THIRTY_EIGHT MEMBERS & GUESTS attended the meeting and good fellowship was had by all. Minutes & Treasurer’s Report were approved. Several members renewed their dues: TOM, ED & ERNEST NEACE. We also had several new members join: TIM FITZSIMMONS, AVERY HAYDEN [who has kept bees in Florida and North Carolina], RICK and PAUL HOWARD. WELCOME TO THE CLUB! And THANKS to all you renewing members! Willard Wallace brought his son, Daniel, who is also a beekeeper with 5 hives. WELCOME, DANIEL!
With so many new and returning members, our club is now up to 73 members! We have a few who haven’t renewed their membership or it would be even higher. We used our new name tags to help everyone get to know each other. Even with the name tags, I managed to get someone’s name wrong [sorry Rick & Paul!].
Everyone has taken off their honey, some had a great year, some just average. Next year, with the help of Gary Strickland, the Club will be helping anyone who wishes to take off their honey, extract, bottle and sell it [THANKS, GARY!]. We will be getting you LOCAL HONEY FOR SALE signs. Gabe discussed Fall Management of our bees using Apiguard for mite control — 2 treatments 14 days apart. At the same time, you can treat with 6.4 oz of terramycin in 2 pounds of powdered sugar for prevention of American Foulbrood [put a tablespoon on each end bar above the brood chamber]. Wade also uses shop towels soaked in menthol, patchouli and canola oil. He then puts the strips of towel into the hive and the bees remove them and spread the oils killing the mites. Apilife-VAR can also be used, but takes one extra treatment [3 total]. Tom Mullins said he has had great success with Apiguard compared to Apistan strips. Gabe showed off some of Tom’s excellent woodwork for sale to beekeepers. Tom makes many items for sale: nuc boxes, feeders, items to protect the honey supers you have taken off the hives. Tom make the excellent hives we used at the HAS conference at Marshall University this Summer.
I got so busy with everything that I forgot to take any pictures. So you’ll just have to look in the mirror to see a pretty face today!
Instead, here's some pictures from the WV State Beekeepers Fall 2008 Meeting at Jackson's Mill with a BEE TREE and some Fall wildflowers.
The Fall honey flow has begun just in time since some reported light hives. You need 45-60 pounds of honey to make it through the Winter in this area. Each frame of honey in a honey super weighs about 3 pounds; in an Illinois [medium] super, about 4 pounds, and in a deep about 6 pounds. You can feed you bees with 2-1 sugar water if they are light on stores for the winter.
You could also feed pollen or pollen substitute to the bees or as pollen patties. You want fat, healthy bees going into Winter.
Dan announced that the IRS has awarded the Club 501c3 tax-exempt status. This took a LOT of paperwork and time. However, it allows us to get grants that are restricted to only those groups which are recognized by the IRS.
Gabe announced that the WV State Beekeepers had awarded the 2010 State Meeting to us to put on in Huntington. It will be held at Heritage Farm Museum in Wayne County on April 10th, 2010. Gabe is seeking national speakers like Dr. Keith Deleplane and Dr. David Tarpy. If any Club member has a suggestion for speakers, please let Gabe know. Dan will be seeking further grants to help pay the costs of this meeting and help us to train hobby beekeepers to become more commercial in selling their honey and bee products.
This year the WV Beekeepers Fall Meeting is Sept. 19th and 20th at Jackson’s Mill. This is always a great meeting and Gabe urged all members to attend.
Rhonna Blatt was looking after her Mother, so she couldn’t make the meeting. It’s a good thing Otis Baker and George Godby knew how to make coffee! Thanks for helping out, fellows!
Everyone then went to the kitchen and tried the many varieties of local honey brought by our members on biscuits donated by Tudor’s and others [THANKS TO EVERYBODY!!!] It was DELICIOUS!!! Kolten Thompson, our youngest dues-paying member, attended and enjoyed his biscuit for sure! Door prizes were drawn using the new name badges and many prizes were awarded.
The next meeting will be Monday, November 10th at 7 pm at the Lavalette United Methodist Church. Gabe will show how to make & wax frames .BEE SURE to make plans to attend! Until then, have a safe and HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!
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