CCBA Handbook

Crystal Coast Beekeepers

Tia Douglass

Loren Hale

April Goodman

Jeff Garner

Crystal Coast Beekeepers

Vision & Mission

1. To foster closer relations among beekeepers, to share ideas, to improve beekeeping methods.

2. To educate the general public regarding honey bees and the beekeeping industry.

3. To encourage and assist people who may wish to enter into the field of beekeeping.

   General Information

  Regular Membership Meetings

Second Monday of each month at

7 pm at the Morehead City Parks & Recreation

Community Building

Refreshments served after the business meeting and prior to the educational program and question-and-answer period

Annual Dues:

Total of 25.00:

$15.00 for NCSBA dues and $10.00 for Crystal Coast Chapter dues

 

 

 

Committees and Chairpersons

Fund Development

Publicity/Marketing

Tia Douglass

Programs

Loren Hale

Historian/Membership

Tia Douglass

BEE FOLKLORE

Known by many country folk as 'The Little Servants of God' or 'The Small Messengers of God' in Paradise and so thought to be extremely unlucky to kill. Bees were thought to have a special knowledge of the future, and in events such as the death of the keeper or if someone in the family was to marry it was thought to be important to inform the bees lest they die or fly away. The bride should inform the hive directly. Since ancient times people have related family news to the hive believing that as both names suggest that bees are close to God and perhaps able to communicate their troubles to seek comfort and reassurance.

Bees were extremely important to community life during medieval times and up until the seventeenth century. The honey was regularly used to sweeten a variety of foods and drinks, used most effectively in the fermentation process for alcohol including cider, ale and mead. When sugar was discovered and imported, the importance of bees was somewhat diminished with much of the folklore disappearing too.

Seen as intelligent creatures if a death occurs in the family a relative is advised to approach the hive and utter the following phrase three times to ensure longevity and good health 'Little brownies, little brownies, your master/mistress (name) is dead'. At all times the sound made by the bees will indicate whether they are settled or ready to move on; buzzing indicates their continued presence whereas silence should prepare you for a lack of honey. After the wedding or funeral it was believed to be only proper to leave a piece of the cake by the hive for the bees to feed on, seen almost as a part of the family and sensitive to the events taking place.

Moving the hive is not advised if the bees have not been informed first according to a Cornish (UK) belief; not only might they sting the owner but may die if moved on Good Friday. Speak too harshly to them and, as it was believed that bees responded to the tone of the voice, the bees will leave (hence swearing around bees is not advised if you want them to stay). Contrary to modern expectations a bee sting was once thought to be an effective cure for rheumatism and arthritis.

The flight of bees also indicate mixed omens. For many people the sight of a bee swarm can be terrifying and is usually seen as an ill omen, perhaps because of the thought of bees being unsettled and the stings that may be looking for a target! One rather ancient unusual belief tells that virginity could be tested amidst a swarm of bees, as one could be assured of safety if the honour was intact! If a swarm settled on the property or one was found in a dead tree on the acreage then it was once thought to be an omen of death in the family.

'A swarm of bees in May
Is worth a load of hay,
A warm of bees in June

Is worth a silver spoon,

And a swarm of bees in July
Is hardly worth a fly.'

The collection of nectar early in the year is still thought to be a positive sign that there will be an abundance of honey, and of course a great floral display. A hive should never be sold without a second thought, bartering was thought to be the best policy to appease the animals. If given away though the hive will bring good fortune to the new owner as well as a constant supply of honey but monitor how they enter the hive. If they appear to become lethargic it indicates misfortune and when the bees do not exit the hive with regularity then do not worry. It has always thought to indicate that rain is in the way.

Be prepared for a visitor to arrive if you find a bee buzzing around the house, and if one flies over a sleeping child then you are extremely fortunate as the child will have a long and happy life according to traditional European folklore.

January 12 Regular Meeting

Adolphus Leonard , Eastern Carolina State Bee Inspector, spoke on "Raising Queens"

If you have not done so already, order your queens/packages/nucs/hives

*

Make repairs to woodenware; make sure you have enough supplies for the upcoming season

*

When air temperature is above 50 degrees F, feed pollen substitute to stimulate brood rearing

*

Treat for Varroa mites; follow label instructions

Welcome New Officers for 2009!

February 9 Regular Meeting

Check honey stores. Maple should be in bloom. Feed sugar syrup (1 lb to 1 pt) to any hive with less than 1 super of honey.

*

Check for diseases (foulbrood, nosema) by mid-February and treat accordingly

*

Remember to take off all medications at least two weeks prior to adding honey supers

March 9 Regular Meeting

Huckleberries and blueberries begin!

*

Reverse brood boxes if necessary and check for queen cells

*

Check brood comb and replace frames with excessive drone cells or small, old worker cells

*

Place bait hives, if desired, with pheromone bee attractant, positioned 8-9' above ground level

*

Remember to remove medications if you have not done so already.

*

Prepare equipment for colony divides or swarms

April 13 Regular Meeting

Holley and gallberry are blooming

*

Make splits when queens arrive/are available and install packages

*

Capture swarms/requeen

*

Put on your supers (one at a time if foundation; as many as you like if they're drawn comb).

*

Give your colonies plenty of room

*

Remember to remove medications if you have not done so already.

May 11 Regular Meeting

Swarm Season!!

*

Holly and gallberry are blooming

*

Capture swarms

*

Watch your supers and add more if necessary. Give your colonies plenty of room

*

Remember to remove medications if you have not done so already.

Call Mosquito Control and 728-8595 and ask them not to spray your property/by your bees.

June 8 Regular Meeting

Sourwood are blooming

*

You may start to harvest if 80% of the honey has been capped. Put the wet/extracted supers back on the hive for cleanup

*

This is a good time to divide strong hives if you're looking to expand and to requeen.

*

If you are moving your bees, be careful of overheating in transport

July 13 Regular Meeting

Be on the lookout for varroa mite; start your sticky board counts if you have not already done so.

*

Depending on nectar flow, it might be time to start collecting your dry drawn comb supers for storage.

*

Be sure to treat for wax moth before putting them away.

August 10 Regular Meeting

Be on the lookout for varroa mite; start your sticky board counts if you have not already done so.

*

You may have a problem with tracheal mite as well. Watch your bees and treat accordingly.

*

You may want to put on supers for the goldenrod flow . . . either for harvest or the bees' winter stores.

September 14 Regular Meeting

Continue your sticky board counts.

*

Requeen hives (every 2 years or less if needed)

*

Combine weak hives

October 12 Regular Meeting

Continue to be on the lookout for varroa mite; by taking sticky board counts.

*

Watch for tracheal mites

*

Remember to remove queen excluders after harvest!

November 9 Regular Meeting

Time to start preparing your equipment for storage.

*

Make repairs and assemble items that haven't been taken care of yet.

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Depending on circumstances, you may want to reduce entrances

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Make sure the hives are well ventilated for the winter months.

December 14

Holiday Party

Order new equipment that you'll need for the next season

*

Work with the association to further grow our membership and promote beekeeping and the honey bee.

*

Share our wins with other members!

How many pounds of honey did we harvest as a club in 2009?

FUN BEE FACTS

Honeybees are not native to the US.  English colonists brought German bees, or the "dark bees," to the New World in 1621.

A colony averages 60,000 bees:  one queen, a few hundred drones, and the rest workers

While a queen can live as long as 5 years, a worker bee will work herself to death in 45 days

A honeybee can fly at a speed of 15 mph, which is a 4-minute mile.  Can you outrun a bee?

The average honeybee produces ½ tsp of honey in her lifetime.  If you dip honey with a spoon and don’t lick the spoon, the honeybee’s lifetime production is for naught.

4,000 bee visits to flowers produce just one tablespoon of honey.

In the US, you are more likely to be killed by lightning on a golf course than by an Africanized honeybee.

It takes 12—18 honeybee visits to a cucumber blossom during a 15-hr period to produce a well-shaped cucumber.

American Indians called honeybees “the white man’s fly” because the bees tended to spread faster and often preceded the European settlers as they moved into Indian lands.

Desert was the name originally used for Utah when it applied for statehood.  “Desert” means “honeybee” in the Book of Mormon.

Honey is one of the safest foods in the marketplace.  It has many qualities that resist or reduce bacterial contamination.

Never refrigerate honey.  The best way to store it for a period of less than a year is at room temperature.  For longer periods, freeze it.

A teaspoon of honey is sweeter than a teaspoon of table sugar.

In colonial NC taxes could be paid using beeswax.

The major user of beeswax in the US is the cosmetics industry.

Bee Keeper’s Prayer

O Lord, guide the beekeeper, the one so faithful, the one so proud and thankful for that golden honey so tasteful, for he puts his trust in you and in hives of honey bees with hopes for a bountiful harvest of honey.

Please, Lord, send him blessings for his toil, his devotion and his trust. And, Lord, whether You send hot or cold, rain or shine, he, on that day, must trust those bees to be ever so kind.

Please Lord; give him strength and courage in those hard times, for he knows the ladder to success is sometimes hard to climb. Remember Lord, in those hard times he always comes to you with his prayers. Not prayers for himself, but for those for whom he cares.

And finally, Lord, bestow upon him knowledge and wisdom, the kind only you provide. Provide him and his bees with all their needs.

The Bee master’s Prayer

Will there be bees in heavenly places?

Will there be bees?

Winging their way through the golden spaces

To fruitify the eternal trees

That yields their sweet life-giving store

Month-by-month forevermore

Will soft bee music haunt the stream

Whose waters shine with crystal glow

And will they come where lilies gleam

To sip the eternal nectar flow?

Lord, Thou dids’ love our earthly places

Birds and flowers and shady trees

Let there be bees in heavenly places

Let there be bees.

-Anonymous