The North Carolina State Beekeepers Association

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MBP Fall Regional TESTING – reminder notice

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Fall Master Beekeeper testing for all levels will start this Saturday.

Please forward this email to your membership – thanks.

If you are intending on testing at one of the two locations PLEASE BRING YOUR NCSBA MEMBERHIP CARD WITH YOU
we MUST have a CURRENT NCSBA membership number. ( thanks)

FALL REGIONAL TESTING
FOR THE NCSBA’s MASTER BEEKEEPER PROGRAM:

EAST:
OCTOBER 7 2017
9 am till Noon
Craven County Cooperative Extension
300 Industrial Drive
New Bern, NC 28562

This facility is located just off the Clarks Exit of Highway 70
It is approximately 8 miles west of the city limits of New Bern.

All tests start at 9 am
NO TEST issued after 10 am
There will be: written testing for Certified, Journeyman & Master Levels
There will be practical exams for Journeyman and Master Levels only.
Certified Practical Exams will not be issued at this time/location.

WEST:
OCTOBER 21, 2017
9 am till NOON
N.C. Cooperative Extension Office at Wilkes County
416 Executive Drive
Wilkesboro, NC 28697

The web site, wilkes.ces.ncsu.edu has along side the title, “Wilkes County Center” a google icon for direction assistance.
We have been advised that the location is GPS challenged so
to help you locate the facility – note that it is located off SR 421 at exit 285, north 500 feet to Executive Drive on the left.

All tests start at 9 am
NO TEST issued after 10 am
There will be: written testing for Certified, Journeyman & Master Levels
There will be practical exams for Journeyman and Master Levels only.
Certified Practical Exams will not be issued at this time/location.

—
Master Beekeeper Committee

sent to Chapters October 2nd 2017

CHANGES to NCSBA Membership Services and Renewal Procedures

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Chapter contacts: please share this message with your Chapter officer who processes membership dues. This applies primarily to Chapters that assist with the collection of NCSBA dues, but it also contains some general information of interest. More details will be sent to you ~ October 15 along with the updated 2018 NCSBA membership application form.

Effective Oct 11, we will have a new Membership Coordinator following the resignation of Laurie Shaw. She gave her notice in July, and we have been planning for this. We will also have a new telephone number and mailing address.

Normally by now we would have finalized the 2018 NCSBA membership application form, but we are waiting until Oct. 15 to avoid confusion. In the meantime, please be aware of the following major change: the membership letter/card that is usually printed and returned to the member (or to the Chapter for distribution to the member) will be emailed to the member unless the hard-copy option is checked on the application form. So, if you are in the process of updating your Chapter membership form to include all information requested on the NCSBA form, please include that option as well as all the other preferences listed on the 2017 form. Again, THE DEFAULT FOR RECEIPT OF THE MEMBERSHIP LETTER/CARD WILL BE BY EMAIL UNLESS THE HARD-COPY OPTION IS CHECKED ON THE FORM. This change will save time for the Chapters in that they won’t have these sheets to return to their members. But success hinges on whether or not we have a valid, current, email address for the member in the NCSBA database. Please take extra care to verify the email address provided on the application form before you submit it.

It is also important to include the NCSBA membership number on the application form. This number does not change after it is assigned — even if the person does not pay NCSBA dues for many years. We now have a new lookup feature by which a Chapter or member can retrieve a membership number if the email address that we have for the member in the database is used and it is unique (i.e., not shared with another person). Go to https://www.ncbeekeepers.org/member-number-recovery to try this. If unsuccessful, you or the member should submit an updated email address to membership@ncbeekeepers.org and then retry.

NCSBA renewals will be processed starting November 1 (in the past, Oct 15 was the starting date). If renewals are submitted by mail before Nov. 1, they will be held until then for processing. Any new-member dues received through Oct. 31 will be applied to the 2017 membership year. Any received after that date will be applied to 2018.

If this is confusing and you still have questions, please email me in a separate message with the name of your chapter included in the subject line (do not reply to this email as it will be automatically discarded). Thanks.

Suzy Spencer
NCSBA Membership Secretary
membershipsecretary@ncbeekeepers.org

sent to Chapters September 29th 2017

NCSBA HONEY SALES at NC STATE FAIR

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The NCSBA will be selling North Carolina Honey at the 2017 NC State Fair.
We need volunteers to help set up and work the booth selling honey during the Fair.
Set Up: Tuesday October 10th and possibly on Wednesday if need be.
Setting up includes: unloading cases of honey, stocking the booth, storage organization and taking inventory.
Fair Booth Dates: October 12th-22nd. See sign up for dates and shift times.
Admittance: Limited number of free admission tickets will be available for all those under the age of 65. Those who are 65+ years young receive free admittance into the fair and will not need a ticket.
Complimentary admission tickets are first come, first serve. The tickets can be picked up at: Big Oak Bee Farm, 2633 Branch Road, Raleigh, NC 27610 any time of day starting Tuesday, Oct 10th. The tickets will be in a bee hive (empty of course) located at the entrance of the Underhill’s driveway.
Parking: Volunteers will be responsible to pay for parking.
Prices for honey this year are:
Bears = $6.00
Pounds = $12.00
Pints = $16.00
Quarts = $30.00
Honey Straws = 5/$1.00 or $0.25 each
(prices are subject to change without notice)
Thank you for your time, help and supporting the NCSBA! See you at the State Fair!
Announcement posted: September 26 2017

Volunteer for the NC State Fair Honey Sales Booth

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This is being sent to NCSBA Chapter contacts for Kim Underhill, Chair of the NC State Fair Honey Sales Committee. Please share it with your members. Note that Adolphus Leonard (NCDA&CS apiary inspector) previously sent out another invitation asking for volunteers to work at the fair’s bee educational booth. The honey sales booth is different from the educational booth. Sign up for both!

A SignUpGenius is now available for those who would like to volunteer to work at the honey sales booth. More information and available slots are available at:

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0c49adab2ca0f49-ncsba1

Thanks for your support.

sent to Chapters September 10th 2017

Hive Protection – Hurricane Preparedness

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Hi everyone,

With uncertain track of hurricane Irma, there are some important considerations for beekeepers who may be affected by the heavy rain and winds. Please further disseminate to your local network of beekeepers.

First, make sure hive equipment is secured to resist strong winds. A simple brick on the top lid is likely to be insufficient to keep the lid from flying off in winds above 50 mph. A lidless hive can cause problems for the bees by introducing moisture and letting heat escape. Strapping the lid down with ratchet straps or securing with duct tape might be in order, particularly for outlying yards. The same is true for hive boxes, particularly if they are relatively new (i.e., the bees have not yet propolized them together sufficiently). Also consider removing unnecessary boxes (e.g., top-hive feeders) to minimize the wind profile.

Second, be sure to have the hives on sturdy stands or level ground. Entire beehives can be blown over by strong winds, particularly when they are fairly tall with many honey supers or are otherwise top heavy. If the hives are on tall or insecure stands, you can move them onto (dry) level ground temporarily to lessen the chances that they topple. Importantly, if you’re using solid bottom boards, be sure to have your hives tilting forward so that rain water does not pool and collect on the floor of the hive.

Third, beware of falling trees and tree limbs. These can be particularly problematic for beehives since they can completely crush all equipment and kill the entire colony. It is also hard to prevent with some sort of barrier or cover because of the sheer weight of many trees, so if you apiary is in a wooded location you may need to move the hives temporarily.

Fourth, make sure the hives are not in low-lying areas or those prone to flooding. River banks can be useful apiary locations because of their proximity to fresh water, but in flooding conditions entire apiaries can be tragically swept away. Be sure to move any beehives in flood plains until the waters have subsided. Beehives on the ground but in recessed areas can cause water to flood the entrances and may even suffocate the bees if not given an upper entrance.

Finally, following heavy rains like hurricanes, various local and state agencies have traditionally sprayed regions with stagnant water to control mosquito outbreaks. While important for public health, such insecticides can be extremely problematic for honey bees. If you are registered through the NCDA&CS, you will be contacted directly if your beehives are in an area schedule to be sprayed. If you are not registered, however, the state has no means to notify you and your bees may be at risk to insecticide exposure. Please consult the Agricultural Chemical manual for information and advice about how to mitigate exposure to pesticides.

Hope your bees stay safe and dry! Sincerely, David

 

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David R. Tarpy
Professor and Extension Apiculturist
Department of Entomology, Campus Box 7613
North Carolina State University
Raleigh, NC 27695-7613
TEL: (919) 515-1660
FAX: (919) 515-7746
LAB: (919) 513-7702
WEB: http://entomology.ces.ncsu.edu/profile/david-tarpy/
EMAIL: david_tarpy@ncsu.edu
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Join the new Beekeeper Education & Engagement System (BEES)
Like us on FaceBook
Follow us on Twitter (@NCSUApiculture)

sent to Chapters September 7th 2017

FACEBOOK PAGE

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Hello everyone,

The NCSBA’s Facebook page is now being managed by two volunteer editors, Whitney Barnes of the Person County Beekeepers and Christi Henthorn of the Granville County Beekeepers. Chapters are encouraged to designate someone to submit their event information to the editors for posting. Beekeepers can become members of the group page and share ideas and photos. There are some rules and expectations for posting on NCSBA’s Facebook page. Please log on to Facebook and read the information that the editors have posted about the events page as well as the group page. Thank you to Whitney and Christi for keeping the NCSBA connected!

Rick Coor
NCSBA President

sent to Chapters August 2th 2017

WOLFPACK WAGGLE : JULY 2017

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WOLFPACK WAGGLE : JULY 20, 2017

Greetings from the NC State Apiculture Program! You can now access our latest issue of the our program’s newsletter, the Wolfpack’s Waggle, which can also be found as usual through:
https://entomology.ces.ncsu.edu/apiculture/wolfpacks-waggle-newsletter/
Summers are always a busy time of year, and this year is no different. James and Joe are busy with their first research seasons, both on the biology of queens; James is investigating how queens might learn to live together (or not), and Joe is testing the short- and long-term effects of pesticide exposure during queen rearing. Hannah and her team (including Claire, Erin, and Nathan) have again been busily sampling the native bee communities all across the state. We have also been hosting a MS student from East Carolina University, Starling Krentz, who has been seeing if there might be a way to “vaccinate” queens so that their offspring are less prone to a given pathogen. Jen has been juggling all of these efforts, especially the queen rearing, and keeping the bees happy. Esmaeil and Dan are busy with their projects at UNCG and UPenn, respectively, and Brad continues to expand the queen clinic in new directions. Perhaps the biggest news is that Hongmei is very soon to start her new position at Central State University in OH, so all the best and thanks!
I hope everyone is doing great during the heat of the summer!

Sincerely, David
Dr. David Tarpy, NCSU

Note: Chapter email was sent on July 20th 2017