Bee Mystery in Haywood County

A featured video appeared on Channel 13 6:00 news, Thursday, April 11, 2013. Beekeeper, Robin Campbell of Waynesville was interviewed by WLOS reporter, John Le. Robin Campbell lost all of her 4 hives. There’s no emptier feeling than a hive with no buzz. “There’s nothing,” says Campbell. “And then you start getting sad.” She says it’s happened to several other beekeepers in her neighborhood.
Since last fall, about half of America’s bee population is lost – nearly 3 million hives. Some blame pesticides, others blame cell phones, but no one really knows. The loss is major for US agriculture. Some estimate that one out of every three bites of food we eat, is affected by bees. Beyond honey, the pollination makes this bee mystery concerning.
Also appearing in the video were Bill Skelton, Director of Haywood County Home Extension, and Wallace Leatherwood, member of the Haywood County Beekeepers Club.
Unfortunately, the video is no longer available for viewing.

New Festival – WNC EcoFest

The WNC Ecofest has been organized to inspire you to try new things, to teach you and to entertain you. The festival will offer everything from making soap, to becoming a beekeeper to learning about food preservation. It will help you save money by showing you the latest in environmentally friendly technologies.

In addition, the festival will include food vendors of all types, educational and informational booths, music and a children’s fun area.

Exhibitors, demonstrators and vendors are being sought for WNC Ecofest, Waynesville, N.C. The Haywood Chamber of Commerce is accepting applications for this event, scheduled for Saturday, May 4, 2013, 10am – 4pm at Haywood Community College. Applications are available from the Haywood Chamber of Commerce by visiting WNCEcoFest.com or by calling 828-456-3021.

April Chores in the Bee Yard

Beekeepers need to be just as busy as the bees!

• Finish the assembly and preparation of your hives, hive stands and other parts.
• Mix up some bee food. Springtime is the “light” syrup time where 1 part sugar is mixed with 1 part water (a 5 lb bag of sugar to 2.5 quarts of water). Heat the mixture until it is clear. Cool and store until needed.
• Monitor the pollen patty, if necessary you may need to add another.
• Inspect your existing hives for strength and any diseases or mites.
• Review your in-hive frames to see if you should remove any that are damaged, or have an excess amount of pollen. You may even want to replace a few frames of drawn comb to provide more room and ventilation for your overwintered bees.

BEE Keeping Can BEEcome An OBEEsession

Bee Informed Partnership Survey

The Bee Informed Partnership, a joint project among numerous universities and laboratories, is a project whose aim is to help
beekeepers make better management decisions and thus reduce colony  losses.  To do this effectively, many beekeepers are needed to participate in the survey. If you are a beekeeper please sign up to complete the 2 surveys by or before April 30, 2013.

Learn more about the Bee Informed Partnership at beeinformed.org.

Annual Hive Inspection in April

Jack Hanel, a 51 year veteran beekeeper and North Carolina Apiary Inspector for 26 years, will be conducting his annual hive inspections on April 8 – 11, 2013.

A resident of Ashville, NC, his region of responsibility is the mountains of Western NC. Jack and his colleagues work tirelessly with beekeepers throughout the state to keep a healthy and thriving bee population, as well as to educate beekeepers in proper management techniques.

Anyone in Haywood County who maintains honey bee hives is eligible. Complete the Hive Inspection Request Form and return it to Bill Skelton by April 3, 2013. You may also call (828) 452-2741 to schedule your inspection.

Spring Time

Kathy Taylor inspects hives

Hello Beekeepers:

Don’t forget our meeting Tuesday night. Mr. Ed Buchanan will be there to talk with us about spring management.

It will soon be time for us to go into our hives and start checking things out.
I thought I would give you some food for thought:

Firstly, replacing the comb periodically makes the hive healthier and allows for larger, stronger, more capable workers to gather nectar and pollen. Studies have shown that queens prefer new comb for laying eggs and workers prefer darker comb for storing honey.

Phorid Flies and Honey Bees

Phorid larvae exiting a bee

Honey bees can become the unwitting hosts of a fly parasite that causes them to abandon their hives and die after a bout of disoriented, “zombie-like” behavior, San Francisco State University researchers have found.

Learn more by visiting Earth Times.