BeeLines - Breathitt County

BeeLinesState Apiarist Dr. Tammy Horn Potter (L-r) Mike Mabry, BullittCounty Beekeepers; SarahPreston, University ofKentucky graduate student;and Neil Hunt, presidentof Pike County Beekeepers,examine Varroa mites.Kentucky Department of Agriculture, Ryan F. Quarles, CommissionerApril 2017Kentucky Queen Bee Breederskick off their inaugural yearDwight Wells of Purdue Bee Labs addressed a Marchmeeting of the Kentucky Queen Bee Breeders Associationabout the Purdue Mite Biter queen program. He discussed howKentucky beekeepers can better prepare their hives to acceptinseminated queen bees.This talk was followedby a slide show assessing mitedamage, in which honey beeschewed the legs off Varroamites. (We imagine there wascheering.)Under the microscopes ofDr. Tom Webster of KentuckyState University, the membersanalyzed Varroa mites anddiscussed the merits of anDr. Tom Webster of Kentucky Stateassociation focused on queen University (standing), works withClaude Nutt, Oldham County.production.Curd, new Jackson Co.association president,seeks program presentersCongratulations to Philip Curd,newly named president of theJackson County Beekeepers (alsoknown as the Dark Honey ProducersAssociation). Philip and the groupare completing their meeting plansfor the rest of this year and seekpresenters for meetings after April.They are flexible as to date and topic.Their meetings regularly begin at 6p.m. EDT on the second Thursday ofeach month during the beekeepingseason.Philip’s email is prcurd@pr tcnet.org.American Honey Princess visitsHope Pettibon (center), 2017 American Honey Princess, visited Kentucky AgricultureCommissioner Ryan Quarles (second from left) last month. She was in town to appear at theBluegrass Beekeepers School in Frankfort. Visiting with her is (left) Ken Daniels, presidentof Capital City Beekeepers; State Apiarist Dr. Tammy Horn Potter (second from right); andMarsha Bezold, “Bee Friendly Frankfort” project director. (KDA photo)BeeLines April 2017 1

State Apiarist’s reportBy Dr. Tammy Horn PotterAs beginning beekeepers place orders for honey bees, thisis my yearly reminder: “Buyer beware.”Carl Jackson, presidentof the Whitley CountyBeekeepers Association,demonstrates to theEastern Kentucky WinterBee School an ingeniousfeeder with differentoptions. It has an area whereIf I have to buy bees, and the choice is between a nuc (aa beekeeper can putsmall five-frame colony) or a package of honey bees, I will buya queen cage so thata nuc for one simple reason: A healthy hive has “overlappingthe beekeeper doesn’thave to wedge the cagegenerations.”between two frames.Nucs can be available in a wide variety of sizes, but for It also has a removablemost beginners, five-frame nucs can handle adverse weatherpanel in the precisemore easily than a package.shape of a pollen patty,so you can remove theA five-frame nuc consists of a mated queen, her daughters,panel, feed a pollenand four drawn-comb frames of brood and honey. The fifthpatty, and then replaceframe provides the honey bees inside the nuc some spacethe panel.to expand without swarming, so this frame may not be as“full” as the remaining four frames. So if you see a frame thatdoesn’t seem as if it has as many honey bees as the others, beaware that this is normal. The seller is not trying to cheat you.foundation should not be older than five years. The waxRegardless if it is a 3-frame or 5-frame nuc, the nucfoundation is the “lungs of the beehive.”equipment should be in good shape (no repaired frames,Many sellers create nucs from new perforated cardboard,old woodenware, wax so old that it is blackened). The waxso there are fewer chances of diseases being spread. Keepin mind that these cardboard nucs can “leak” bees. Youshould come prepared with a screened net (lightweight) totransport your nucs. If you are stopped at a traffic light andOverwintered nuc.your straggler bees sting someone, you could find yourself in alawsuit if you haven’t taken precautions to prevent an incident.(Photo by Kevin Hale,Nucs should have this year’s queen (2017), unless theMenifee County, 2015.)seller tells you that the queen is last year’s queen. There isnothing wrong with an over-wintered queen as long as herlaying pattern is solid, but the seller should clearly statethe queen’s age. You may need to requeen in the middle ofsummer, and you need to be prepared for that.Buyers also must be flexible with the seller’s schedule.Weather-related events may delay the arrival of nucs andpackages. Adverse April weather will impact a queen bee’sability to mate. A random spraying incident near an orchardmay impair drone sperm viability. Most queens that you buyare “open-mated,” making them vulnerable to environmentalfactors beyond anyone’s (and any bee’s) control.The seller will often ask buyers to come either early inthe morning before bees want to fly, or later in the evening,when straggler bees have returned. This request is not toinconvenience you; it is for the honey bees inside the nuc. ItSee APIARIST, page 3BeeLines April 2017 2

Apiarist,continuedis your investment, and the buyer does not want your nuc toburn up in the middle of the day or have your nuc “leak” beesthat instinctively want to fly in the middle of the day.Nucs are not always perfect. Sometimes, if a buyer doesnot inspect the frames, the buyer may find diseased combonce he or she arrives home. That is why I caution beekeepersto do a quick inspection before money changes hands.The demand for nucs outstrips supply, so many beginnersstart with packages. Just be aware that packages needconsistent nutrition to do well, and Kentucky’s mercurialweather patterns may prevent the worker bees from flying.Also, when dealing with packages, there is no rule thatsays that the queen inside the cage must be accepted by theworkers. Sometimes, packages are ready only 48 hours inadvance of your purchase, so there can be some issues as youinstall your package.It will help packages to get started if you have a frame ortwo of drawn foundation.Remember, nucs and packages are small living colonies.As such, they are vulnerable to the twin threats of Varroa mitesand small hive beetles, whether you see them or not.Former State Apiarist Phil Craft adds that “beginnersshould buy nucs from a highly reputable source. Having anexperienced beekeeper go with you is advised.”Finally, a tip from Florida entomology professor JamieEllis: A nuc is a great first-aid kit for approximately 95percent of all problems associated with a weak hive.The only exception is if the hive has American foulbrood.Then, since there is no cure for American foulbrood, youmust burn it. But if any other disease weakens a hive, suchas chalkbrood, sacbrood, European foulbrood, a queenlessBloodroot, anearly pollensource forhoney bees.(Gin Petty photo)State Apiarist’s schedule April 3: Washington County. April 6: Wild Ones. April 8: Queen Production Workshop, Somerset. April 13-14: Williams Queen ProductionWorkshop. April 18: Breckinridge County. April 24-25: Honey Bee Health Coalition. April 28: Campbellsville University Earth Daycelebration.hive, or a hive that has run out of honey, it can be helped bymerging it with a “first-aid nuc.”There is a proper procedure to this process: A beekeepermust kill the queen in the weak hive first, let the weak hivesit queenless for 24-48 hours, and then combine it with thefirst-aid nuc.Maintaining a first-aid nuc must become standardbeekeeping practice now that beekeepers can no longer buyover-the-counter antibiotics. As inconvenient as it is notto have Terramycin readily available any longer, honey beeshave amazing beneficial bacteria in their gut.In the January 2017 issue of Bee Culture, RebeccaNovak Tibbitt said, “The microbial communities in a honeybee’s gut plateau with 109 bacteria by their eighth day in thehive.” While antibiotics are wonderful tools, they can killthese beneficial biological tools the honey bees have.Monarch butterflies face declineAlthough BeeLines is primarily about honey bees,many of the same flowers that our honey bees love alsoprovide important fuel for the monarch butterflies on theirmigrations through Kentucky both to and from Mexico.Unfortunately, the monarch populations have taken a hitthis year. The number of monarch butterflies wintering inMexico dropped by 27 percent this year, reversing last year’srecovery from historically low numbers, according to a studyby government and independent experts.Experts speculate the decline could be due to late winterstorms last year that blew down more than 100 acres (40hectares) of forests where migrating monarch butterfliesspend the winter in central Mexico.See APIARIST, page 4BeeLines April 2017 3

Apiarist,continuedMillions of monarchs make the 3,400-mile(5,500-kilometer) migration from the United States andCanada each year, and they cluster tightly in the pine andfir forests west of Mexico City. They are counted not byindividuals, but by the area they cover.The packaging onseed packets ofmilkweed emphasizethe plant’s importantrole in pollination.Storms and cold take toll“The reduction in the area of forest they occupied thisyear is most probably due to the high mortality caused bystorms and cold weather last year,” said Omar Vidal, the headof the Mexico office of the World Wildlife Fund. “It is aclear reminder for the three countries that they must step upactions to protect breeding, feeding and migratory habitat.”Officials estimate the storms in March 2016 killed about6.2 million butterflies, almost 7.4 percent of the estimated84 million that wintered in Mexico, said Alejandro DelMazo, Mexico’s commissioner for protected areas. Themonarchs were preparing to fly back to the U.S. and Canadaat the time the storm hit.While no butterfly lives to make the round trip, areduction in the number making it out of the winteringgrounds often results in a decline among those who returnthe next year.How state beekeepers can helpKentucky beekeepers can assist monarch butterflies byplanting Common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca). Commonmilkweed is the preferred food for monarch butterflycaterpillars and can provide a good nectar flow even duringdry years. Most nectar is produced in the afternoon andevening. Connie Krochmal states that some beekeepers canharvest up to 50 pounds of honey in some areas, specifyingthat the best yield is from plants growing in clay soils (BeeCulture, Sept. 2016).Swamp milkweed (Asclepia incarnata) also seems like agood milkweed to grow from seed, and in some areas, it canprovide a surplus honey crop. However, I would recommendbeekeepers stay away from planting whorled milkweed(Asclepias verticillata), since it can be toxic to animals.Read more at: ico.htmlDownloadable educationalpresentations on KDA websiteThe Kentucky Department of Agriculture (KDA)website’s Honey Bee page (kyagr.com/statevet/honeybees.html) has information, lesson plans, andclassroom materials available. Presenters can download anduse the material to educate school children and the publicabout honey bees and pollinators.The materials were developed by Dr. Tammy HornPotter and Jennifer Elwell of Shepherdsville, executivedirector of Kentucky Agriculture and Environment in theClassroom Inc. KAEC promotes agriculture education inKentucky schools.Follow these links to the webpages and Google Drivefolder with lesson plans, information about pollinators, andactivities for National Honey Bee Day, August ibVZjUXZVSVk?usp .htmlLast page ofthis newsletter:An informative honey bee posterdeveloped by Tammy and Jennifer,available for download at kyagr.com.BeeLines April 2017 4