The Bee Yard Report
We had our first honey pull on the 30th of June. Anthony is now
extracting barrel #10. Moisture is running from 17.5 to 18.1.Our
best colony had four Illinois boxes full on the 27th of June and
had seven full on the 12th of July. One thing we have noticed,
when not using queen excluders, is that the queen will patrol
the honey boxes and lay eggs in all the drone cells. There have
also been drone cells built in the bee space between the supers
but we haven't had a problem with worker brood in the honey supers.
To my mind there is no logic in this. I would think that one would
lead to the other.
I don't understand why the bees have done so well. It seems like
it has rained every other day and there hasn't been much heat.
The weather man keeps tantalizing me with the promise of 90 degree
weather after a couple of days of rain. Then the rain stays in
the forecast and we never get to the 90 degrees. Over at the Sully
Coop they tell me that the lack of heat has retarded the development
of leaf beetles and aphids in the soybeans. This means no spraying
until the end of July or early August.
There is a wide variation in the size of soybeans in our area.
Even though the seeds went in the ground early, growth has been
slow. They are in bloom now but I think we are going to have a
very long blooming period. My experience with soybeans has been
that it needs to be wet prior to the blooming period. Then, if
it turns of dry, the bees really go to town. If we get honey from
beans this year, our yield is going to be totally awesome.
With the exception of one yard, we got through the early part
of the season without much swarming. Now, the last few days(July
15th), it has really picked up. The swarms are coming out of colonies
with two or three boxes of honey and no queen excluders. The boys
were out supering and they found swarms in every yard. One was
30 feet up in a big oak tree but they went after it anyway. I
am lucky no one has a broken neck. We had a real rainy week after
the fourth of July. I don't know if that is what set it off or
if it's is just one of those things.
I keep a small yard a couple miles west of my house to clean out
wet supers. They are six colonies. One of them swarmed and is
hanging in a tree at the banker’s house in Lynnville. Another
one moved into a stack of empty equipment in my driveway and yet
another departed for parts unknown. Today I have more bees looking
over the empty equipment in my driveway. I think the swarm that
is already there will soon have company.
Don't forget to sign up to help at the State Fair. See you next
month.
Submitted by Phil Ebert
Indian Creek Nature Center
Honey Festival
Come celebrate National Honey month at the Indian
Creek Nature Center Honey Festival! The event is Sunday, September
26 at 1:00PM in the afternoon at the Indian Creek Nature Center
in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. We will have demonstrations, food, games,
and Fun for all ages. Beekeepers bring your families and friends
and come out to see what it is all about. Mark your calendars
for September 26, 2004. I will have a complete list of events
in the September’s Buzz.
Also, for local beekeepers if you would be interested
in helping with this year’s event, please call Bob Wolff
319-366-5415. This year we will be having an educational walk
/tour with and extraction demonstrations in the honey house.
Submitted by Bob Wolff
For Sale:
Platform scale, $50
Contact:
Gordon Powell
4012 54th Street
Des Moines, IA 50310
Ph. 515-278-1762
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