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BANV Newsletter, March 2010 1

BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATIONOF

NORTHERN VIRGINIA

President Tom Greiner1st Vice President Penny Manners2nd Vice President Ernie Becking

Secretary Christopher ReedTreasurer Bennie LilesNewsletter editor Alan FialaWebsite http://www.beekeepersnova.org

March-April 2010

Next Membership Meeting isTuesday, March 23, 2010

7:30 p.m.

Cafeteria, Falls Church High School7521 Jaguar Trail

Falls Church, VA 22042

In This Issue

Next Meeting program BANV 1

President’s column 1

Minutes of last meeting 2

Announcements 2-3

Future meetings of BANV

Usually in the FCHS Cafeteria, themeeting room is frequently changedwithout notice – please check at the

door for announcements.

March 23 Falls Church HSRegular Meeting

May 25 Falls Church HS

Regular Meeting

Other Meetings of Interest

April 16-17 Wytheville CCVSBA Spring meeting

Listgroup for BANV

To subscribe, just send a message to

[email protected] and saythat you are a member of BANV.

The URL to the website for BANV mer-

chandise has been changed to:http://www.queensboro/s/banva

Whither BANV?

The next membership meeting is Tuesday,

March 23, in the cafeteria at Falls ChurchHigh School. Included as the main feature

of business will be a discussion of the future

direction of BANV and its activities.

The President’s CornerMarch 2010By Tom Greiner

Yikes! It’s almost spring! This means we’re

half way through this “bee year”already! I

still haven’t quite gotten used to that idea. Ihave to think more like my farmer sister andthink about the winter wheat crop or the

bulbs I planted last October. Anyway, as Iembark on my fifth spring of being a firstyear beekeeper I have to think about what I

haven’t done and what I still might be able to

do to get a honey crop this year. Last Tues-day or so I had to adjust the top on my oneremaining Carney nuc and found the cluster

at the top but alive. Thinking I’d better getsome pollen and candy on, I finally made upsome today (Saturday) and ventured out to

“save” the herd. I should have brought

roses. Oh well. Sorry Pat. Sorry bees.Sorry bank account. Two down, four to go.But at least the other four might not starve.

The almanac says we’re going to get onemore bad storm. Feed your herds!

The executive committee you elected inJanuary has some great expectations for

BANV over the next two years. Probablythe biggest is the consideration of becoming

an incorporated entity and applying for IRS

501(c)(3) nonprofit status. This idea hascome up before, but as far as we can tell,has never been researched as much in the

past as it has over the last month or so.

We’ll be posting and sending the documentsthat we should all read and consider. The

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URL for the documents is

http://www.beekeepersnova.org/nonprofit.

Besides the usual reports and the budget tovote on, at the March meeting we’ll be pro-posing, discussing, and voting to re-form

BANV as an incorporated legal entity to pur-

sue 501(c)(3) status. Please, please,please be there! Then, listen, discuss,

evaluate, and choose.

Minutes of the January 26, 2010Meeting of BANV

The January meeting was both a chance to

share a pot luck dinner and an opportunity

to see arts and crafts produced by our manycreative members. Denise Taylor beganher last meeting as BANV President by in-

troducing Judy Gallimore who played “TheFlight of the Bumblebee” on her flute.Other arts and crafts exhibited included,

photographs, Appalachian spirit hoops,

woodworking, watercolors, clockworks andorigami.

Denise described the slate of candidates for

BANV officers for the next two years. A mo-tion was made to accept the slate of candi-dates, the motion was seconded and a vote

approving the motion was unanimous. The

new officers are President - Tom Griener, 1st Vice President – Penny Manners, 2nd VicePresident – Ernie Becking, Secretary –

Christopher Reed, Treasurer – Bennie Liles.

Bennie Liles, who has been treasurer since

1986, reported BANV has $7274 in thebank.

Larry Kelley said he and Dane Hannum are

now planning to pick up 1100 packages of bees from Wilbanks Apiaries with the first

load expected back in Northern Virginia onMarch 27 and the second load a week later.

Larry has been informed by Wilbanks thatthe bees in Georgia are doing well.

Jim Haskell and Brenda Kiessling enter-

tained and educated meeting attendees withtheir beekeeping trivia quiz.

Respectfully submitted,

Christopher Reed, Secretary

January Meeting: Good Food, Fun Art,Music, and Quiz Game, Nice People!

By Penny Manners

In addition to the usual bountiful feast at

the January potluck, many shared their

creative inspirations with a member artshow. From a gallery of stunning insect

photos, to wood sculpture and turnings, wa-tercolors, barbed-wire spirit hoop, clock

works, and amazing mechanical carved toysand whirligigs, it was a treat for all to enjoy.

Added to the group’s enjoyment of a selec-

tion of desserts, Judy Gallimore entertainedwith a flute rendition of The Flight of the

Bumble Bee. Jim Haskell and Brenda Ki-essling put on a return performance of the

“Jim and Brenda Show,” a beekeeping quizgame. The winners got the coveted rusty

ol’ smoker award.

Judy Gallimore performs “Flight of the Bumblebee” Photo - Penny Manners

SARE Grant Approved for BANV Member

BANV member John Fraser was notified atthe end of February 2010 that his SAREproducer grant application for the 2010-

2011 calendar year has been approved.The Sustainable Agriculture Research andEducation (SARE) grants are provided

through the United States Department of Agriculture. Virginia is in the Southern SAREregion, which received 55 grant applicationsthis year. Ten applications were approved.

John’s grant application proposed that 50

nucleus hives would be over-wintered in agreenhouse environment near Centreville,

Virginia, from November 1, 2010 to March

1, 2011. The proposal involves the use of passive solar heat from the greenhouse to

moderate temperature extremes, and to

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control ice, snow, and wind. The hives will

have constant exterior access for cleansing

flights. Beekeepers will have access to thehives for pest control and manipulation onmany days under the greenhouse roof. The

hives will be hardened to Spring conditions

outside the greenhouse after March 1.

Under the proposal, a hypothesis regardinghoneybee reproduction will be tested. Thehypothesis is that, starting with 50 five-

frame nucleus hives on November 1, a total

of 100 nucleus hives of 4 frames orstronger, with reproductive queens, can be

produced by March 1. An element of theplan is to use mini-nucleus hives to over-

winter a population of locally-raised, locally-adapted queens to supply queens for addi-

tional hives after the nucs begin sustained

reproduction in January.

The SARE grant will pay for hive equipment,

electricity, fittings, pollen substitutes, other

foodstuffs, water, lighting at night, mileagefor educational briefings for beekeepers, afield day in early 2011 to permit beekeepers

to review the greenhouse operation, and

locally produced queens for the hives. TheSARE grant does not pay for the 50 startupnucleus hives, which must be provided by

the grantee.

Further information about the SARE grantwill be provided at the March 23, 2010

BANV meeting. The SARE grant program isalso described in great detail athttp://www.southernsare.uga.edu/. The

next call for producer grants will be released

on September 10, 2010, according to thatwebsite.

Virginia State Beekeepers Association

Spring MeetingReminder: The spring meeting will be held

Friday, April 16 and Saturday, April 17 atWytheville Community College in Wythe-

ville, VA. Final details are not available atthis writing, but will be posted on the state

website as soon as possible. Advance regis-tration is encouraged.

Notes from a recent workshop of theApiary Inspectors of America

By Alan FialaDisclaimer: these are my notes and may or

may not accurately reflect the presenta-tions.

The most talked about subjects were CCD

and sublethal effects of pesticides on honey

bees; genomics; nosema apis and nosemaceranae; and small hive beetle.

Nosema ceranae seems to be in every col-ony tested, whereas nosema apis is now

rarely found. Dennis van Englesdorp stated

that the only treatment is Fumagillin B, andthat treating for nosema when it is not pre-sent can be harmful. Results of treatment

are inconsistent because timing of samples

and of treatment matters.

Small hive beetle control measures conflict

with other IPM practices. Also, control is

usually after the problem occurs, not asprevention.

Tropilaelaps clareae currently has not left

SE Asia, and it may not be able to survive inthe U.S., but if it ever does come into the

U.S., it will be the most devastating pestyet on our honey bees.

GOT CAGES?

Please return empty Willbanks package

cages to Dane at the meeting. Be sure they

are clean and ready to reuse.

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BANV

2431 North Ohio St.

Arlington, VA 22207

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