Subject: Corrected post: Sept. 94 "Buzz' - Iowa Beekeepers Newsletter

From: [email-masked] (Terry Dahms)
Date: Fri, 10 Feb 1995 14:22:06

Submitted by: Terry Dahms, Pres.
       East Central Iowa Beekeepers Assoc.
       internet: [email-masked]
       ps: sorry for the delay in posting.
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                  THE BUZZ                     SEPTEMBER, 1994
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       A newsletter published monthly as a cooperative effort by The Iowa
       Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and The Iowa  Honey 
       Producers  Association  (IHPA),  an affiliate member of  the  Iowa
       Horticultural Society.   Copy deadline is the 20th of each  month. 
       Your  ideas,  comments  and letters are welcomed  and  encouraged. 
       EDITOR:   Bob  Cox,  State Apiarist,  Iowa Dept.  of  Agriculture,
       Wallace Building,  Des Monies, IA.   50319 Phone:  (515) 281-5736. 
       IHPA  MEMBERSHIP:   Membership dues in the  Iowa  Honey  Producers
       Assn. are $5.00/year.  Send to Gordon Powell, IHPA Treasurer.
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       STATE APIARIST REPORT
          The 1994 Iowa State Fair has come and gone.  It was a good year
       in some ways.  We are hopeful that when all expenses are paid that
       the honey booth netted a good profit for the association.  The new
       honey lemonade sold well.  There were many requests for the  honey
       ice cream at state fair.   It would be great to sell both lemonade
       and ice cream products next year.   However,  unless we have  more
       help in the salesbooth we can't handle selling both products.   We
       owe  a large debt of thanks to John Johnson for doing a great  job
       of  managing  the  honey salesbooth again this year.   A  list  of
       people who helped at the fair are listed on page 2.   I  apologize
       for any names that may have been left off the list.
          Also new at the fair this year were "Bee Popsickles"  which are
       one-inch  square  pieces  of comb honey sold  for  a  quarter.   I
       believe  over  6000 popsickles were sold.   What a  great  way  to
       promote  comb honey.   In general,  this was a good year for  comb
       honey  production  in  Iowa,  although I know  some  of  you  have
       expressed  frustration in trying to produce it this year  at  your
       particular location.
          The  quality of products entered in the competition  was  good,
       but  the  number of entries were at an all time low for  the  last
       five years.   Tim Laughlin ran away with the highest dollar amount
       for total premiums at the fair.  Results are listed on page 3.
          Varroa  mites have been found in so many apiaries  this  summer
       that its time to recommend that everyone treat their colonies this
       fall, unless your bees have been tested and are free of the Varroa
       mite.   The  only  product that is legal to use in  bee  hives  is
       Apistan plastic strips.   Many beekeepers have used other products
       in their hives and the results are variable.  In addition to being
       illegal,  many "homemade"  chemical treatments are not effectively
       controlling the Varroa mites.
          It  is  best  for  all  beekeepers  in  an  area  to  treat  at
       approximately the same time.   All treatments should be  initiated
       by October 15th.    Varroa mites will spread quite readily from  a
       highly infested apiary to a nearby clean apiary,  negating some of
       the good effect of the mite treatment in the clean apiary.
          Beekeepers planning on moving bees out of state should  contact
       me  by  mail  or  at  (515)  281-5736  to  request  an  Inspection
       Certificate.   These Certificates cannot be sent unless I have all
       the information required on the form.  Please notify me ASAP.
       THANKS TO THE FOLLOWING PEOPLE WHO HELPED AT STATE FAIR:

       Merlynn Sorrenson               Lloyd Crim
       Bill, John & Betsy Van Roekel   Earl Eidbo
       Ray & David Tull                Peter Coyle
       Cheryl & Melissa Cramer         Tom Scott
       Ron Wehr                        Charles & Adelaide Carpenter
       David Tousain                   Herman Bickle
       Tim Laughlin                    Fred Terfehn
       Wendell Schmidt                 Harry & Sandra Hunter, Tabatha
       Margaret & Bernie Hala          Gordon & Bev Powell
       Kris Kohl                       Phyllis Gott
       Cynthia Hyde                    Elsworth & Nancy Gustafson
       Phil Ebert                      Tom Duffy
       Randy Bronnenberg               Ron Schweppe
       Paul & Hildegard Goossen        John & Elaine Johnson
       Kent Johnson                    Jenifer Scott & Nancy
       Dave Carleton                   Emily Abbott
       Matt & Patty Stewart            Mary Hays
       Arvin, Katy & Andy Foell        Leroy & Lynette Kellogg
       Jesse Kellogg                   Shane Kellogg
       Bob & Diane Mitchell            Maxine Burns
       Mike O'Hearn                    Bill Eickholt
       Tom & LuAnn Schuster

       Yellow jacket wasps 
          The  yellow  jacket  wasps  have  really  made  a  nuisance  of
       themselves  this summer.   I've had three times as many  calls  on
       nuisance  "bees"  this year as last year when  I  started  keeping
       track  of the number.  ISU Entomologist,  Donald Lewis had a  nice
       article  published  in the Des Moines Register  about  the  yellow
       jacket wasp.   However,  he said that the calls haven't slowed any
       since the article came out.
          People  simply  cannot tell the difference between  the  yellow
       jacket  (usually  called a "sweat bee"  or "ground bee")  and  the
       honey bee.  Many people also think that a hornet's nest hanging in
       a  tree contains honey bees.   What people really want is  a  free
       pest control service.  I'm sure many of you have gotten calls also
       if you let people know that you are a beekeeper.
          In  spring  and early summer most bee calls involve  swarms  of
       honey bees,  whereas most bee calls this time of the year  involve
       Eastern or German yellowjacket wasp and Baldfaced Hornet nests  in
       the ground, wall or foundation of house or hanging in a tree.  
          These   insects  all  build  a  paper  nest  constructed   from
       masticated wood or other plant fibers mixed with saliva to make  a
       kind  of  paper mache'  material.   The inside of  the  nests  are
       composed  of  horizontal paper sheets of cells stacked on  top  of
       each  other.   This stack of paper combs is covered  with  several
       envelopes of the same paper material.
          These wasps are scavengers,  eating animal and insect flesh  as
       well as sweets.  At state fair you see honey bees and wasps at the
       soda pop stands,  but mostly wasps in the garbage cans where  they
       forage on turkey legs and other meat scraps found there.  
                           1994 IOWA STATE FAIR RESULTS

       Cut Comb in Plastic Box         White Extracted Honey
       1st Place Margaret Hala         1st Place Fred Terfehn
       2nd Place Philip Ebert          2nd Place Tim Laughlin
       3rd Place W. John Johnson       3rd Place Cynthia Hyde
       4th Place Tim Laughlin          4th Place Ronald Wehr
       5th Place Melissa Laughlin      5th Place Herman Bickle
       6th PLace Charles Hoehnle       6th Place Melissa Laughlin

       Frame of Extracting Honey       Empty Frame
       1st Place David Tull            1st Place Margaret Hala
       2nd Place Fred Terfehn          2nd Place Melissa Laughlin
       3rd Place Tim Laughlin          3rd Place Matthew Stewart
       4th Place Margaret Hala         4th Place Tim Laughlin
       5th Place Melissa Laughlin      5th Place Fred Terfehn
       6th Place Charles Hoehnle

       Amber Extracted Honey           Plain Creamed Honey
       1st Place Herman Bickle         1st Place Fred Terfehn
       2nd Place Tim Laughlin          2nd Place Tim Laughlin
       3rd Place Stanley Weiser        3rd Place Herman Bickle
       4th Place David Tull            4th Place Melissa Laughlin

       Block of Beeswax                Beeswax Art (poured-mold)
       1st Place Tim Laughlin          1st Place Tim Laughlin
       2nd Place Herman Bickle         2nd Place Herman Bickle
       3rd Place Matthew Stewart       3rd Place Melissa Laughlin

       Flavored Creamed Honey          Observation Hive
       1st Place Tim Laughlin          1st Place Margaret Hala
       2nd Place Fred Terfehn          2nd Place Tim Laughlin
       3rd Place Melissa Laughlin      3rd Place Fred Terfehn

       Round Comb Honey                Square Section Comb Honey
       1st Place Adam Fuller           1st Place Stan Weiser
       2nd Place David Tull            2nd Place David Tull
                                               
       Beeswax Candles                 Window Display
       1st Place Herman Bickle         1st Place Tim Laughlin
       2nd Place Tim Laughlin          
       3rd Place Melissa Laughlin       
                                                       Number of
                                                       Blue Ribbons
       Sweepstakes Plaque Winner - Tim Laughlin   $242       4
       1st runnerup - Fred Terfehn                $101       2
       2nd runnerup - Herman Bickle               $ 91       2
       3rd runnerup - Melissa Laughlin            $ 87       0
                      Margaret Hala                          3
                      Adam Fuller                            1
                      Stan Weiser                            1
                      David Tull                             1

       "STICK UP" FOR HONEY!
          "Honey,  I Love You"  stickers featuring the lovable honey bear
       logo  are sporting a new,  bright look.   The 1 1/2-inch  diameter
       stickers are bright yellow with the logo and the message "Honey, I
       Love You" printed in black.
          Stickers are great for kids and adults!   They can be used  for
       lapels,   on   printed  promotional  material  or   on   a   honey
       point-of-purchase  display.  (Stickers may not be  used  on  honey
       product containers.)
          Stickers   are  packaged  1,000  per  roll.    Each   roll   is
       shrink-wrapped.  The minimum order for stickers is one roll.  Cost
       per  roll is $9 for one roll;  $8 each for two to four  rolls;  $7
       each for five or more rolls.
          Send a check with your order to National Honey Board,  421 21st
       Ave., Ste. 203, Longmont, CO 80501.

       LAPLANDERS HONEY CONFERENCE
          Friday,  September  9th,  the Laplanders  Honey  Conference  of
       southern Iowa and northern Missouri will be held in Allerton, Iowa
       at the Inn of the Six Toed Cat.  Dinner will be at 6 p.m.  and the
       program at 7 p.m.  The theme for the conference will be "The Honey
       Market:  What's Out There?"   The guest speakers for  the  evening
       will be the 1994 American Honey Queen, Lisa Terry from Northfield,
       Minnesota.   Joining  her is Leon Metz,  honey packer  from  Hazel
       Green, Wisconsin.
          Do join us for dinner and for this timely program.  For further
       details and reservations contact:  Ann Garber at (515) 872-2119 by
       Tuesday, September 6th.
          The fourth annual Honey Walnut Classic,  a honey foods contest,
       will  be held the following day,  Saturday,  September 10th at  10
       a.m.  on  the east portico of the Inn in Allerton.   This  popular
       event honors the Historic Iowa-Missouri Honey War, 1838-1841.
          Come and support honey marketing. Participate in the Laplanders
       Honey Conference and in the Honey Walnut Classic.
          Dinner  is $10 including gratuity with a cash bar.   RSVP:  Ann
       Garber (515) 872-2119 or (515) 872-2142.

       IHPA ANNUAL MEETING
          Don't  miss  the  annual meeting of the  Iowa  Honey  Producers
       Association  which will be held November 11 and 12 at the  Regency
       Inn,  in Marshalltown.   This year the annual business meeting  is
       scheduled  for  Friday afternoon and a wonderful banquet  meal  is
       planned for Friday evening.  Our keynote speaker this year will be
       Dr. Bill Wilson from the USDA Weslaco Bee Laboratory. 
          Other  speakers planned are Gary Reuter from the University  of
       Minnesota  Bee  Lab,  Iowa's Secretary  of  Agriculture,  Dale  M.
       Cochran,  ABJ  Editor,  Joe Graham,  IHPA  past  presidents,  Paul
       Goossen,  W. John Johnson and others not yet nailed down.   Topics
       include:  Current Research Projects at the Weslaco  and  Minnesota
       Bee Labs, Comb Honey Production, Pollination of Iowa Crops,  State
       Apiarist's Report, Handling Beeswax, and Local area crop reports.  
          Contact   Bob  Cox,   State  Apiarist,   Iowa   Department   of
       Agriculture, Des Moines, IA (515) 281-5736 for more details.
                                 IN THE BEEYARD

       1. Remove  honey  supers from colonies.  Any honey stored  by  the
       bees will help the colonies prepare for winter.
       2. Extract honey from supers if moisture level is low enough.  The
       moisture  content  of  the honey must be 18.5% or  less  to  avoid
       fermentation and spoilage.   If honey is too watery,  dry honey in
       the comb by running a dehumidifier and fan for several days.
       3. Feed  any  lightweight colonies if they have  less  than  60-80
       pounds  of  stored  honey  (total  hive  weight  150-170  pounds). 
       Colonies  should  be fed a thick syrup (2 parts sugar/1  part  hot
       water or HFCS) or frames of honey saved back.
       4. Medicate  colonies for  disease/parasite  prevention/treatment. 
       Treatment with Terramycin dust or vegetable shortening formulation
       for  American  Fouldbrood Disease and Apistan plastic  strips  for
       Varroa mite control are a must this fall.   The earlier you  treat
       the  better.   A  clean  cycle of  brood  before  winter  is  very
       important for good winter survival. Fumadil-B added to syrup  feed
       and menthol treatment early this fall may also benefit colonies in
       dealing with other parasites.
       5. Plan  for  weatherizing  bee hives.  Decide  on  what  kind  of
       physical  protection you will give your colonies next  month  when
       the weather turns cold.

       WINGBEAT COUNTER FINGERS INVADING BEES
          Africanized  honey  bees in Central America  beat  their  wings
       faster than domestic European bees in Arizona.   That  difference,
       thinks an Agricultural Research Service entomologist, may be a way
       to tell the two apart.
          The  current test to verify that bees are Africanized  requires
       capturing  specimens  and  shipping  them  to  state  and  federal
       laboratories.   There,  experts measure minute differences in body
       part sizes.
          Identification  by  wingbeat frequency could prove  faster  and
       cheaper  and--best  of all--wouldn't require  handling  bees  that
       might suddenly mount an attack.
          So Hayward G.  Spangler tape-recorded the wingbeat frequency of
       Africanized  honey  bees that he encountered during two  trips  to
       Costa  Rica.   He  compared these recordings  to  others  made  by
       European  at  the Carl Hayden Bee Research Laboratory  in  Tuscon,
       Arizona.
          "Costa  Rican  bees  that were foraging for  nectar  or  flying
       toward  and away from their hives had a higher wingbeat  frequency
       than Arizonan bees."
          Spangler   thinks  these  findings  could  aid   engineers   in
       developing  an  affordable  device to help  track  the  spread  of
       Africanized  bees.   The detector would help identify  potentially
       dangerous honey bee colonies near schools and playgrounds so  they
       could  be removed.--By Dennis Senft,  USDA  Agricultural  Research
       Magazine

       ARICANIZED BEE UPDATE
          Africanized bees have caused quite a stir in Arizona and  Texas
       recently.   Approximately  17  people were stung  by  a  swarm  of
       Africanized  honey bees in an apartment complex in  East  Phoenix,
       Arizona  on  July 6th.   Three people required  medical  care  and
       recovered.
          A  man in Robstown,  Texas was stung an estimated  1,000  times
       recently according to a NASDA newsletter article by Barb Spangler.
          "A  man was 'covered head to toe'  by 4,000 bees  while  mowing
       grass and was stung an estimated 1,000 times.   The culprits  were
       believed to be the so-called 'killer' bees.   Five people involved
       in  the ensuing chaos were also stung,  including a nurse  in  the
       emergency room where the man was taken.
          Rescue  crews found the man lying by the road,  awash in  bees,
       covering his face.   'He was covered head to toe,'  said  Robstown
       Fire Chief Julio Flores. 'It was like a horror movie.'
          Another  helper who was stung was firefighter Ernest  Gallegos,
       who  was  trying to start a water pump to spray the  bees.   'It's
       like  someone  coming after you with a knife or a  gun'  he  said. 
       'You run for your life.'"

                               CALENDAR OF EVENTS
       SEPTEMBER - NATIONAL HONEY MONTH
       9-10         Laplanders Honey Conference 6:00 p.m. the 10th and
                    Honey Walnut Classic 10 a.m. the 11th both at the
                    Inn in Allerton, Iowa.

       12           Eastcentral Iowa Beekeepers Meeting 7:00 p.m. in
                    basement of Montgomery Hall, Johnson County
                    Fairgrounds, Iowa City

       15           Scott County Beekeepers Meeting 7:00 p.m. at Riefes
                    Restaurant, Locust St., Davenport.

       17           Central Iowa Beekeepers Meeting at Royal Cafe in
                    Huxley.  Buffet dinner at 5:30 p.m., Business Meeting
                    6:30 p.m. and Program at 7:30 p.m. (We will try again
                    to show the Bee Emergency Video.)

       NOVEMBER     
       11-12        Iowa Honey Producers Annual Meeting in Marshalltown.

       FOR SALE:  6 hives of bees plus a 2-frame S/S Dadant extractor.
       Contact John Nichols in Bussey, Iowa at (515) 943-2305.
       FOR SALE:  55-gallon drums $6.00 each; 20 or more $5.00 each.
       Call Harry Hunter in Des Moines at (515)266-1984.
       FOR SALE:   A.I. Root L-50 galvanized 50-frame extractor,  Woodman
       sump and vane type pump unit, steam Generator, capping melter with
       boiler  plate tank,  100-gal.  round galvanized holding tank  with
       2-inch  gate,   360-lb.  capacity  liquifying  tank  with  2500  W
       immersion  heater  on casters,  Armitser bee  blower,  Ecdahl  S/S
       bottling unit.   Contact:  Cliff Hartenhoff,  2301 So.  11th  St.,
       Council Bluffs, Iowa 51501.
       FOR SALE:  100-gal. S/S bulk milk tank $100. 
       Call (515) 459-2208 in Bloomfield, Iowa.
       HONEY BOARD ANNOUNCES WINNING HONEY RECIPES
          The  National Honey Board has selected the winner of  the  1994
       recipe  contest  that  was  held  in  association  with   Hadassah
       magazine.   Hadassah is a national organization for  Jewish  women
       and the contest celebrates the long tradition of honey and  Jewish
       cooking.
          Honey's pure, golden sweetness has always been highly valued by
       Jewish cooks,  especially during Rosh Hashanna -- the beginning of
       the Jewish new year in September.   Honey symbolizes the hope  for
       sweetness and joy in the coming year.
          Over  177 recipes from Hadassah chapter members were  submitted
       for the National Honey Board contest.  Gail's Meatless Pasta Sauce
       recipe submitted by Kim Libin of La Jolla,  California took second
       place and is printed below.

       GAILS MEATLESS PASTA SAUCE

          1  medium onion, diced
        1-2  tablespoons vegetable oil
          1  can (29oz.) tomato sauce
          1  can stewed tomatoes
        3-4  cloves garlic, crushed
        1/3  cup honey
          1  teaspoon rosemary
        1/2  teaspoon each
              basil,thyme, fennel.
        1/4  teaspoon each black
              and red pepper
       2/3   head cauliflower, cut
              into bite-size pieces
          1  medium zucchini, sliced
          1  medium yellow squash,
              sliced
             Hot cooked pasta

       Saute'   onion  in  oil   until
       softened in large saucepan. Add
       tomotoe sauce, stewed tomatoes,
       garlic,  honey and  seasonings.
       Bring  to boil; simmer 5  mins.
       Add vegetables and simmer 5  to
       10 minutes or until  vegetables
       reach desired degree of tender-
       ness.  Serve over pasta.  Makes
       6 servings.

       Tip:  Any combination of  fresh
       or  frozen  vegetables  may  be
       used in this recipe.