! ! GREATER CLEVELAND BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION!! ! Vol 4 Iss 7

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Table of Contents

In the Hive - Newbees! ! 2

Solar Wax Melter ! 3-4

T H E H O N E Y B E E T I M E S

OFFICERS

Vice PresidentLorri Ricelar15@case.eduTreasurerValerie Eckvaleck1gcba@yahoo.com

GCBAP.O. Box 112104Cleveland, Ohio 44111

DIRECTORSDavid Benedictd.benedict@csuohio.edu Bruce Sampsellmerlinme2@gmail.comMichael Vargamikeforty4v@sbcglobal.net

Web MasterRichard Manley

ramciw@aol.com Editor: Barbara Krecicgreaterclevelandbeekeepers.buzz@gmail.comGCBA Website:greaterclevelandbeekeepers.com

GCBA’S SUMMER POTLUCK!

!! WHEN: Wednesday JUNE 12th

! WHERE: Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds

! TIME:! 6:30 P.M.!!

! No meeting at the Nature Center. Picnic takes it’s place!

! ! GREATER CLEVELAND BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION!! ! Vol 4 Iss 7

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In the hive......GOOFIN WʼTHE BEES

“Whatʼs ya been doin? Goofin wif the bees?”..... (after he climbed into a log and rolled down the hill landing at the foot of a Rock Man).....name that album and I will give you a pat on the back with a hand shake!)

Are you looking at your hive and saying to yourself...”Iʼve never seen so many bees in my life! And Iʼm suppose to go in there?”

Yep, weʼve all felt that way! Often! So here are some tips for your first overwhelming summer inspection!

NEVER go in when the weather is about to rain! They hate it and will take their anger out on you!

ALWAYS go in when the foraging bees are busy and are out! Less bees in the hive! Anytime between 10 - 3 is the quietest time. Before that, if they are lazy many are home. After that, many are re-turning. So plan to do it Mid day! Remember your purpose: RECENT SIGNS OF A QUEEN AND VARROA CHECK

1. SIGNS OF A QUEEN = FRESH EGGS - You probably wonʼt find her so look for signs of her. Remember how it goes.....on the first and second day the egg is standing tall. On day three, she gives up and lays down. You want to know the Queenʼs been there within one or two days so you are looking for one - two day old eggs.

" Hereʼs a quick tip on finding fresh eggs:" "" ~Find big fat larvae first

" ~Then with your eyes in a circular motion follow the chubby ones until you find smaller ones, then smaller and eventually youʼll either see the Queen or find one/two day old eggs.

Donʼt jump in trying to find the eggs. Way too hard. Start with the chubbies then follow them to the eggs. Easy peasy!

2. GOOD LAYING QUEEN - a quick glance at her laying pattern on a frame of capped brood tells you everything you want to know - nice and solid capped brood. Capped honey above the brood with some pollen scattered around.

3. VARROA CHECK - if youʼre lucky, your girls have created some bridge comb....which is often found between the top and bottom deeps or between the inner cover and top deep making it very difficult to separate the equipment. They use this to connect to all the other parts of the hive. But itʼs a pain in the neck to keep clean! If itʼs there GREAT! Bridge comb is both a beekeepers worst enemy and our best friend!

Bridge comb is almost always drone comb. When you rip it apart, youʼll have opened up the comb exposing lar-vae. Where does Varroa lay her eggs? IN DRONE COMB! Once these combs are opened up and you see larvae....take a quick look before you scrape it clean to see if varroa is present on the larvae.

No need to go frame by frame. A quick peek to complete your purpose is all that is needed. Close the hive and let them bee. All is well, youʼve done it and now can step away and breathe while telling yourself.....”thatʼs wasnʼt all that bad after all!”And please remember.....always maintain a water source for them so they donʼt bother your neighbors.....plus it is so much fun watching them sip water with their little butts bobbing up and down!

SHORT CUT TIP: REMOVE THE LAST FRAME. GENTLY SEPARATE OTHERS SO YOU CAN MOVE TO THE MIDDLE. START THERE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE CLUSTER TO LOOK FOR SIGNS OF THE QUEEN.

! ! GREATER CLEVELAND BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION!! ! Vol 4 Iss 7

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SOLAR WAX MELTER ON THE CHEAP

I wanted a solar wax melter in the worst way but I knew it would have been a total flop had I attempted to make one of those beautiful wooden ones found all over the place on the internet. I really don’t know how to work with wood and saws, and I usually hurt myself when hammering. But, I found this! I tweaked it a bit and it works great!

I thought you might like to try it too. All for under $20!

This is what you’ll need:One large storage bin w/ opaque lidOne mid size (8 x 10) plastic storage container with lid (usually found in the storage section of the box stores)An aluminum paint roller pan - standard size (don’t bother with the

! black plastic ones - they melt - that’s what I tried first)! ! ! ! Alumunim cake pans (8x10)! ! ! ! Glass top to cover the large storage bin or it’s opaque lid! ! ! ! Black plastic garbage bags OR Aluminum Foil

BRING YOUR SMALL RECTANGULAR STORGE CONTAINER WITH YOU WHEN YOU SHOP FOR THE PAINT ROLLER. THE PAINT ROLLER NEEDS TO FIT SNUGGLY ON TOP OF THE STORAGE CONTAINER .

SET-UP! ! ! !Cut open one black plastic garbage bag and wrap it around the entire outside of the LARGE storage tub. Lay the second bag inside the tub. The tub is now all black! OR Wrap the entire inside of the large storage container with aluminum foil. Purpose: You need to attract heat and sun.

Cut a slit about the size of two inches by 1/4 inch in the deep end of the paint roller pan.Cut a slit the same place in your cake pan and align the two together. (The paint roller pan is not food grade so I don’t put my wax on it but only use it to support the aluminum cake pan.)

When they are aligned, lay them on top of the smaller food container. It should be a perfect fit with a perfect angle for everything to melt down into the smaller storage container.

When you put your wax in, you place them as far away from the opening as possible - at the top of the cake pan. When melted, the wax will slowly drain down the pan, leaving the “slum gum” (propolized wax stuck to the bottom)

When the sun heats everything the wax will drain through the slits. (continued)

! ! GREATER CLEVELAND BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION!! ! Vol 4 Iss 7

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I melt the wax three times (takes three sunny days): The first time was to separate the remaining honey from the wax cappings. The honey and wax drops to the clean bottom of the small storage container. The melted wax lays on top of the honey as it is much lighter. In the evening I bring it in, rinse off the wax and add the honey to MY honey jar.

The second time is to filter the wax. When you do this, add water to the bottom of the cleaned small container so the wax doesn’t stick to the plastic. ! The wax floats on top of the water. (About and inch and a half of water will do it. ) ! When you take it in the second evening, you peel off the perfectly melted wax and toss out the water. Try to lay the paint roller pan with less of an angle so the wax can flow much slower than before.The black debris from the wax which remains on the bottom of the cake pan is called “slum gum”. It is propolis..

The third time...again using nice clean equipment and a fresh cake pan I add water and let the wax drip very slowly leaving all the slum gum behind which leaves you the most beautiful wax you’ve ever seen!

This can melt a lot of wax quickly on a hot sunny day. Just make sure you don’t overload it with too much wax and make sure you have enough throw away cake pans.

Remember: Angle your paint roller pan ever so slightly then less. Place the wax on the top of the cake pan so it can drip down. Day two and three...you want it to drip very slowly. Use fresh cake pans each time you melt.

As for the gunk left in the paint tray....if you don’t use chemicals and you don’t want the slum gum...I’ll take it off your hands! Bee well, Barbara, Your Editor

GCBA SCHEDULEAugust - Wednesday 08/14/20127:00 pm - Fall Feeding and strengthening your hive for winter. Best Practices in preparing your colony for the upcoming winter challenges. 7:30 – 8:30 – Julia Fine will present her research at Penn State University

September - Wednesday 09/11/20137:00 pm – Marketing your hive products followed by Apiculture Panel Discussion and Open Q & A. Wal-ter Jorgenson, Kurt Ward and Bonnie Pierson will lead the Apiculture Panel Discussion

October - Wednesday 10/9/20137:00 pm - Current Honey bee Research and Best Practices – Reed Johnson, PhD - The Ohio State Uni-versity (OARDC Wooster)

November - Wednesday 11/13/20137:00 pm – The November meeting will include a presentation on making “MEAD”. 2014 Officer Candi-dacy and Nominations open to the membership.

December - Wednesday 12/12/20127:00 pm - Annual Potluck & Elections