Posts in category Beekeeping

2011 Beginning Beekeeping Workshop

Jan31
2011 Leave a Comment Written by Tim Arheit

The Northwest Ohio Beekeepers association will be giving a beginning beekeeping workshop January 19th at the OSU campus in Lima, Ohio.

This workshop is designed for people who would like to get started in beekeeping, those who have had previous beekeeping experience and want to get back into beekeeping, or those who just want to know more before taking the plunge.

Topics covered will include basic honeybee biology, races of bees, package bees versus nucs and where to get bees, how to start a hive, new and used equipment, keeping bees in a residential setting, feeding, inspections, swarm control, disease and pest  management, producing honey and other hive products and overwintering. Information on package bee, nuc and equipment vendors will be available at the workshop.

When: February 19st from 8:30AM to 4PM

Cost: $25 – Includes book and one year membership to the association.

More details can be viewed here:  2011 Beekeeping Workshop

Posted in Events

Petition to Ban Clothianidin

Jan19
2011 1 Comment Written by Tim Arheit

Not long ago in a bee sized version of the Wikileaks leak,  a beekeeper “leaked” an internal EPA document to the public the clearly shows the pesticide “Clothianidin” is toxic to bees.  Yet in spite of their own findings they chose to ignore the facts and instead based their decision to allow the sale of this pesticide based on a small flawed study.  This study assumed, among other things, that bees can’t fly more than a few hundred feet.  Even my 2nd grader was able to find this flaw in the study.  They also assumed that bees only will visit the closest flowers to the hive (also false).

Is this the cause of CCD and vanishing bees?  Probably not, but widespread use will have significant negative impact on the honeybee population and is just another problem commercial beekeepers struggling to stay in business have to worry about.

So Fresh and the producers of Vanishing of the Bees have started a petition urging the EPA to ban the sale of this poison that threatens bees.   You can view the petition and other information on the EPA memo and CCD here:  Petition to Ban Bee-Killing Pesticides

Big Jump in Packages and Queen Prices

Jan16
2011 Leave a Comment Written by Tim Arheit

Packages and queens typically go up in price a dollar or two each year which is expected due higher costs in materials, labor and fuel/transportation.    This year however, package prices are up big time.  10% or more in some cases equating to 5 to 10 dollars per package.  It’s the biggest jump I recall since I started in 2000 and certainly exceeds 2010′s inflation rate of 1.5%.  Queens seem to be up as well with many larger operations charging $25 for a queen, but I don’t have good numbers to compare with last year to see how much they went up by.  Let’s also not forget the increase in shipping prices.  UPS went up more than 4.9% this year.

So why the big increase in prices?  I don’t have the contacts to really say but my guess for the increase beyond the usual is due to increased demand with more beekeepers starting up every year and packages from Australia not being allowed in this year.  In addition Georgia and many of the other package producing states had a rough season last year.

For now I’ve made the decision not to change my queen or nuc prices for this coming year, but it’s looking like I’ll have to make a significant adjustment next year with the increase in equipment cost and labor.

Unfortunately though we’re subject to increases in prices for the packages we get trucked in for local pickup for our customers.  Details on packages are posted here.

Pepsi Could Help Beekeeping

Jan11
2011 Leave a Comment Written by Tim Arheit

With your vote, Pepsi could help out beekeeping.   The following was received from the Ohio State Beekeepers association about a sophomore student who is in the running to get a beekeeping grant:

My daughter, Nicole, has been beekeeping with a mentor since she was 9 years old.  She is a Sophomore at Aurora High School, and has had a booth at the Hudson Farmer’s Market for the last three years.  She recently heard about a grant project that the Pepsi Corporation has put together, and submitted an idea for a grant.

Nicole would like to help the local farmers by putting beehives on their farms and orchards.  She currently is working with several farms in the area.  Nicole’s idea is to do more.  She has been asked by quite a few of the farmers at the Market to provide hives for their crops and would like to be able to help, but as you know, this is costly.  We are hoping Pepsi can help.

I am writing to you and all the area societies to ask for help.  Pepsi only gives the grants to those who have received enough votes from their peers to reach the top ten in the voting.  We need votes from people who realize the need for increasing the honeybee population and the need to get young people involved in beekeeping.

Can you please check out Nicole’s idea at www.refresheverything.com/savehoneybees.  You will see that she is dedicated to this project.

New Products for a New Year

Jan10
2011 Leave a Comment Written by Tim Arheit

Belated Happy New Year!

It's been a cold winter so far this year and it looks like the cold weather will be around for awhile.  The 10 day forecast doesn't show anything above freezing.  There isn't much one can do with the bees besides repairing old equipment and preparing new for the upcoming year.  And of course worry how the bees are doing in this weather.  In some respects this is the hardest part of the year with little you can do but worry and prepare for the best.  It won't be long though until things warm up a bit and we can get out to do weight checks and do some emergency feeding though..

One of my goals for this year is to be a bit more organized and keep this website more up to date.  Bees, the day job, business, the untimely passing of my father and life in general were more than overwhelming last year and things like updating the website and adding the new products we now carry were pushed to the back.

So, on that note we're happy to introduce new products to our online store by request, 8 frame equipment and assembled beehive kits among other new products.   We also welcome Mike and Marc as new part time employees to help us keep up with our orders in the wood shop.

Also as a side note, UPS shipping calculations appear to be fixed now and shouldn't be grossly over estimating the shipping cost, especially on larger orders.  While we always corrected the shipping after an order was placed, it was sometimes shockingly high.  UPS rates have gone up again this year by more than 4.9%, but if you get a shipping estimate that does seem too high I'd be happy to check into it.

Posted in Journal

The Ohio Queen Project is DEAD.

May21
2010 Leave a Comment Written by Tim Arheit

The Ohio Queen Projects was started by the Ohio State Beekeepers Association in 2007 with two goals in mind.  First, to teach beekeepers to raise queens and second,  to develop a stock improvement program (ie. a breeding program).  To quote directly from the Ohio Queen Project's Mission Statement from their website:

The Ohio State Queen Project was begun in the spring of 2007. A need to improve the quality of queens used by Ohio beekeepers was recognized by the OSBA board and a committee was established to set up a state wide program to help beekeeper to raise their own queens from outstanding queen stock. OSBA decided to develop a stock improvement program in conjunction with the classes being taught…….

……A need exist within Ohio for queens which will carry desirable characteristics for our climate and will provide an enjoyable experience for beekeepers to keep bees.

Both parts of the program are critical.  Without beekeepers to raise queens, stock that does better in our area wouldn't benefit anyone.  Without improved stock, we just have less desirable stock that happens to be raised in Ohio.

OSBA supported the program from 2007-2009 while coordinators give queen rearing classes and OSBA even held a queen symposium which I hoped would be repeated but never really happened.  Minimal work was done on the stock improvement portion of the project, in part due to the difficulty of running a distributed breeding program and due to a lack of funding and guidance.  In 2010 a member of the Ohio Queen Project stepped up to lead the the breeding program and the project had an opportunity for a significant grant to fund the breeding portion of the project to really get it off the ground.

However, after meetings, work preparing the grant and shortly before submitting the grant, the powers that be decided:

"…it is not appropriate nor would it be effective for OSBA to play a primary and direct role in achieving those goals."

"…the goals  … for an Ohio queen project would best be accomplished by a separate group."

In short, since OSBA is not interested in supporting the Ohio Queen Project per their mission statement the Ohio Queen Project is DEAD.  All they apparently want are some random queen rearing classes given by volunteers.  While I can't speak for those that have lead the Ohio Queen Project and the other coordinators, I feel disappointed, used, mislead and have little interest supporting OSBA's volunteer teacher program and I believe many of the others involved in the program feel the same.

As for me, I will continue my breeding efforts, and while not a breeding program yet, I'm working towards that goal.  I also hope to enlist others in the effort much in the spirit of the Ohio Queen Project, but it will not be associated in any way with OSBA.

Posted in Rants

Swarm Removal by Zip Code

May19
2010 Leave a Comment Written by Tim Arheit

It's taken longer than I hoped for to get this feature up and running, but I now I'm pleased to announce that users can now search for beekeepers and companies that do swarm removal by zip code.  This should make it much easier for users to identify someone to do swarm removal who is near them.  This was becoming a bit of a problem in some states because we were getting quite a list users were having to sort though.  It is based on the latitude and longitude of the zip code, so it's not completely accurate when calculating the distance  (it's based on the centroid of the zip code area).  But it will give a good idea who is close to the swarm.

Search for swarm removal by zip code:

Want to get on our list for swarm removal.  Email us your name, contact information, zip code and any other information you think relevant to your listing.

Looking for Package Bees?

Apr22
2010 2 Comments Written by Tim Arheit

We just received our 3rd shipment of package bees from Gardner's Apiaries.  Like the past 3 shipments they have been on time and look to be in great shape.   We hived one ourselves from the first shipment and it is building up strong.  I've heard a lot of people still looking for packages or that have had their packages delayed and delayed again so I've been very pleased our have been on time.

The good new for those still looking is that as of this time Tony has 300 or so packages available for the May 6th pickup date and they can be picked up in Cincinnati, Columbus, Tipp City or here at my location near Lima.  But act fast, he needs to receive the order by April 29th.  Details and the order form are on his website at  olddrone.com

Posted in Journal

West Virginia Passes Beekeeper Immunity Law

Apr11
2010 Leave a Comment Written by Tim Arheit

West Virginia has become the first state in the nation to pass a law giving beekeepers immunity from liability for ordinary negligence. This law came about as a result of strong support by the leadership of both the House and Senate. We are fortunate to have a State Senate President, Earl Ray Tomblin, whose father is a beekeeper. Additionally, House Speaker Richard Thompson was raised by a grandfather who was a beekeeper. Finally, it helped that the honeybee is the state insect!

The law requires that beekeepers register their hives. It also mandates the WV Department of Agriculture to promulgate Best Management Practices for beekeepers. All beekeepers who abide by these two provisions will have absolute civil immunity from ordinary negligence. The Department is working on a set of emergency rules they hope will be in effect soon. Governor Joe Manchin signed the bill into law the first of April making this the first state to protect its beekeeping industry

Come on Ohio!  West Virginia is getting their act together.  Why can't the Ohio legislature get something done?  The best they have come up with is to form a Task Force to study what they may want to plan.  (Basically they planning to plan.  Which means nothing will be done for quite some time, if ever.)  -Tim

Posted in Rants

Time to Graft…The Season has Begun

Apr08
2010 Leave a Comment Written by Tim Arheit

With the unseasonably warm weather in the 70's the bees are building up quickly and flowers are well ahead of schedule.  Based on pictures from last year (Specifically the picture from the blog post Buzzing Trees with it's picture of a pear tree taken last year) the blooms are about 2 weeks 3 days ahead of last year.  This all means it's time to begin grafting, just in time to be perfectly on schedule for this years queens  (the first graft was actually this past Sunday). 

I've talked to a number of beekeepers over the past weeks and the results of the winter are quite mixed. Some did quite well and have mostly strong hives and few losses.  Others did poorly with 50-75% losses.  Unlike past bad years where almost everyone did poorly, there doesn't seem to be a pattern by area, size of the beekeeper or experience.   Fortunately most of our bee yards fall into the mostly strong with few losses category.  I chalk it up to good stock and the extra effort in winter preparations we made last year.  Still, if our winter had been a few weeks longer some hives may have run out of stores and would likely have starved out without assistance as some of the strong hives were getting light.

A good start to the season so far but we aren't out of the woods yet.  The last time I recall such a great start to April ended with snow the last week of April.  So keep your fingers crossed.

Posted in Journal
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