Wilson County Beekeepers

Bee Candy Recipe by John Seaborn

5 November 2012 by Greg

John Seaborn’s recipe for bee candy discussed at the 5 November 2012 meeting is available for download on the Resources page of this website. The direct link to the pdf is:

https://wilsoncountybeekeepers.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/natural-bee-candy-recipe-from-john-seaborn.pdf

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wcba

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Honeybees can bite as well as sting

30 October 2012 by Greg

By Thomas H. Maugh II
Los Angeles Times
October 30, 2012, 11:09 a.m.

Honeybees have defensive weapons at both ends of their bodies, Greek and French researchers have found: They can not only sting their enemies, as has long been known, but they can also bite them, injecting a venom that paralyzes invaders. The venom might be useful as an anesthetic in humans and other animals, the researchers speculate, and a British company has already patented the application and conducted preliminary tests suggesting that the venom works much like the well-known lidocaine.

The discovery was inadvertent. A team led by biologist Alexandros Papachristoforou of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece was studying ways to control wax moths. The moths are a serious problem for beekeepers, invading hives, consuming wax and pollen and often destroying the honeycomb. Using natural products on the moths, the researchers tried 2-heptanone, which is produced naturally by the bees. At first, the team thought exposure to the chemical killed the wax moths. “However, on closer inspection, we realized that the wax moths were merely anesthetized for a period of one to nine minutes,” Papachristoforou said. “This was quite unexpected, so our scientific team set up a series of rigorous experiments to find out what was really happening and came up with our remarkable discovery.”

Their findings were published in the online journal Plos One.

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WCBA Meeting & Officer Elections – 5 November 2012

28 October 2012 by Greg

The Wilson County Beekeepers Association meets and will elect 2013 officers on Monday, 5 November 2012 at 7:00 PM at the James E. Ward Agricultural Center on the Wilson County Fairgrounds in Lebanon Tennessee.
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The program for November: TBA

Note: After you enter the fairgrounds through the main gate, we are in the West Building (2nd building on your left). Look for all the cars.

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Biodynamic / Sustainable Beekeeping Workshop by Gunther Hauk

23 October 2012 by Greg

NASHVILLE AREA BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION

Ellington Agriculture Center, Jones Auditorium, Nashville, Tennessee

“GUNTHER HAUK WORKSHOP”

The NASHVILLE AREA BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION (“NABA”) will offer a workshop featuring GUNTHER HAUK who has been a teacher, lecturer, biodynamic gardener and beekeeper for more than thirty-five years. He co-founded the Pfeiffer Center in Chestnut Ridge, NY in 1996, and in 2006, together with his wife Vivian, Spikenard Farm, Inc., a non-profit honeybee sanctuary. Over the decades, he has given many workshops on the successful use of biodynamic principles in gardening and naturally harmonious beekeeping methods throughout the United States and Canada. In his book “Toward Saving the Honeybee” (2002) he calls for a radical change from current approaches to beekeeping. The Spikenard Farm Honeybee Sanctuary is located in Floyd, VA and was featured along with Gunther Hauk in the documentary film “Queen of the Sun.”

Friday, October 26: The movie “Queen of the Sun”

7:00- 9:00 pm Questions afterwards

Saturday, October 27: Workshop

8:30 Registration and refreshments

9:00 – 10:30 short review of where we landed in beekeeping; the “Great Bee” and her wisdom; what is wax?; working with minimal or no foundation;

11:00 -12:30 The organs of this “super organism”: drones, workers, queen, honeycomb; their functions and tasks beyond the general understanding; importance of swarming; grafted vs. natural queens

1:30 – 3:00 short Powerpoint slide show; right & wrong timing for making splits; honey vs. sugar/corn syrup; possible varroa control; natural foulbrood prevention; importance of hive warmth and hive scent

The fee to attend all sessions is Forty Five Dollars ($45) and is payable to the NABA.. The Workshop will be held in the Jones Auditorium located at Ellington Agriculture Center.

For additional information, please contact Joel R. White (615) 308-3776 or whitejht@comcast.net. The application form is located on the NABA website which is www.nashbee.org

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