Queen's Castle Beekeepers Assoc.

7th Minuets for the Queen Castle Beekeepers Assoc

26 March 2011

1980 U. S. Hwy 29, Andalusia, AL 36420, 334-222-0751/376-9824

The minuets from last month were read and accepted as is.

Old or Ongoing Business:
Still need to work club by-laws.
New Club House – OJ and Lucy will start with the bathrooms soon. They are waiting for the county to do the perk test for the sewage lines.
Donna and Jason – has more ground covering available for you to buy, a great way to reduce weeds and grass around hives.

New Business:
Small hive beetles – They are and will always be a problem for our bees. It is our job to keep the impact of the beetles to a minimum. In the QC hive our 5/32 metal is key to trap or take some of the beetles out of the hive. The bees can kick them out and they fall down into our trap. OJ talked about McNICHOLS steel company and all the details on how to get the right metal.

Hives in wet areas – it is best to not place your hives in wet places, but if you have no other choice, make sure you have the hives high and dry as possible. Mildew, Mold and other things affect the damp hives.

Donna Blair told how they caught swarms in the pear tree, on the side of a big tree and on the ground. Several shared the different ways swarms were caught this year. Jason Pillard even had to shoot the limb the swarm was on because it was too high to reach. We will do almost anything to keep from losing our swarms! A 5 gallon bucket attached to a 16’ 1”x6” was also used. IF you ever catch too many swarms and do not want more hives yourself, get in touch with me or OJ/Lucy and we will put the word out that you have bees for sell or give away. This is good for all in the club and you can make a little money too. Loosing swarms is one way the African bees or Killer bees have increased in other areas of the world.

Millie Bee Rep – Elmore Herman came and delivered a pick up load of package bees and bee supplies to our members. This saved us the shipping cost and questions concerning the packages were answered in person instead of over the phone. It was great that Elmore stayed and took part in our meeting. He is the first supplier to become a paid member. A great comment from him was to use a special queen excluder at the entrance of the hive to keep your queen in the hive. He also suggested that if you are having some sort of problem with an older hive you might change the queen. The new queen will change the environment of the hive.

Caucasian Bees – Gentle bee to work with but takes longer to build up honey. If all your flowers bloom in early spring then there may not be enough for them to make you excess honey to sell. Good and Bad, you have to study your flowers and available pollen and nectar to decide if this is a good idea or not.
Propoplis – could also make you some additional money. You can collect it in a paint can with a lid if you just keep it near your work area for when you come across wood or metal that needs it removed. No one in the club has sold it, but others in Alabama have.

Bees going to lights at night - try to reduce or eliminate lights off your bees.
Let’s go get some swarms – OJ had several swarms for the club to watch how it is done and some new beekeepers got hands on practice.

The meeting was adjourned and we returned to the basement and enjoyed our pot luck meal.

Our next meeting will be 30 April 2011 at 10:00 am come early so we can start on time.
We had an outstanding meeting with six new paid members join.
Secretary, Keith Robinson