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Greetings Hello,
The October BeeGroup meeting is this Tuesday (10/15) and is the Annual Honey Competition! We will be meeting downstairs at the Olive Free Library at 6PM. This is the opportunity for everyone to exhibit their honey in a friendly tasting competition. Please bring a small jar (only need a couple ounces) of this year honey to share. Feel free to bring multiple samples in you had more than one crop.
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Don't have bees yet, our didn't get any honey this year? No worries, we strongly encourage your attendance to help with the judging. We need as many discerning palates as possible to help determine the winner.
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We will also discuss winter preparation for those that may have questions. Let's close out the season with a bang!
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Queen 16 Days, Worker 21 Days, Drone 24 Days...Capped at 9th Day...
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Please check the Resources section below...
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If you have any topics, ideas, selling bee equipment, or questions, feel free to contact us at BeeGroup@HVHiives.com.
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Like human shoppers, bees have irrational biases when choosing flowers to feed on
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Just like people confronted with a sea of options at the grocery store, bees foraging in meadows encounter many different flowers at once. They must decide which ones to visit for food, but it isn't always a straightforward choice.
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Flowers offer two types of food: nectar and pollen, which can vary in important ways. Nectar, for instance, can fluctuate in concentration, volume, refill rate and accessibility. It also contains secondary metabolites, such as caffeine and nicotine, which can be either disagreeable or appealing, depending on how much is present. Similarly, pollen contains proteins and lipids, which affect nutritional quality.
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Witch Hazel: A Pollinator Feast that Breaks All the Rules
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Witch hazel has always flustered me. As a kid, witch hazel-scented products reminded me of a suffocating aunt who delivered too many perfumed hugs. If I smelled it at a picnic or a church supper, my stomach would flip-flop. Even the name tormented me.
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For decades, I avoided anything to do with witch hazel until an icy morning last October when I encountered a lone witch hazel shrub in full bloom. I was walking home from town, cutting across a sunny park when I noticed a plant bedecked with spidery blossoms. The petals shimmered in shades of mustard, lightly tinged with apricot and garnet.
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Bee Humor...
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Photos of the Month...
No photos this month, but check out the video of a Honey Buzzard!
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Resources:
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Critical Thinking Beekeeping
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Rob Overton presentation to Wake County Beekeepers
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Commercial Queens-Nosema and Low Sperm Count
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Constructive Beekeeping - Ed Clark, 1918
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SABA (Southern Adirondack Beekeepers)
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Lots of great information from this Club's website, many articles, and many lectures and seminars by various people in the worlds of beekeeping. Lot's of knowledge to be had here and worth your while.
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A SAD DAY IN THE BEE YARD...
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Beltsville Lab: If your bees die, God Forbid!, please send a sample to the Beltsville Lab in Maryland. The analysis is free and they will email you the results. They check for Nosema and Mites. I sent a sample down a month ago and my hive was loaded with mites -- in December! Please share results with Rob,Tom and the BeeGroup so we can help keep tabs on what is happening in the 'hood. Thanks! CLICK HERE for details on how to submit a sample.
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Talks about nutrition for your bees. This will impact how your bees can fight off disease and ultimately survive.
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For Honeybee information, videos, podcasts and workshops please visit the links below. Workshops are being updated as we speak!
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Dave Cushman Beekeeping Website maintained by Roger Patterson.
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NOSEMA: Treatment Procedure. Don't forget to treat for Nosema! Click Here for procedure.
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HONEYBEE LIFE CYCLE - Very Important to know. This is the building block of understanding your hives.
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Queen 16 Days, Worker 21 Days, Drone 24 Days...
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These are a Few Videos that You May Find of Interest (I particularly like the Skep video!
NY Bee Wellness - Diagnostics
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