 5 frame Italian line and are $210 each.
The frames are drawn combs and we use both wood and plastic. They will be delivered in ProNucs. Should you want to keep the ProNuc Box, there will be a deposit of $20 per container. They must be returned by 60 days in order to receive a refund on the box. It can be used for swarms, splits or a “quiet” box. Estimated Nuc delivery – Last week of April/First week in May.
Queen marking is available on nucs only.
Nucs will be picked up at my home 7148 Shell Rd. Winston, GA 30187
Deposit of $50 per nuc with your order, with balance before pick up.
Mail deposits:
Buzz Factor Honey 2nparker@bellsouth.net
7148 Shell Road 770-949-6640 home
Winston, GA 30187 770-366-7455 cell
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Your Name _________________________________
Deposit ___________________________________
Check # ___________________________________
Delivery Date _______________________________
Location ___________________________________
Packages __________________________________
Nucs ______________________________________
Your contact phone number ____________________
email address _______________________________ |
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Feeding a new colony
By Steven Page
Do you want your new colony to survive the coming winter and make honey next spring?
I am writing this for new colonies in the Piedmont of Georgia. The piedmont is above a line from Augusta to Macon to Columbus and below the mountains. If you are in the coastal plain or the mountains, this applies, but there are some variations. A new colony is any of the following; a nuc, package, swarm, split, etc.
The basics. The hive consists of a deep super and one medium or shallow super at the end of October. Your colony must have drawn comb on all 20 frames and 30 pounds of honey stored by the end of October. A ten frame shallow super holds 25 pounds of honey, a ten frame medium super holds 30 pounds of honey. A deep super containing the brood frames will have honey too.
The main nectar flow starts about April first and ends sometime in the second half of May. There are no other nectar flows, including the fall nectar flow for the remainder of the growing season, which ends in November. After June first, there is no nectar flow for the rest of the growing season! There is pollen available every month, including December and January.
All new colonies must be fed syrup made from cane sugar and water. Do not feed any sugar that is not white; brown sugar will make the bees sick. Powdered sugar contains starch which will make the bees sick.
Typically the new colony will be in the deep or brood super. Feed syrup using a large feeder, and I like one and two-gallon inverted pails from www.betterbee.com. A Boardman feeder is not adequate; four Boardman feeders on the top of the super is a good start.
During the main nectar flow, the colony will not consume much syrup. As the main nectar flow ends in late May, consumption will increase.
Continue to feed and watch the colony draw out comb in the deep super. It can be frustrating to get the bees to draw comb unless you do two things.
- If you use plastic foundation, coat the plastic foundation with melted beeswax. I use a 4” foam paint roller to apply the liquid beeswax. A new foam roller will not absorb wax unless you force the air out by pressing it against the bottom of the pot.
- A honey frame is the outside of the nest, and they will not go outside the honey frame to draw out comb on a frame of foundation. Rearrange the frames during an inspection, so one frame of foundation is outside the brood frames and inside the honey frame. In a few weeks, the foundation frame will have drawn comb, repeat the process, move another frame of foundation outside the brood frames but inside the honey frame.
When only two frames of foundation are left, add a super and continue to feed. When the medium of shallow super has all drawn comb, and it’s full of honey, you can stop feeding. Typically this happens in September, and it is normal for the queen to lay in the middle frames of the super.
Stopping for a week or two will not harm the colony during the summer. Just make sure to reach the 30-pound goal by the end of October.
DO NOT LET ANYONE CONVINCE YOU TO COMPLETELY STOP FEEDING UNTIL YOUR HIVE HAS AT LEAST 30 POUNDS OF HONEY.
My first inspections are in late January. It is quick, and I only look for brood, which indicates there is a viable queen, and assess honey stores. I can prevent starvation and feed in late January, and I only feed if required. Feeding in January thru March when not required enables the colony to swarm.
I have 15 years of experience and manage 50 to 75 hives in Coweta County, Georgia.
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DO NOT FEED MATURE COLONIES MAKING HONEY DURING THE MAIN NECTAR FLOW IN APRIL AND MAY.
FEED NEW COLONIES (SWARMS, NUCS, AND PACKAGES)
1:1 Syrup Recipe
By Andy Anderson
1. First off 1:1 syrup means equal parts of water and sugar measured by WEIGHT. Water is pretty much H2O but there are many kinds of sugar. You need to use PURE CANE SUGAR and nothing else.
2. You can do the math (because I did) or . . . 3 Gallons Water plus 25 Pounds Sugar makes 5 gallons of 1:1 syrup. Add the sugar slowly and stir a lot. When I make this much, I take three-gallon milk jugs of hot water from the kitchen sink which aids in dissolving the sugar.
3. For smaller quantities use . . . 8 cups of warm water plus 9 cups of sugar will make about 3/4 gallon syrup.
4. Essential oils can prevent mold and other stuff from growing in the feeders. Mann Lake offers Pro Health. Follow label recommendations, but less may be enough to prevent mold. More information on Pro Health below
5. The girls will love it.
- Pro Health is a feeding stimulant composed of lemongrass and spearmint (essential oils concentrate)
- Pro Health helps promote strong and healthy hives when used as a feeding stimulant during late winter, early spring, and during dearths of nectar
- Pro Health has a natural calming effect when sprayed on the bees
- Pro Health is antibacterial, antifungal, and antimicrobial which aids in the overall health of the bees
- Pro Health added to your feeding mix will help build up packages, nucs and swarms
- Pro Health prevents syrup fermentation
- Stimulates bees to draw out new foundation faster when used as a spray.
"I use Pro Health too, to reduce mold growth and enhance colony health. I add 1 fluid ounce to five gallons of syrup." Steve Page
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