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March 2016State Apiarist Dr. Tammy Horn Potter ● Kentucky Department of Agriculture, Ryan F. Quarles, Commissioner BeeLines

● March 5: Audubon Beekeeping School, Henderson Extension Expo Center. Registration 8 a.m. CST, classes 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Beginner to advanced classes, and classes on adding value beyond the hive – honey cooking, soap making, and candle making. Registration $15 for adults ($20 at the door), $5 children 12 and under.

More: Larry Stone, (270) 339-7245; Jan Powell, (270) 860-2942.

● March 5: Beginners Bee School 101. Kelley’s Bee Supply, Clarkson. Instructor: Jake Osborne. Kelley’s educates new beekeepers and enhances the more experienced. 9 a.m.-3 p.m. CST. Mid-morning and mid-afternoon breaks and a one-hour lunch break (restaurants within reasonable driving distance). Fee $30 plus tax per person. Class size limited to 50. If weather permits, we will do a live inspection of an active hive. 807 W. Main St., Clarkson 42726.

More: (800) 233-2899 or www.kelleybees.com.

● March 12: Bluegrass Beekeepers School. Bradford Hall, Kentucky State University, Frankfort. 8 a.m.-3:30 p.m. EST. “Bee Friendly Frankfort” events precede the school. The 2016 American Honey Princess will be a guest. Keynote speech by Dr. Subba Palli, University of Kentucky, on “Development of RNA Interference as a Bee-Safe Pest Control Method.”

More: Phil Clark, pdc3393@twc.com.

● March 14-18: Native Bees of the Midwest: Cincinnati Museum Center’s Edge of Appalachia Preserve System, 2016 Advanced Naturalist Workshops. Five-day intensive identification workshop led by Mike Arduser, retired Missouri Conservation Department biologist. Cost is $500. Maximum 10 participants. Includes scientific keys, use of microscopes, four nights lodging onsite, all meals, and instruction. Meals will be self-serve in most cases, with food restrictions accommodated wherever possible.

More: www.cincymuseum.org/nature/workshops#sthash.zLRC3nds.dpu

● March 19: Dadant and Sons, Beginning and Advanced Tracks. Instructor Jerry Hayes. Fairfield Inn, Frankfort, KY 40601, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. EDT. Single registration $45, couples/families $68. Lunch on your own. Hotel discounts are available for those wanting to stay overnight.

Registration: (502) 848-0000.

● March 19: Beginning Beekeeping - Getting Started. Instructor: Phil Craft. 9 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. EDT, UK’s Ecological Research and Education Center, 1737 Russell Cave Road, Lexington. Craft offers an introduction to honey bee biology and behavior, and beekeeping equipment. The course also covers how to manage hives, where to locate a hive, purchasing bees, and potential problems of the first year. Limit 30 pre-registered participants.

E-mail: philcraftbeekeeping@windstream.net

● March 19: Beekeeping 201, Kelley’s, Clarkson, Ky. Instructor: Jake Osborne. 9 a.m.-3 p.m. CDT, 807 West Main Street, Clarkson.  Fee $30+ tax per person. Class limited to 50. 

More: (800) 233-2899 or www.kelleybees.com

By Ray Tucker, president Kentucky State Beekeepers Association

This year, two bills propose to eliminate the 6 percent sales tax on beekeeping equipment. Rep. Michael Meredith sponsored House Bill 193. A similar filing is House Bill 22, by Representative Terry Mills.

Other guests included Kentucky Department of Agriculture Chief of Staff Keith Rogers, Senator Jimmy Higdon, and Representative David Floyd.

Beekeepers associations with representatives present included Bluegrass Beekeepers, Oldham County, Kentuckiana, Capital City, and Nelson County.

April 9 spring KSBA meeting relocated to Shelbyville

Due to space limitations, the April 9 Kentucky State Beekeepers Association spring meeting will be held at the Shelby County Extension Office, 1117 Frankfort Rd, Shelbyville.

The featured speaker will be Dr. Clare Rittschoff, new University of Kentucky professor of entomology. The 8 a.m. - 3 p.m. meeting is free to KSBA members.

There will be a KSBA Executive meeting April 8 at the same location.

KSBA President’s report:

Legislation promoted in capital city

Bee Education Events

At the recent legislative meet-and-greet sponsored by KSBA, Rep. Terry Mills (left) encourages beekeepers to keep coming to the Capitol to raise awareness of the importance of pollinators. Rep. Michael Meredith (right) tells constituents he desires to help beekeepers because of his grandfather, who kept bees,

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State Apiarist’s Report:Swarms may begin this month. Swarms are great ways to get started into beekeeping, increase your colony count, or bolster a weak hive. (Note: Either keep the swarm queen or kill the weak queen in a weak hive before you add a swarm to it).

Please remember that no matter how much you may enjoy the free bees, it is not worth getting hurt. I do not like to go over three steps up a stepladder to retrieve a swarm. A hospital bill can cost easily more than a nuc, package or fully-established colony. Also, do not trespass on private property to attain a swarm.

* * *I need to remind beginners that it’s “buyer beware” when

buying nucs or equipment. I recommend beginners start with nucs because you buy overlapping generations, you are buying the “mother queen” with her daughters, and if there are any weather abnormalities, the nuc will deal with the stress more easily than packages.

You want to purchase fairly new equipment (wax should not be pitch-black, for example). Five-frame nucs generally need to have some room to expand, so it can seem more like four-frame nucs with an extra frame of drawn foundation. This is normal. You do not want your nuc to swarm. Make sure you take your veil when you pick up your nuc and see that the nuc has eggs.

Packages are cheaper and are a quick way to boost a struggling colony. But if the honey bees do not accept the queen that is placed in the package, and/or if the weather does not allow the honey bees to fly for nutrition, the package may struggle.

I do not recommend packages for beginner beekeepers. A lot of factors have to go right for packages to succeed their first year.

* * *In spring, many beekeepers supplement hive nutrition

with protein supplements. Dr. Geraldine Wright, Tyne and Wear, United Kingdom, researches commercially available protein supplements and pollen.

Wright found that 65 percent of protein in pollen supplements was not digested by honey bees. In analyzing the highly specialized diets of honey bees, Wright showed that at each stage of processing the pollen, the honey bees concentrate and refine their food.

While queens are fed mainly royal jelly, larvae are fed

a mixture of royal jelly and glandular secretions along with bee bread. The nurses tend to be fed bee bread and honey, while the foragers tend to eat nectar and/or honey.

Wright stressed that pollen substitutes are actually protein supplements, not true pollen. Most importantly, she found the ratios of micronutrients are important for bees to thrive.

What is clear is that each caste has different micronutrient requirements. More research is needed on the amount and kinds of fats bees need, relative to protein and carbohydrates.

* * *Dr. Wright’s comments concur with statements made

by Dr. Gloria diGrandi-Hoffman, director of the USDA Bee Lab in Tucson. Many beekeepers use protein patties as a “one size fits all” supplement. Her lab is examining the seasonal differences that pollen may accrue, especially in the spring as the hive expands. Another question is if the pollen stored for the winter has any added benefits for the workers that have to survive the colder climates.

State Apiarist’s scheduleUSDA-APHIS sampling will start this month, so I may be in the field on Mondays or Tuesdays. Feel free to call the work cell phone number: (502) 229-2950. I do not foresee being in the office this month much at all.

● March 2: Integrated Pest Management Workshop, Princeton.

● March 4-5: Organic Association of Kentucky, Shepherdsville.

● March 9-11: USDA Managed Pollinator Protection Plan Summit, Washington, D.C.

● March 12: Bluegrass Beekeepers School.

● March 15: Vegetative Management Conference, Lexington.

● March 22: Lake Cumberland Beekeepers Association, 6-9 p.m.

● March 29-31: Daniel Boone National Forest Tree Planting Events.

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By Linda PorterYou may have noticed that the number of butterflies in your garden has been diminishing in recent years. The use of caterpillar-killing pesticides, habitat destruction, and climate change have contributed greatly to this problem.

Individual gardeners can help to establish friendlier and more supportive environments for butterflies, like the once-familiar Monarch butterfly.

Monarchs have been disappearing from our gardens and from their winter roosts in Mexico at alarming rates since the 1990s, and there has been a concerted effort to help bring them back. The planting of Monarch Waystations is an important step toward this goal.

Special insect havens

Monarch Waystations are sponsored by Monarch Watch, an outreach program at the University of Kansas that focuses on the monarch butterfly, its habitat, and its spectacular fall migration.

These special butterfly gardens provide essential host milkweed plants and nectar sources for migrating Monarch butterflies, as well as habitats and shelter for all butterflies and pollinators, including honey bees and native bees.

There are 12,470 Monarch Waystations worldwide. The program’s success is critical to the future of Monarch butterflies in Kentucky and throughout the Americas.

They can choose to visit

As they fly over our state, monarchs can either keep going for lack of suitable places to feed, mate, and reproduce; or they can stop to live for a while in lush gardens that provide the plants to sustain them.

Monarch larvae feed exclusively on milkweeds. Monarch Watch recommends that you plant at least 10 individual milkweed plants in your butterfly garden. Choose at least two different species.

Good choices for our area include Common Milkweed (A. syriaca), Swamp Milkweed (A. incarnata), Butterfly Milkweed (A. tuberosa), and Purple Milkweed (A. purpurascens).

You should also provide four different nectar- producing plants, preferably natives. Lists of good native plants for your garden and the steps for Monarch Waystation certification can be found at www.monarchwatch.org and www.wildones.org.

Hundreds in Kentucky

In 2013, The Garden Club of Kentucky, led by then-president Joanna Kirby, joined with the Lexington chapter of Wild Ones, a native plant landscaping organization, to encourage the planting and certification of Waystations across Kentucky.

At that time, there were 36 Monarch Waystations in Kentucky. As of January 1, 2016, there were 324 Monarch Waystations in our state, including over 100 public or educational Monarch gardens.

Efforts continue across Kentucky, and the nation, to plant not just individual Monarch Waystations but also “Monarch Highways and Corridors” through partnerships between individual and public or private organizations. We invite you to join us.

For more information and educational materials on Monarch Waystations in Kentucky, contact Linda Porter, Monarch Waystation Chair

for Wild Ones and GCKY, prairiegirl7@mac.com.

Ky. Pollinator Protection Plan includes Waystations for Monarchs

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By Tammy Horn PotterMany Kentucky beekeepers know Laura Rogers, who is a Kentucky State University Small Farm Area Agent, whose office is based in Pulaski County.

Her daughter, Sarah Rogers, graduated from Eastern Kentucky University and continued her studies in veterinary medicine at Auburn University, Alabama. She is nearing completion of her program.

The White Coat ceremonial picture (right), signifies that Sarah is almost finished with classroom activities and will start her

Pulaski agent’s daughter completing DVM at Auburn

Hebron middle schoolers vs. bee crisisHEBRON — At Conner Middle School, students are at work on the roof, tending bee hives in a project-based learning assignment led by seventh-grade teacher Julia Hansel.

“It’s really important to work with schools because we have a beekeeping gap,” said State Apiarist Tammy Horn Potter. Most Kentucky beekeepers are over 50, she said, and are concerned about to whom they can pass down their hives. “This makes our country quite vulnerable,” she said.

More from Hebron (Ky.) Community Reporter website: www.cincinnati.com/story/news/local/hebron/2016/02/07/innovative-learning-project-takes-bee-crisis/79972976/

clinical rotation in a couple of weeks. She will graduate next May with a DVM from Auburn University.

Sarah is at least a sixth-generation beekeeper, continuing a family tradition. Her grandfather used to say, “We will always have sweetener in the house and something we can use like money.”  

Laura’s son, William, is working on a degree in turf management at Eastern Kentucky University and helps Sarah with her bee boxes and frames.

Tabitha Mansker, the 2016 American Honey Princess, will visit Kentucky March 7-12.

She will participate in the Capitol Area Beekeepers Association’s “Bee Friendly Frankfort” event and will be a guest speaker at the March 12 Bluegrass Beekeepers School at Kentucky State University.

During her visit, she will speak about the importance of honeybees to Kentucky agriculture, and how honeybee pollination is

2016 American Bee Federation Princess and Queen to visit March 7-12 the foundation of a billion-dollar industry. She will also share information about many uses for honey, including its healing touch.

Tabitha is the 20-year-old daughter of Gary and Wanda Mansker of Nevada, Texas. She is pursuing business and marketing studies, and hopes to become a teacher.

Tabitha helps manage her family’s 16 hives, and extracts honey for many commercial beekeeping operations.

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TypeSelling Price

Price to keep (70% of sale price)

Extracted Honey 8-ounce jar $ 7 $ 4.91 lb jar 10 7Pint jar 13 9.11.5 jar 13 9.12 lb jar 18 12.62.5 lb jar 20 14Quart jar 24 16.85 lb jar 33 23.18 ounce bear 7 4.912 ounce bear 9 6.32 ounce bear 3.5 2.45

Comb Honey1 lb jar 12 8.42 lb jar 20 14Pint jar 16 11.22.5 lb jar 22 15.4Quart jar 24 16.81 lb box 11 7.7

2016 KSBA State Fair Honey Prices (Tentative; must be a KSBA member to sell)

Creamed Honey8 ounce jar 9 6.31 lb jar 12 8.4Bulk Wax lbs 12 8.4

Pollen8 ounce 10 716 ounce 17 11.9

St. Francis Elementary in Oldham Co. receives grant for observation hiveChristine Brinkman, St. Francis Elementary in Goshen, plans to install an observation hive this spring through a $1,500 grant from The Bee Cause Project, a non-profit started by Ted Dennard, Savannah Bee Company founder.

The grant provides an observation hive, feeding apparatus, hive cover, information, and a small stipend. (The 2016 application deadline has passed.)

Brinkman will also receive Epipens for her program, secured from the website of Mylan Company, makers of the automatic epinephrine injector. Epipens are important to have onhand at an observation hive.

The company offers four free Epipens to qualifying kindergarten, elementary, middle, and high school educators, along with training videos and support data.

More on the grant program: www.thebeecause.org. Mylan’s Epipen website: www.epipen4schools.com.

Hardier honey bee packs a bite,fights back against Varroa mitesOn his farm near Slippery Rock in western Pennsylvania, beekeeper Jeff Berta has a queen that could be the future of honey bees in Pennsylvania and elsewhere, said a report from National Public Radio.

The queen is bit of a science experiment, funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Berta had the queen artificially inseminated by Purdue University scientists who were raising bees that demonstrated a unique, Varroa mite-fighting grooming behavior.

“The bees … will chew on the mite,” Berta says. “And if they bite a leg off of the mite, the mite will bleed to death. So the bees are actually fighting back.”

Photos & more at National Public Radio website: www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/01/11/462391470/ a-hardier-honeybee-that-fights-back-by-biting-back

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