[Pollinator] NY Bee Wellness - Happy New Year!

[Pat]

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NY Bee Wellness - Happy New Year!
Winter honey bee info!  
View this email in your browser     
NY Bee Wellness Workshops, NYBeeWellness.org
USDA NIFA Beginning Farmers and Ranchers Development Program,
Grant # 2011-494400-30631     
   
New Years Greetings from NY Bee Wellness!
 Even though the worst of Winter has yet to come, plans are being made for warmer days.
  Last year many clubs held their Tier II training for beekeepers across New York State. A 1 day Tier I hive inspection session was held in the Catskills.
  In 2014 look for a repeat of the intensive 2 day Tier I workshops that were held in 2012. There will be 1 in western/central NY and 1 in eastern NY. Details to be announced.

NEWS: The NY Bee Wellness website will be redesigned next month. Be sure tosend any suggestions about content, and if you have anything you would like to be included (photos, links, info).      
Bee they alive or bee they dead?
Alive?- Be sure to check your honey/feed stores- supplemental feeding may be necessary. Add granulated sugar, candy board, or fondant. Video
Dead?- troubled or unsure about post mortem diagnosis? Send samples to the USDA Bee Lab in Beltsville(link) 
Common winter mortality causes are starvation (dead bees with heads in cells) and varroa mite predation (note white guanine mite deposits in cells with possible perforated brood cappings) - PHOTO.      
*Schedule a "Dead-out" clinic with Microscopy for your club this Spring-Christina Wahl PhD offers a hands on NY Bee Wellness workshop for groups to diagnose honey bee disease. Contact her and reserve your preferred date.PDF link

    
Need to buy bees?Be an educated consumer. Should you buy packages or nucs? What should you ask the supplier?
Stocks may be tight or delayed. An additional option is locally produced bees and queens that are available in June and July.
 Some guides to buying bees:
Buying Bees: Packages vs Nucs (PDF)
Ontario Beekeepers (Canada) PDF

Things you may wish to consider when comparing bee suppliers...
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- how many frames of brood in the nuc (or how many pounds of bees in the package)?
- are you buying from a RE-SELLER or the BREEDER? If a reseller, who produced the bees?
- Does the breeder have references (or are there local beekeepers who have experience with the breeder and can comment on their experience)?
- where are the bees from? (hearty northern stock or taken south for winter?)
- where is the QUEEN from? Her genes will be producing all the future bees! (some people split their local hives, but put commercially bred queens into the splits)
- have the bees come from stock that is treated? e.g. medicated with antibiotics and/or some form of pesticide (hard or soft chemical mite control)?
     
*Beginners Classes are springing up all over. Check the listings (PDF)
Please contact us to have your event included.

*Continuation and expansion of the NY Bee Wellness program is planned. The USDA funding will be completed this summer. We thank and acknowledge donations from the Western NY Honey Producers, Mid York Beekeepers, and Betterbee; a generous pledge from the Empire State Honey Producers.  Please consider donating to further more educational programs and outreach. Additional fund raisers are t-shirts, hats, and calendars.

 Thank you

                  - Pat Bono, Project Director, NY Bee Wellness
                           NYBeeWellness at gmail.com
      
  
NY Bee Wellness T-Shirts  Size XL 17.00 incl s/h(PayPal)       
New York Honey ball caps
Printed 17.00 s/h incl (PayPal)
Embroidered 22.00 s/h incl (PayPal)       
OBA 2014 Bee Girl Calendar(PayPal)
each month has different photo
22.00 s/h incl      
Copyright © 2014 NY Bee Wellness, All rights reserved.

Our mailing address is:
POB 25291 Rochester NY 14625


       


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