Recent Posts
- Northeast New Jersey Beekeeping 2022 Program
Coming Soon
- Water bottle bee
This hive has a clear inner cover without a top entrance. There is insulation above the inner cover that minimizes condensation. There were a few bees filling up with water! Dr. Seeley calls these “water bottle bees.” They will store water for the colony. The water is needed to dilute the honey and produce brood food. The water bottle bees would forage outside the hive if there was no condensate available in the hive, a much more dangerous option in the cold weather.While too much condensation is not good for a colony, a little condensation is beneficial. More heat is retained in the hive when there is no top entrance, resulting in less honey consumption.
Movie by John A. Gaut, January 2021 - Check Out Our Club Events Page For a Fun-Filled Fall of Beekeeping!
- As The Bee Flies
- April 15 Meeting – Installing your Nuc
Installing & Caring for your new Nucs will be the topic covered on April 15 at 7:30 p.m. Our seasoned beekeepers will be on hand to answer all your questions.
We will also cover swarm management.
For instructions which will be covered, download this pdf and bring to the meeting.
Our meetings are always the third Friday of every month, beginning at 7:30 pm. We meet at Ramapo College 505 Ramapo Valley Road Mahwah, NJ in the Anisfield School of Business, Room 135S.
- Nuc orders now ongoing!
The Club will once again be ordering nucs from our Nuc Guy, Grant Stiles. Nucs are $200 and will be treated with Apivar (in the Nuc when received) and will come in a beautiful wooden box this year. The box can be used for swarm catching or a swarm lure.
We expect delivery late April. All Nucs will need to be picked up the night of delivery. Please make arrangements if you cannot be there as all deposits will be forfeited if Nucs are not picked up.
Order today, as supplies are limited! You can place your order at a club meeting in Jan-March. - Bee prepared before asking for help
From Frank Mortimer in the January Bee Culture Magazine. Frank gives advice on the five things you need to know before calling on your mentor.
- Getting your colonies ready for winter
By John A. Gaut
Winter is coming and it’s time to ready the colonies for the cold months.
Winterization Checklist
Adequate Honey Stores, 60 pounds or more
Good pollen reserves, 4 + frames of mostly pollen
Large population of young healthy bees
Low Mite levels
Upper entrance
Reduced and mouse guarded bottom entrance
Minimize Air Infiltration
Close Bottom Board on Screened Bottoms
Tape any gaps in boxes
Insulate the top of the hive between between the inner cover and the outer cover
Insulate the hive sides
Click below to learn more about your bees and the winter months, and how to properly insulate the hives
- Aug 19 Meeting – Dearth, Feeding, Mites
We will talk about dearth and feeding and mite control this Friday. Dearth can be hard on your bees, but we have had rain and a somewhat mild summer this year. Find out how this has impacted this year’s dearth. Should you be feeding? Got other questions? Bring them to the meeting. Our team is here to help you succeed!
Our meetings are always the third Friday of every month, beginning at 7:30 pm. We meet at Ramapo College 505 Ramapo Valley Road Mahwah, NJ in the Anisfield School of Business, Room 135S.
- Smart and gentle does it when extracting
By Frank Mortimer
1) Pulling honey frames:
A) Always Smoke Your Bees: This should be a no-brainer. Bees release a pheromone when they are afraid/fear the hive is under attack. Smoke blocks this pheromone from being detected by the bees. If bees can’t smell it, they don’t get defensive, therefore always use smoke.
B) Pull early morning and before the dearth. Bees are more protective of their honey when there is no nectar flow. It’s always best to pull your honey supers off in the morning, and never mid-day when every forager is out looking for food.
C) When pulling honey use bee escapes and fuming boards with bee gone (a bee friendly almond spray). Do not bang frames to remove the bees. Place the bee escapes two days in advance and block off inner cover entrance. When pulling the boxes use a fume board with the bee gone spray or just a dish rag sprayed with it. Let it sit for 5 minutes and remove the super.
D) Don’t pull frame by frame. Remove the entire super and immediately get into a covered box or wrap in a damp sheet. Always have hive covered with bee escape or inner cover. When you are pulling your honey supers, you want to always minimize how long your honey supers are exposed and out in the open. When there’s no other food available and you have frames of honey lying out in the open, you have created a recipe for a sure-fire disaster. When you pull your supers, get them out of your apiary and inside as quickly as you can.
E) Never have several hives opened at once, and never leave frames of honey sitting out where they will activate the bees’ instinct to start robbing everything in sight.
F) Spin indoors
G) Do not let bees clean up equipment. Wash all tools and extractor immediately following extraction.
H) If your colony gets defensive at any time close it up and call it a day.2) If Your Hive Is Overly Defensive Tell Someone: If
something does not seem right with your bees, tell an officer of the club or your mentor. If your bees seem like they are always buzzing, or stinging you or others, then you need to speak with someone on how to find a solution. In this month’s Bee Culture Magazine, James Tew wrote about an overly defensive hive in his backyard apiary and how he moved it to a remote location for the sake of his neighbors. If you are keeping bees, then it is your responsibility to always be a good neighbor.
4) Be Careful Where You Get Your Queens: If you’re ordering queens through suppliers from other parts of the country, you need to make sure your source is not too far south where bees with Africanized traits are more common. It is important to always think about the likelihood of introducing bees that are overly defensive into our area, so always be diligent about where you are sourcing your bees.3) Maintain a water source so your bees don’t seek out a neighbor’s pool or pond. Once they find another source it’s almost impossible to stop them from using it.