Orange Blossom Beekeepers Association

Monthly Meeting: March 18, 2021

OBBA Announcements

What's the buzz?

OBBA Meetings

Monthly Virtual Meetings continue…

OBBA Workshop

Visit the OBBA apiary!

Reach out to Andrew on Slack!

Honey For Sale

We have OBBA honey to purchase!

(Send Matt a message on Slack)

Number (1 lbs)	Price
1 bottle	$10
2 bottles	$18
3 bottles	$25

2021 National Honey Bee Day

August 21, 2021

The primary goals of your National Honey Bee Day Programs should include:

Promotion and advancement of beekeeping.
Educate the public about honey bees and beekeeping.
Make the public aware of environmental concerns as they affect honey bees.

2021 OBBA Member Apiaries

Flows are here!!!

We have locations available for members who need a place for a hive!

North Side
East Side

Pay Annual Dues

You can pay your annual dues on-line:

OrangeBlossomBeekeepers.org/join-obba/

March / April Bee Management

Current UF Management Recommendations (March)

Colony populations begin to grow!
- Remedy failing queens as necessary
- Add supers and/or swarming control
- Make nucs/splits
Monitor for Varroa
- (Treat if 3%)

What is blooming in Central Florida (March)

Blueberry - Vaccinium spp.
Cherry - Prunus spp.
Fetterbush - Lyonia lucida
Hawthorn - Crataegus spp.
Oak - Quercus spp.
Orange - Poncirus trifoliata, Citrus reticulata

Plum - Prunus spp.
Spanish Needle - Bidens spp.
Sweet Clover - Melilotus officinalis
Water Viburnum - Viburnum obovatum
Willow - Salix spp.

Current UF Management Recommendations (April)

Remedy failing queens as necessary
Swarm control
Make nucs/splits
Super as necessary

What is blooming in Central Florida (April)

American Beautyberry
American Holly
Black Tupelo
Blueberry
Butter Mint
Dog Hobble
Fetterbush
Galberry

Hawthorn
Mexican Clover
Orange
Palmetto, Cabbage Palm
Spanish Needle
Sweet Clover
Yaupon Holly

Catching Swarms

(Bee Cowboys)

Swarms

Blooms, Nectar, Warm temperatures
Springtime hive growth
Time to split

Hive growth / New Beginnings

Queen leaves with half (50-60%) of the hive worker bees
Nearby tree or bush for the next 24-48 hours
Find a New Home

Worker bees run around inside the hive in a frenzy. They chase the queen and keep her moving until she is willing to leave the hive.
Just before leaving, the worker bees fill their honey stomach with honey. This will keep them alive for a couple of days until a food source is found.
Workers preparing to swarm engorge themselves on honey and force the old queen out of the hive.
The queen bee and up to half the work force leaves the mother hive. The swarming bees include a queen (or several virgin queens), workers and drone bees.
Most swarms leave the colony in good weather between 10AM and 2PM, fly to a nearby tree or bush and land on a limb. Immediately after landing and for the next 24 to 36 hours, the bees show very docile temperament; they are interested in swarming, not in defending their colony. Scout bees come out of the cluster of the swarm and search the local area for a protected location for the colony. The scout bees communicate the information to the swarm and a "decision" is made, whereupon the bees leave the branch and proceed to their new location.
After arriving at the new location (rarely if the swarming bees have failed to find a location), the bees start to build wax comb and the queen lays eggs to start a new brood nest. After brood production commences, the new colony will become defensive of their new home.
Usually a swarm will move from the original location within 24 to 48 hours, therefore, if a beekeeper is not available to collect the bees from a homeowner's property, the bees will normally leave without causing a problem. You should explain to the homeowner what is happening and tell them not to disturb the swarm unless they know what to do with it.

What about the hive left behind?

New Queen will emerge
Kill all other Queen Cups
Mating Flight
Begin to lay eggs after 8-12 days

Prepare to catch a swarm

Anticipate the call:
- A container to hold the swarm
- Smoker, fuel and matches
- Strap to hold lid on container
- Bee veil
- Ladder
- Sugar syrup in a squirt bottle

Ask Questions

Are these really honey bees?
Ask what the "cluster looks like"
Name, address and phone number of homeowner
Location of swarm
How long have the bees been there?
How high off the ground are they?
How big is the swarm?
Ask permission, if needed, to snip a branch of the tree or bush holding the swarm

The Catch

Try to place the whole cluster of bees in your container
Can mist the hanging cluster of bees
Can snip low branch and bees into the hive
Carefully look for the queen
Leave the new colony on location until night

Can you reach them?

Ladder
Bucket/Pole
Pool net

Swarm Traps

Placement
- High, Low, Sunny, Shady
Size
- Volume of a deep super
Smell
- Old brood frames, lemongrass oil

Hive your caught swarm

Place some type of feeder on the hive
Give them a frame with a few nurse bees and little bit of brood
Reduce the hive entrance
Place some obstructions in front of the hive entrance
Plan to re-queen (Best Management Practices)

Florida Swarm Patrol (Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services)

FDACS maintains a list of Registered Beekeepers and Certified Pest Control Operators who perform bee removal and/or eradication services.

Form: REQUEST FOR INCLUSION ON AHB BEE ERADICATION OR REMOVAL LIST

I request to be added to the Florida Department of Agriculture’s Bee Eradication or Removal List. I certify that I possess a Florida Pest Control Business License with a Certified Operator In Charge of the General Household and Rodent Pest Control Category (GHP-for interior or exterior bee control) and/or the Lawn & Ornamental Pest Control Category (L&O-exterior bee control only) OR I am a registered beekeeper using non-lethal methods and that I’ve received Africanized Honeybee Training (AHB).

Florida Swarm Patrol

Beekeepers hired to remove bees are required to:
- be registered with FDACS’s Apiary Section
- but need not be licensed under Chapter 482, F.S.
Registered beekeepers can remove and relocate nuisance swarms or established colonies in accordance with Rule 5E-14.151, Florida Administrative Code, and can apply to be on the Bee Removal or Eradication List.