OCBA Meeting Minutes 5/8/2008

Becky brought the meeting to order and everyone introduced themselves.
Becky reported that she had been getting a lot of calls about swarms - everyone has been helping out.

Thanks were given for all who helped out at the Butterfly Bash and the Museum of Life and Science in Durham. We have been invited back next year!

Field Day will be Saturday may 31. We will split some of David Langham's hives. Meet at Allen and Sons at 9 a.m. Lunch at Allen and Sons after the field day.

The NCSBA summer meeting will be in Southern Pines. There is a "Cooking with Honey" contest and a Honey contest and great workshops. Make plans to go if you can.

Upcoming Meetings:
Next month - Don Hopkins and Will talking about basic beekeeping
July - Extracting Honey and Honey Tasting
Bring pictures for the calendar. We will vote on calendar pictures.
August - Roundtable for fall management.

Just to restate what has already been sent around. The USPS will no longer accept packages of bees through the mail. You can still get queens.

Charles Fleckenstein suggested that we tape our Bee Basics class and put it on the website for anyone who might be interested in getting started in bees.

Things to Do in Your Bees During the Month of May
Add supers, move empty supers to bees will fill them up.
Be sure there is plenty of space to prevent swarming.
Bees should be bringing in pollen. Look for pollen on bees as an indicator of hive health.

Randall Austin was our speaker for the evening and spoke about watering your bees.

Bees use water in the hive in many ways: their regular biological processes, for eggs (need 90-95% humidity for egg rearing), to regulate the temperature, and to mix with food.

Did you know that bees dance for water!

Where do they get their water?
Nectar, condensation in the hive, streams, gutters from houses, swimming pools.
Bees find water by sight, smell and they sense differences in humidity. Once they find water, they have a preference for different types of water. Rain gutter water and cow pie water is highly attractive. High salt water is not very attractive to bees. It is best to provide your bees with water because they will find some and it may be from a place you DON'T want them getting it from - like your neighbor's pool.

Ways to provide water:
55 gallon drum or kiddie pool with floats in them.
Chicken waterer
Front hive feeder
Soaker hose attached to a rain barrel
Ponds and water gardens
Bucket with holes drilled about an inch from the top and with styrofoam peanuts or some other float (the holes prevent the floats from spilling out when the bucket is overfilled.

Considerations for watering.
It must be easy for the bees to find and convenient for both the bees and for you to refill.
Keep in mind that natural sources can dry up.
Must have electricity for a water garden.

Water gardens and ponds are great sources for water for the bees. Flowing water in water gardens is more attractive to bees and keeps mosquitoes down. Plants in water gardens and ponds provide access to water. When you are selecting a place for your water garden, keep in mind the bees' flight path.

Be proactive - provide water before they find your neighbor's pool. Once they've found a water source they like, it's hard to retrain them.

Thanks, Randall, for a great talk!