Submitted by: Terry Dahms, Pres. East Central Iowa Beekeepers internet: [log in to unmask] ------------------------------------------------------------------ THE BUZZ AUGUST, 1994 ------------------------------------------------------------------ A newsletter published monthly as a cooperative effort by The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and The Iowa Honey Producers Association (IHPA), an affiliate member of the Iowa Horticultural Society. Copy deadline is the 20th of each month. Your ideas, comments and letters are welcomed and encouraged. EDITOR: Bob Cox, State Apiarist, Iowa Dept. of Agriculture, Wallace Building, Des Monies, IA. 50319 Phone: (515) 281-5736. IHPA MEMBERSHIP: Membership dues in the Iowa Honey Producers Assn. are $5.00/year. Send to Gordon Powell, IHPA Treasurer. ------------------------------------------------------------------ STATE APIARIST REPORT We now have two field inspectors working in the western part of the state and the 12th of the month we will start inspecting in northeastern Iowa. We are looking for an experienced beekeeper to inspect for about 6-8 weeks this fall and 6-8 weeks next spring in the northcentral, central and/or the southeast part of the state. The beekeeper must reside in one of those areas to qualify. If you are interested or have any suggestions for someone who might be, give me a call at 515-281-5736. The honey flow has slowed considerably since June. However, many beekeepers are reporting a good crop from clover already and are hoping for some late flows from soybeans and wildflowers. The southeast part of the state looks to be the best, especially considering that they have had almost no crop for four years. This is a good time of the season to take some of that nice light colored honey off the hives and keep it separate. The extraction process is much simpler with fewer robbing bees and the honey temperature warmer. This is also a good time to prepare products to enter in the State Fair. All you need is six jars of honey, sections of comb honey, a frame of honey, a 3-pound chunk of beeswax, candles, or an observation beehive to enter. Fill out the entry form in last month's newsletter and send in with the nominal entry fee. If you need help getting entries to the fair in Des Moines, let me know, and I'll see if I can find someone else in your area who is coming to the fair. BOOK REVIEW: Almond Pollination Handbook by Joe Traynor You might ask why should an Iowa beekeeper be interested in a handbook on almond pollination. I'll give you two reasons. 1.) Many of the principles of pollinating almonds also apply to pollinating any crop, especially other tree fruits. 2.) The demand for honey bees to pollinate California almonds and the opportunity to earn some cash during an off-time of the year may be attractive to some Iowa beekeepers. The book is divided into two sections, the first section for the almond grower and the second for the beekeeper. Topics for the grower include: orchard design for pollination, renting bees, pollination management, bee removal and alternate insect pollinators. This section makes this book the ideal gift for an orchardist for which you are currently providing pollination services or a prospective customer. A similar manual for fruit growers in Iowa (primarily, apples and some cherries, pears, plums, peaches and apricots) would certainly be valuable. The section written for the beekeeper covers topics such as pollination agreements, state regulations, theft, bee delivery, pesticides, preparing colonies, bee removal, time and duration of bloom and grower-beekeeper communication. This 86-page handbook is well written and printed on nice glossy paper, well organized for easy reference, and has some nice color photography. And last, but not least, the price is right-- $7.00 (which includes shipping and handling). To obtain a copy send a check to Kovak Books, P.O. Box 1422, Bakersfield, CA 93302. LAPLANDERS HONEY CONFERENCE Friday, September 9th, the Laplanders Honey Conference of Southern Iowa and Northern Missouri will be held in Allerton, Iowa at the "Inn of the Six Toed Cat." Dinner will be served at 6 p.m. and the program to follow at 7 p.m. "The Honey Market: What's Out There?" will be the theme of the conference. Lisa Terry, the 1994 American Honey Queen from Northfield, Minnesota, will be one of the guest speakers for the evening. Joining her will be Leon Metz, honey packer from Hazel Green, Wisconsin. Do join us for dinner and for this timely program. For further details and reservations contact: Ann Garber 515/872-3119 by Tuesday, September 6th. The fourth annual Honey-Walnut Classic will be held the following day, Saturday, September 10th at 10 a.m. on the east portico of the "Inn" in Allerton. This popular event honors the historic "Iowa-Missouri Honey War, 1838-1841." NATIONAL HONEY BOARD ANNUAL MEETING HELD The National Honey Board held its annual meeting in Denver June 17. The Board elected Neil Miller, Blackfoot, Idaho, as its new chairman during the meeting. Randy Johnson, Nampa, Idaho, was elected as vice president and Steve Klein, Marshall, Minnesota, was re-elected as secretary/treasurer. Two additional Board members, Binford Weaver, Navasota, Texas, and Larry Krause, Riverton, Wyoming, were elected to serve on the Board's Executive Committee. The Executive Committee is responsible for the conduct of duties and policies outlined by the National Honey Board. The Board administers an industry-funded national research, promotion and consumer information program to increase domestic honey consumption and U.S. honey exports. The board member's work at the meeting also included allocating funds for the 1995 plan year. "The Board will be reviewing the Committee's work this fall," said Neil Miller, chairman of the National Honey Board. "Before the Board spends a dime, we review the program plans to ensure that they uphold the Board's mission -- to support a strong and viable domestic honey industry by creating a dynamic marketplace for honey and honey products." 4-H ESSAY CONTEST NEEDS ENTRIES (from June 1994 APIS newsletter) What does it take to get 4-Hers to sit down and write an essay? That's the burning question those at the American Beekeeping Federation (ABF) and myself are asking after looking at the results of last year's 4-H essay contest. Only fifteen (15) states submitted winners and (Iowa) was not among them. In addition, the vast majority of these states had only one to two entries to choose from. There are three top cash prizes each year ($250, $100 and $50), plus the winner in each state is awarded a book on beekeeping. This boils down to one fact: there's a great opportunity to win something by simply entering! The rules for this year's contest have just been announced. The topic this year is much different than from previous contests. The essayist is asked to write an original story on honey bees suitable for a teacher to read to second-grade students. Suggested titles include: The Busy Little Bee, I Like Honey, A Trip to the Apiary, or My Friend, the Beekeeper. There's plenty of time to get a story together for this year's contest; deadline is April 1, 1995! Full contest rules are available from Bob Cox, State Apiarist, phone 515-281-5736 or the ABF Office, phone 912-427-8447. A BEGINNER'S BAIT HIVES by Peter Coyle Having read in John Vivian's book, Keeping Bees, about "bees for free," by placing bait hives in trees and then, again in the Aebi's book about their bait hives, my Scottish parsimony took over. Last year I made my first swarm trap and was excited when some scout bees started sniffing around and into it. However, some of Walt Disney's beloved delinquent squirrels knocked on wood, tasted it and found it good, wherein the bees departed. Unable to harass my bees during the winter, I turned to collecting on bait hives, which being a novice in the beekeeping game, is my substitute for knowledge. I got Cornell's, "Bait Hives for Honey Bees" by Seeley, Morse and Nowogrodzki and could just see the bees rolling in. Then there were the articles by Schmidt, Thoenes and Hurley, from the American Bee Journal, which explained the importance of pheromone lures, which I just knew I had to have. I could visualize all those winter clusters of bees over half of Iowa impatient to zoom into my traps. However, a catalog price of twenty dollars for what they described as being made of inexpensive material, and what I gathered would only be a kind of paper mache, deep, brood box, sent me to the workshop with cardboard and thin plywood scraps to construct an alternative. I had read that a volume roughly the size of a deep hive body was most favored, (although recently opinion has changed). Climbing ladders and trees with a full box of bees required the box to be as light as possible. Everything I made had a coating, externally, of roof cement, thinned with mineral spirits to sicken the squirrels off and I capped each hive with a lid made from discarded aluminum soffit to keep everything dry. Internally, each had homemade rough frames of standard dimension with a waxed starter strip which would easily transfer to a deep hive body. I then sat and itched for Spring. The last week in April, I was out with the ladder visiting friends who might have suitable spots in trees about ten to twelve feet up, with morning sun and afternoon shade, just as the literature suggested. Now, at the end of June, I have had three swarms from one hive and two from another, with scout bees still buzzing around the emptied boxes. The first swarm, which I weighed like a proud father, was five and a half pounds and made some nice comb honey for me. The last one, which was so big it filled the whole trap and had a pound or two of bees still outside, I collected in a screened box using a funnel and transferring it to a medium super of foundation and two round section supers at dusk, feeling exhilarated beyond measure. However, the next day, when I looked in the afternoon, they were gone, leaving me as devastated as I had been exhilarated. Too late, I now have two homemade entrance guards. In collecting one swarm which had started to build comb from the bottom of the trap, I missed the open sack on the end of a pole, held helpfully by my companion and neighbor, Cheryl, and brushed a couple pounds of less than happy bees on her head. This made me more acquainted with the language of liberation. Two other bait hives in suburbia have never had a snifter so far. Perhaps in bee real estate the three most important things are location, location and location. My experience, limited as it is, suggests that I should err on the large side with the boxes, worrying less about the spaces around the frames, as the bees are unlikely to construct burr comb between inspections, although one swarm built comb on about a third of nine frames in just a couple of days. The mistakes I made were very instructional, if humbling. Ah, but just wait until next year. FOR SALE: 7 bee hives, two-story plus misc. equipment. Contact Raymond and Jo Whitwood, Muscatine. phone (319)263-0992. FOR SALE: 55-gallon drums $6.00 each; 20 or more $5.00 each. Call Harry Hunter in Des Moines at (515)266-1984. FOR SALE: Stainless 8-frame extractor with Dayton electric motor, cappings knife and misc. supers, frames, lids & boxes. Asking $200/offer. If interested call Des Moines at (515)270-8726, leave message if no answer. FOR SALE: Kelley electric, vibrating uncapping knife with electric motor $175; Kelley steam vibrating uncapping knife $125; Dadant electric stainless mini-melter $350; C.C. Pollen Co. traps used only one season $30 each. Call Monroe Neihart near Clarinda (712)582-3200. FOR SALE: Qualitly Section Comb Honey in Cartons $1.90 each. Call Stanley Weiser, 2674 - 303rd Pl. in Adel. Ph: (515)993-3126. "Butter and HONEY shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil and choose the good." (Isaiah 7:15) CALENDAR OF EVENTS AUGUST 11-21 Iowa State Fair Apiary Exhibit, 2nd Floor of Agriculture Building, State Fairgrounds, Des Moines Open daily 9:00 a.m.- 9:00 p.m. Come see the best! SEPTEMBER - NATIONAL HONEY MONTH 9-10 Laplanders Honey Conference 6:00 p.m. the 10th and Honey Walnut Classic 10 a.m. the 11th both at the Inn in Allerton, Iowa. 12 Eastcentral Iowa Beekeepers Meeting 7:00 p.m. in basement of Montgomery Hall, Johnson County Fairgrounds, Iowa City 15 Scott County Beekeepers Meeting 7:00 p.m. at Riefes Restaurant, Locust St., Davenport. 17 Central Iowa Beekeepers Meeting at Royal Cafe in Huxley. Buffet dinner at 5:30 p.m., Business Meeting 6:30 p.m. and Program at 7:30 p.m. (We will try again to show the Bee Emergency Video.) NOVEMBER 11-12 Iowa Honey Producers Annual Meeting in Marshalltown. FOR SALE: Home Study Course "Rearing Honey Bee Queens in the Northern U.S." (with manual and video tape) by Dr. Marla Spivak and Gary S. Reuter, the University of Minnestota. $40.00 Contact Dept. of Entomology, University of Minnesota, Hodson Hall, St. Paul, MN 55108-6125 or call Dr. Spivak at (612) 624-4798. Dear Beekeeper Friends, I am writing this short announcement to let you know of the recent loss of my father, Russell Stephenson of Williams, Iowa. He died suddenly in his home on May 19th at the age of 77. As some of you know, he sold his business, "Stephenson Honey Farms" in 1993 and retired. He loved the beekeeping business and being able to work in the outdoors. He offered great assistance and advise to several beekeepers and those interested in the field during his life. My father enjoyed talking to many of you over the years and sharing the constant cares and concerns of the Midwest beekeeper. [Editor: I certainly enjoyed getting to know Mr. Stephenson when inspecting his equipment for the sale. He had an efficient way to handle frames during the extracting process and developed a unique way of removing excess moisture from his honey after it was extracted and checked his own bees for tracheal mites with his microscope. He certainly applied his engineering skills learned in his silo construction company to the beekeeping business.] Thanks for being a special part of my father's life!! He will be greatly missed! -Thomas Russell Stephenson and The Stephenson Family OTHER INSECTS OCCUPYING BEE HIVES Sometimes beekeepers may become alarmed or at least concerned about insects other than honey bees inside their hives. At times the beekeeper may see cockroaches, ants, beetles, spiders and wax worms (moth larvae) occupying their bee hives. As a general rule healthy, populous colonies are not damaged by these insect guests. Many times wax moths are blamed for the death of colonies. This is almost never the case in Iowa. The wax moth larvae are nature's clean-up crew after a colony dies. This can actually be helpful if the colony died from American foulbrood disease by reducing the probability of spreading the disease to neighboring colonies. The best way to prevent damage to your combs after the colony has died is to keep an eye on your bees and pick up any empty hive equipment from the beeyard. The primary problem beekeepers encounter is in storing empty beeswax comb, especially brood comb during the warm summer months. A few years ago several products were available for fumigating or treating stored beeswax combs. These products are designed to kill insects, therefore fumigated combs should always be aired out for a few hours before placing them on the bees. Most recently, the product "Paramoth" (PDB - Paradichlorobenzene) is no longer available for bee equipment. I've heard conflicting reports from beekeeping supply houses as to the fate of registration of this product for treatment of beeswax combs. One story is that PDB is a carcinogen and EPA has withdrawn registration for use on beeswax. Another beekeeping supply dealer says they will have approval from EPA to sell PDB later this fall. Outside of using chemical products, combs can be placed in a deep freezer for a few days to kill any adult moths, larvae or eggs. Additionally, the moths do not like light or fresh air. Therefore, storing combs in a way that they are exposed to both of these elements may be of some help. Light colored combs from honey supers are pretty safe from the moths. Another system that may work for you is to keep empty comb stored on the colonies where the bees will keep the moths out during the warm months (June, July, August, September and October). Then, bring in empty equipment and store in an unheated building for the winter and nature will give them a cold treatment. Dear Iowa Honey Promoter: Along with getting your honey harvested, it's time to plan to promote your state's beekeeping or honey exhibit at your local fair or festival. To aid in honey promotions Media kits are available from the National Honey Board by contacting Sherry Jennings, Industry Relations Director at (303)776-2337. Media kits include: a story on pollination, newsreleases, summer recipe tips and two new recipe leaflets -- "Bringing You Nature's Bounty Is Our Line" and "Make Magic in Minutes." Use the media kit to give to local newspaper editors, television news shows and radio stations the latest buzz on honey. BRINGING YOU NATURE'S BOUNTY IS OUR LINE -- Recipes from NHB. Back to Nature Cookies 1/2 cup shortening 1 cup honey 2 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla 1-3/4 cups whole wheat flour 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon cinnamon 2 cups quick-cooking oats 1/2 cup chopped nuts 1/2 cup finely chopped apple 1 cup raisins In a large mixing bowl, cream shortening and honey until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in vanilla. In medium bowl, stir together flour, soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Add dry ingredients to honey mixture, beating until smooth. Stir in oats, nuts, apple and raisins. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto greased cookie sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake at 350 F 10 to 12 minutes or until cookies are golden brown. Makes about 5 dozen. Honey Pork Chops & Apples 6 pork loin chops (about 3/4-inch thick) Salt, pepper and ground sage 2 Granny Smith or other tart apples 1 tablespoon butter or margarine 1/4 cup HONEY 6 Maraschino cherries (optional) Brown chops slowly in skillet; remove to shallow baking dish. Season chops with salt, pepper and sage. Core and slice apples into 1/2-inch rings. Add butter to skillet and saute apple rings until crisp-tender. Place 1 apple ring on each chop. Cover and bake at 300 F for 30 minutes. Drizzle honey over apples and chops; baste with drippings. Cover and bake 15 minutes longer or until pork is fully cooked. Place cherry in center of apple rings before serving. Makes 6 servings. Honey-Kissed Fruit (Microwave Method) 1/4 cup honey 1 teaspoon grated orange peel 2 fresh pears, pared, cored and halved 1 can (5-1/4 oz.) pineapple chunks, drained 1 cup each red and green grapes, halved, seeded Blend honey and orange peel; set aside. Place pears in 4 microwave-safe serving glasses; drizzle with honey mixture. Cover each glass with plastic wrap; vent. Microwave at HIGH (100%) 3 to 5 minutes or until pears are tender. Combine pineapple and grapes. Divide evenly between servings and sprinkle over pears. Serve warm or cold. Makes 4 servings. Honey Cloverleaf Rolls 1 package (16 oz.) hot roll mix 6 tablespoons honey, divided 1/4 cup butter or margarine 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel 1 cup sliced almonds Prepare dough according to package directions, adding 2 tablespoons honey to liquid. Cover kneaded dough with bowl and let stand 5 minutes. Melt butter and remaining honey; stir in lemon peel. Roll dough into 36 balls (about 1 to 1-1/2 inch diameter). Form clusters of three balls, dip each in honey mixture and then almonds. Place each cluster in well-greased muffin cup. Let rise 30 minutes or until doubled in bulk. Bake at 350 F 15 to 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Brush with honey mixture, if desired. Makes 12 rolls. Honey Cranberry Butter 1 cup butter, softened 1/4 cup HONEY 1/4 cup chopped cranberries* 1/4 cup cranberry sauce 2 tablespoons ground walnuts 1 tablespoon milk 2 teaspoons grated orange peel Cream butter and honey in medium bowl. Add cranberries, cranberry sauce, walnuts, milk and orange peel. Whip until light pink in color. Serve at room temperature; store in refrigerator, tightly covered. * Use fresh or frozen cranberries, if desired; chop before thawing. New NHB recipe folder; see page 7 for recipes.