Northeastern Kansas Beekeepers
AssOCIATIOn
NEKBA.ORG
Honey Extractor Rental Program CLOSED until July 2018
Need to extract your honey? You can rent the club's radial & motorized honeyextractor for a nominal $30 fee (2 days), available to current and active association members. Please read the Rules & Info and review the most current Reservation's List. Next, send a reservation request via emal to: beekeepers@nekba.org. We'll get back to you asap. 2-day rental limit. The club extractor only holds six (6) medium (6 5/8" Illinois-sized super) frames only - sorry but this will not accommodate larger (deep) frame sizes.
mentoring @ JOLI & CECIL'S
Harvest the Summer Honey Crop in early September
Why? The summer honey harvest will be smaller than the spring, and look and taste different, too! Take advantage of letting your bees make a summer honey crop. You'll be amazed. Removing summer honey by early September (Labor Day), and removing supers, encourages the bees to use the remaining season to store food stores in the upper brood box, assuming that you are over-wintering as a double-deep in a Langstroth style hive. (If you have a populous colony, you could still leave one (1) super until later in the fall -but harvest the honey!) Therefore, you most likely won't have to feed for winter! Each deep frame holds 6 lbs of honey & pollen. After frost, it's all over for any type of incoming natural food resources such as nectar (carbohydrate) and pollen (protein) for the year. Too, depending on your treatment product for mites, this could be the best time to get the mite population under control for your bee colony. Most miticide products cannot be used with honey supers on the hive. So, manage accordingly to keep your colonies alive. Keeping bees alive means that we must all be 'active' in our management style. We cannot be passive about our endeavor to keep our bee colony alive and thriving.
NEKBA Newsletter & Document Archive (newsletter page link)
BEE FUNDAY 2017
Thanks for supporting the annual June Bee FunDay-full of demos, classes, speakers, lunch, and honey ice-cream -everything to do with honey, bees, and more !
[About] [Calendar] [Courses] [Other Affiliates] [Links] [Local Suppliers] [Membership] [Newsletter] [Presentations] [Scholarship] [Top Bar] [Weather] [Welcome]
- CLOSED - (seasonal event)
- Last opportunity was 9/11/2017
- 4/24, 5/08, 6/12, 7/10, 8/14, and Sept. 11th
6:00PM Meet at Joli's & Cecil's house
Inspect a couple of different hives
Bring your own protection
Weather Permitting
19201 S Clare Rd., Spring Hill KS 66083
please call 913-856-8356 or email joli@heartlandhoney.com so we'll know how many to expect for the session
$10 donation to NEKBA Scholarship Fd
(You will need Adobe Acrobat to view some documents. Please click on the link below to download a free copy.)
Are you leaving honey supers on for fall or winter or spring??- why, that's just too much for the bees! You'll be encouraging next year's swarms in April besides taking the risk of losing the honey should the colony not make it through winter. Your honey bee colony produces, under decent conditions, way more honey than they can possibly use. The population can decrease another 25% by January/February from their peak in June/July. Help your honey bees help themselves! Avoid the risk. Take your honey when you should and when you're supposed to. Otherwise, it could be a detriment.
Leavenworth County Fair 2017
It was great having you come see our NEKBA Leavenworth County Beekeepers in action as they demonstrated extracting and selling honey directly at the grounds inside with A/C, of course! The 2017 fair will be from Tuesday thru Saturday, July 25th thru July 29th, at the fairgrounds in Tonganoxie, Kansas 405 W 4th St, Tonganoxie, KS 66086 (more LVCO info) (FB page)
Johnson County Fair 2017
Fair is always a family event- even watching livestock! Monday, July 30th thru Saturday, August 5th, 2017. Thanks for visiting our beekeeping booth! It always a warm (hot) few days. (more JOCO info) "BARN in the USA" -the 2017 JOCO Fair theme. (FB page)
Small Hive Beetle(s) or SHB ... While we are still learning how best to deal with this new problem in our geographical area, these links have been provided for more information that should be of interest to our members. You can also find more informative information from our presentations page (link).
- Handbook of Small Hive Beetle from Clemson Cooperative Extension (.pdf download)
- Managing Small Hive Beetles, Jon Zawislak, Univ. of Arkansas, Div. of Ag. (.pdf download)
- Small Hive Beetle: A Potential Pest in Honey Bee Colonies in Oregon, Dr. Dewy Caron, et al (.pdf download)
- MAAREC Small Hive Beetle Fact Sheet-Revised 2015 (.pdf download)
welcome beekeepers
Other interests for ALL beekeepers
Upcoming Events: State Bee Meeting in Emporia on October 27 & 28, 2017.
Upon finalization of your PayPal transaction, you will receive a PayPal confirmation email. A confirmation is also sent to the Treasurer that will be used as your registration. No paperwork needs to be sent. Should you have any problems or questions, you may email. We'll respond as soon as possible. Thank you for your support!
Bee FEED SYRUP MIXING Calculator spreadsheet
Trying to work out the sugar-to-water ratio (1:1 or 2:1) for feeding sugar syrup to your bees? Here's a link to a spreadsheet calculator. (Page Link) Downlaod and save the calculator for future reference. Working on an update for a 1:2 ratio.
Harvest the Spring Honey Crop in early July
Why? It's all about risk. As part of our Best Practices tips, we encourage beekeepers in our area to harvest the spring honey crop as soon as possible in early July. Conditions are generally perfect - warm and dry. It's simple. There is too much risk in leaving the spring honey on the colony all summer. Hive populations are at their peak in June/July. By September, they can be as much as 25% lower, if you wait that long. Beekeepers would be taking a great risk, and could lose it all - both honey & bees. There are just too many bad things that can happen to the honey bee colony due to mites and small hive beetles! If they happen to go queen-less or collapse, the beekeeper risks losing ALL of the honey. So, take your spring honey in July. Don't delay. Plan ahead.
NEKBA is your Northeastern Kansas Beekeepers' Association.
We welcome you to explore our site. Check out what's happening locally for beekeepers on our FB group site, what's going in our hives, and what's blooming in your backyards. Thank you for visiting, and we hope you'll come back soon.
JOIN THE ASSOCIATION OR RENEW FOR 2018. NOW IS THE TIME.
SUBSCRIBE TO A MAGAZINE. STAY INFORMED.
October / November 2017 What you should be doing from now until the end of the year
As part of your seasonal management, it's time to get ready for what fall brings to the bees and beekeeper(s). October and November are times to make sure your colony is ready for the cold winter months. Yes, we know it has been un-seasonable warm these last few weeks. Don't be fooled. Mother Nature during winter in 20F in dark January will not be kind to your bee colony.
- Honey supers should be removed. Supers full of honey left on your colony are at risk of being lost, and is not necessarily needed for colony survival. The colony population is under seasonal contraction. Already, it could be down at least 25% to 40% from the peak in June/July.
- Mite treatments should already have been completed by this time.
- Check all hives to make sure lids are secure from wind and rain. Place a heavy weight on top.
- Cut grass and weeds that might be blocking the hive entrance. Place entrance reducers.
- Feed colonies that do not have sufficient stores for winter, which is generally 60 lbs of honey. Each deep frame holds 6 lbs of honey. You should have at least 10 of these with honey. Use the spreadsheet calculator on this page (above), if you need to make up sugar syrup to feed.
- Be sure to know your bee population. If you colony population is low, there may be nothing you can do. If your population is medium to high, plan to check them on a monthly basis for stores.
- Renew your membership to your associations. Go to the meetings. Find out what others do.
- Attend your state beekeepers' meeting in October, and join or renew.
- Subscribe to at least 1 monthly magazine and renew subscription(s).
- Plan for what you'd like to do next season: more honey, cut comb, pollen harvesting, etc.
The association connects you with other beekeepers, and supports a common effort to promote and protect bees, and the beekeeping industry, of which we are all a part.
Join the effort. It’s worth it. You are making an investment with many returns.
The Northeastern Kansas Beekeepers Association has a more than 69-year legacy of supporting beekeeping in the Mid-West. Learn more about us.
We know there are beekeepers in other counties like Atchison, Miami, Douglas, Dickinson, Shawnee and more that may want to go in as a group and represent the association in providing education and interest in honey and other bee products. Let us know how we can help you in this endeavor for 2018.
Attention: Varroa Mites will kill your colony more than any other problem!.
Yes, it's that important to test and know your mite load. A simple powdered-sugar roll will let you know. The U of MN supported Bee Squad has an excellent way to test your mite load using the powdered sugar roll method. All the equipment you need for a complete testing kit. Get it today! University of Minnesota Bee Squad. Varroa Mite Testing Kit (click site link).
Great news! Here's the article from the March 2016 Bee Culture Oxalic Acid Sublimation. You might agree with the authors of this study that this is the best practical tactic for mite control.
Here's a the most updated version of the guide "Tools for Varroa Management" (3rd Edition - February 16, 2016) by The Honey Bee Health Coalition. Be vigilant in mite detection and keeping our colonies healthy from this tick-like problems.
As quoted by Kim Flottum, Editor of Bee Culture magazine from August 2016 issue: "It's August. Fall's here. It's time to take care of the bees that take care of the bees that go in to winter....Enjoy the bees, and enjoy the life they give you." (page 90).
Northeastern Kansas Beekeepers Association
Contact US by email: beekeepers@NEKBA.org
- We've added more pages but kept them shorter to keep your attention longer
- NEW! We've added a calendar pagefor the meetings and events, andweather360.
Ideas? Contact US by email: beekeepers@NEKBA.org
2018 Kansas State Fair in Hutchinson, Kansas SAVE THE DATES! Sept 7th thru 16th
SIGN UP! using SIGNupGenius. It's easy!
We depend on volunteers to help promote our state's most beneficial insect and products as well as education and dealing directly with the fair public. Want to learn how to market honey? Come join us in Hutchinson. The 2018 Kansas State Fair runs from September 7 thru September 16, 2018, Friday thru Sunday.
GOOD FELLOWSHIP & GOOD BEEKEEPING
LEARN, SUPPORT, subscribe
We offer region specific knowledge, and support for all levels. Join, renew, register, subscribe! more
Joins us for a 2-day bee conference for all levels and commercial as well as hobbyist. Meeting October 27th & 28th, 2017 in Emporia, KS (Friday & Saturday).
Organizers are busy planning. Details are available here (download). We have three (3) important speakers coming. Hotel reservations should be made by September 27, 2017 for the best rates. Meet us in Emporia in October 2017! Come and learn from: 1) Dr. Young Park, the University of Arkansas; 2) Clint Walker from Dancing Bee Winery & Walker Honey Farm, Rogers TX; and 3) Rehah Carlson, Apitherapy specialist from Vermont. Make your reservations ASAP. See you!
KHPA 2017 Kansas Honey Producers Meeting Information Friday and Saturday in Emporia, KS.
Details are still being worked out. Registration and program details are available now. Register online below.
Our most recent NEKBA newsletter ...OCTOBER 2017 "Buzzer".
Club Meeting on Monday, October 16, 2017 in Lawrence, KS !
SINCE 1948
EXPLORING THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF BEEKEEPING TOGETHER
For honey bees and beekeepers, we give each season our best effort in making an indispensable contribution to our rich and healthy environment. It is not just because we have a special delicacy but due to our passion and responsibility to the world in which we all live.