April 2019 Meeting Minutes

Wannabee Hobby Beekeepers Meeting Minutes
Wednesday, 17 April 2019
Location: Western Dakota VoTech
_________________________________________

Meeting Opened: Tim called the meeting to order at 5:55pm

Old Business

Presentations:
– Nosema Check – Rob and Peggy Roberts *Could not make in tonight Cancelled*

– Club Polo Shirts: We need to go over the orders to ensure

– Scholarship Overview:

o Kia was not at the last meeting and as the Treasurer she did not understand why should send out a check. She had some questions as why she send out the check. Tim gave her the minutes of the last meeting to go over.

o Tim then went over the last meeting with the group and that we had four individuals apply.

o Dan spoke up that he attempted to put a letter together to go with the check.

o Tim stated that he did a send a letter to go with the checks but Kia said she did not see it.

o Jerry stated that he had a hive for one of the applicants. However, equipment was not part of the scholarship program.

New Business

Presentations:
– Foraging Flowers and Healthy Habitat – Darrel Kjerstad

Discussion Points:
Does the mix come back every year?
Answer: Not all but most do come back.

Did the mixture planted was it in full shade?
Answer: This mix was in part shade

Is the mixture a continues bloom
Answer: Yes. It blooms all summer long.

Seems like best bang for the buck sweet clover is the easiest.
Answer: It is one of the best options out there.

– New NUC Demonstration – Jerry Owens
o Demonstration of how to put in a NUC to a starter hive.

– NUC Distribution Plan – Jerry Owens
o Bees are coming in very soon. He is heading Colorado to pick up package bees.
o Distributes at Canyon Lake senior center
 5pm on the 20th
o The 4th of May the NUC will come in. Same distribution location as last year out in the Valley. Early morning pick up but no later that 8am. Around 8pm that night you can pick them up too. After the 4th you will have to make arrangements with Jerry to pick up the NUCs.
o Jerry will put out an email with address and times

Discussion Topics:
– March Cheyenne Workshop

– Dale Freeman: Well run conference with lunches and dinner. Felt like it took him from being a bee haver to a bee manager. Lots of great information on how to split hives.

– JoAnne Matz: Really like the bee math and how they broke down problems in the hive. Bee anatomy was great. Gave them insights on how to read their hive.

– Jennifer Freeman: Great bee anatomy and hive analysis. Found out a lot about mites.

*Tom informed the group that he found out that many of the bees in his hives during winter where actually born in before or in August the summer before. He found this out by inserting a Queen that was dark in August but the bees he found in the hive were still light colored. Moral of the story, if you have a mite problem in late August you “might” be behind the power curve and you really need to treat or your hive may go into the winter with a hive killing mite problem. If you are waiting until October to treat…it is too late. Know where your hive is when it comes to mites. We are managers of mites as well as bee keepers.

– Tim Moran: Almost every presentation discussed mite control.

Discussion: Jerry informed the group that our NUCs will have been treated for mites before being shipped to us. He also gets a certification that all NUCs are disease free.

Summer To Do List

Update on Field Trips
– First trip in May to Tim Moran’s Apiary

Attempt to have a NUC introduction and we will drink some homemade beer.
Tim went into his hive two weeks ago and he had larva and capped brood already.
Best time to do a hive split? Into swarm season…into May to June.

Any other Business?
Some group member hung around to talk summer tasks and other topics.

Next Meeting: 11 May 2019
Tim Moran’s DRB Apiary
4723 Edgewood Drive
Rapid City, SD 57702

Meeting Closed: Tim called the meeting closed at 7:50pm
______________________________________________________________________________

Minutes are respectfully submitted by Allen Godsell, Club Secretary, on 8 MAY 2019 at 2100hrs