Beekeeping 101 class- December 10, 2015

Beekeeping 101: What’s the Buzz?

December 10, 2015

Travis County Extension Office

Cost: $15.00

Must RSVP by December 9, 2015 at 2 PM (Central time)

RSVP to  sacarrasco@ag.tamu.edu

you will receive a confirmation email once you are on the list.

Seating is limited, so register early

Pay at the door- CHECKS ONLY (NO CASH ACCEPTED!)

Location: 1600-B Smith Road, Austin, TX 78721

Program as follows:

                                                                                                                                

4:45-5:30    Registration

5:30-5:35    Welcome

5:35-6:25    Honey Bee Biology & Behavior 

6:25-7:10    How to Get Started: Beekeeping Equipment Essentials

7:10-7:15    Break

7:15-8:00    Buying Bees, Installation & Basic Set-up

                       Where Do I Get Bees?

8:00-8:45    Annual Management

8:45-8:55    Ag Land Tax Valuation for Honeybees                                

8:55-9:00    Evaluation & Wrap Up

  

The program will be co-presented by Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Agents and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Master Volunteers.         

Questions?  Call 512-854-9610 or 512-581-7186

Person with disabilities who plan to attend meetings or functions who may need auxiliary aids or services are requested to contact the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service of Travis County at (512) 854-9610 two days prior to the event so that appropriate arrangements can be made.  Educational programs of Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service are open to all people without regard to race, color, sex, religion, disability, age or national origin.  The Texas A&M University System, U. S. Department of Agriculture and the County Commissioners Courts of Texas Cooperating.

Free Recorded Webinar- Where have all the honey bees gone? Hope for the future

If you missed the live webinar, then you can watch in your jammies at your leisure.

Go here the green button next to watch recording in the top right side of the screen:
https://learn.extension.org/events/1375#.VGYwOaPFpCw

Why do we have fewer honeybees these days?  What caused the decline?  What can we do to help?  These questions and more will be answered in this webinar presented by Dr. John Skinner, a Professor in the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology at the University of Tennessee. Moderated by Sallie Lee, Regional Extension Agent, Alabama Cooperative Extension System.  Click here to login as a guest and participate in the live event.  For more webinars in this series, see All Bugs Good and Bad 2014 Webinar Series. The webinars are brought to you by the following eXtension Communities of Practice: Imported Fire Ants, Urban IPM, Bee Health, Invasive Species and Gardens and Landscapes; and by the Alabama Cooperative Extension System. 

FREE Webinars! Alien Invasions! Zombie! Decapitation! (it is getting close to Halloween.....)

Did you miss the webinar from this month?  It's right in theme with the month of October and even has zombies!

All Bugs Good and Bad Webinar Series

Alien Invasions, Zombies Underfoot and Billions of Decapitated Fire Ants

This webinar was presented by Dr. Sandford Porter, a Research Entomologist in the Imported Fire Ants and Household Insects group of USDA ARS Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology.  It was moderated by Nelson Wynn, Regional Extension Agent, Alabama Cooperative Extension Service.

To watch the recorded webinar, go here and click the watch recording button on the top right.

The next webinar will be held on Friday, November 7, 2014 at 1PM CDT.  The topic is a good one entitled "Where have all the honey bees gone? Hope for the future."

Why do we have fewer honeybees these days?  What caused the decline?  What can we do to help?  These questions and more will be answered in this webinar presented by Dr. John Skinner, a Professor in the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology at the University of Tennessee. Moderated by Sallie Lee, Regional Extension Agent, Alabama Cooperative Extension System.  Click here to login as a guest and participate in the live event.  For more webinars in this series, see All Bugs Good and Bad 2014 Webinar Series. The webinars are brought to you by the following eXtension Communities of Practice: Imported Fire Ants, Urban IPM, Bee Health, Invasive Species and Gardens and Landscapes; and by the Alabama Cooperative Extension System. 

Again, if you want to see the FREE bee webinar, then click here on Friday, November 7th at 1PM CDT.  If you can't make it then, it will be recorded for viewing later.

What to do when bees move in

I know that many people are concerned about honey bees and the decline in their population.  I don't want to get into a dissertation on that topic, but instead provide information on what should be done when the turn into a pest.  What?  Did she just say honey bees and pest in the same sentence?  How is that possible?  Well, a "pest" is something that is considered to be out of place, so when honey bees move into an unwanted area (under sheds, water meter boxes, wall voids, etc.) they need to go somewhere else.  Honey bees are capable of stinging and some people are very allergic to the venom, so stinging incidences can be of medical importance.  Taking all of this into account, there are times when bees need to be removed from certain places.

Removing honey comb from a wall void.

Honey bees are a non-native species.  Yes, both the ones that everyone adores and the Africanized bees that are villainized.  These are the same species of bee that are different subspecies.  Many times people talk to me as if Africanized bees are somehow separate and don't do the "good things" like produce honey, wax and other products; they do produce those items but they have the unfortunate nature of often being more aggressive.

So, what should you do if bees move in to an unwanted location?  First, check if it's a swarm or a hive/ colony.  You can find out more about the difference between the two here.  Once you have that down, you will know if you need to wait for the bees to move along on their own or if you need to call someone.  Yes, I said call someone.  This is not something that you should try to do yourself because of the dangerous stinging incidences that can occur.  Options would be beekeepers or pest management companies.  Now before everyone gets into a tizzy, I am not saying kill all bees.  This may have to happen in some cases, but there are times when honey bees can be removed and relocated.  There are beekeepers that provide both services and there are pest management companies that provide both services.  Your job is to contact someone who will provide you with the service that you want at a price point that you are okay with.  And yes, it will cost you to have them removed (with either method).  I know of no one who offers this service for free.  You should be able to look for companies or beekeepers in the phone book or by utilizing an online search.

All Bugs Good & Bad Webinar Series- begins Febraury 7, 2014!

The eXtension All Bugs Good and Bad Webinar series is set to begin February 7, 2014. Dr. Kathy Flanders, an entomologist with the Alabama Cooperative Extension System, says the series is a continuation of the Don’t Bug Me Webinar series with an emphasis on good and bad insects that affect people every day.

“This webinar series will feature insects that affect homeowners and gardeners,” says Flanders. “These insects fall into two categories and we hope to provide information that is beneficial when treating your gardens or crops and pest-proofing your home, yard, family and pets.”

Webinars will be held the first Friday of each month at 2 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The first webinar in the 2014 series will highlight pollinators, which are good bugs.  "If flowers are restaurants to bees, then what are bees to flowers?"  will be Friday, February 7th at 2 p.m.

Dani Carroll, a region Extension home grounds agent, will be moderating the February 7th webinar. She says it is imperative to know the importance of the role pollinators play in the world around us.

“Bees and other pollinators are essential in production of more than two-thirds of the world’s food crop species,” Carroll says. “The necessity extends beyond things we grow in our back yard, like squash and apples. Alfalfa is instrumental in the meat and dairy industries and its growth depends on pollination.”

Upcoming webinar topics include pollinators, termites, ticks, spiders and fire ants.

Flanders says The All Bugs Good and Bad Webinar series is designed to provide useful tips for those interested in solid, research-based information.

More information can be found at All Bugs Good and Bad 2014 Webinar Series  including how to connect to the webinars.  On Feb. 7, participants can use this link to connect to the webinar. Webinars will be archived and can be found on the All Bugs Good and Bad 2014 Webinar Series page.

All Bugs Good and Bad webinars are an extension of the seven webinars in The Don’t Bug Me Webinar Series, which spanned most of 2013, and included five webinars discussing fire ants, tramp ants, bed bugs and insects that invade homes.  Links to view these archived webinars can be found here.

The webinars are sponsored by eXtension, and the Alabama Cooperative Extension System.  They are coordinated by the Imported Fire Ant eXtension Community of Practice, Urban IPM, Bee Health, Invasive Species, Gardens, Lawns and Landscapes, and Disasters.

Beekeeping basics class in Bexar County

If you are interested in beekeeping or want to know what it entails to be a beekeeper, Texas AgriLife Extension in Bexar County will be hosting a Beekeeping Basics program, September 28- 29 2012.  The course is meant for those with very little to absolutely no experience with beekeeping.  The idea is to help those who have thought about starting a hive for honey production, hobby, environmental stewardship, etc.

This is a great program; you will learn a lot about beekeeping and bee biology.  This in Bexar County's second program, and it is highly recommended that you attend the field day on the 29^th, as that is where you will learn the most about the everyday beekeeping world.  You will get to touch a beehive, wear a beesuit, manipulate the hive, do an inspection and really learn what a typical beekeepers day is all about.

September 28^th is a classroom day, starting at 9AM and ending at 3PM.  Lunch and snacks will be provided.  Cost is $50, made out to the Bexar County Master Gardeners.  The class tends to fill up very fast so sign up early if you are interested.  Please see the following link for more information:

http://bexar-tx.tamu.edu/files/2012/01/BeeBasics2.pdf

What: Beekeeping basics class

When: September 28-29, 2012

Where: Bexar County Extension Office 3355 Cherry Ridge, Suite 212 San Antonio, TX 78230

Cost: $50 (made out to Bexar County Master Gardeners)

Honey bee attacked by parasitic fly

First, I'll start by posting a link to the original story.  So in case you don't care to link to the original story and just want the highlights, here it goes.

• So far this has only been found in California and South Dakota.
• The fly, Apocephalus borealis, lays it's eggs in the abdomen of the honey bee.  Parasitized bees leave the hive and tend to congregate near lights.  After the parasitized bee dies, the fly emerges from the bee.
• Genetic analysis has shown that the parasites are the same paraistic flies that attack bumble bees.

I've been getting emails from people who are concerned that this fly is the same parasitic fly that attacks fire ants (Solenopsis) and the answer is NO.  While both are in the family Phoridae, they are different species and even different genera.  The phorid fly that attacks Solenopsis is Pseudacteon spp.

Phorids are small to minute in size and have a humpbacked appearance.  Adults can be common in a variety of habitats.  Larvae can occur in fungi or decaying organic matter (both animal & vegetable), while others are internal parasites (or parasitoids) of other insects and still others may lives as parasites or commensals in the nests of termites or ants.  There are hundreds of genera and thousands of species of phorid flies.

For more information on how this may effect honey bee populations, please see this article.

What to do when you're chased by bees

I've been doing a bit of research on writing good headlines, so hopefully I'll start improving.... what do you think of this one? Catchy?

This week I spoke with CBS42 (KEYE) about bees after a man was attacked by a swarm of bees while mowing his lawn. To see the story you can try this link:

http://www.keyetv.com/content/news/topnews/story.aspx?content_id=D1B6627F-7623-4449-8844-4FF96DDF067C&gsa=true

So what can you do to reduce your chance of being stung?

- avoid areas that have lots of bees or a colony

- look around your yard and get rid of any bee colonies you may find before using lawn equipment; the vibrations produced by lawn mowers, etc. tend to upset bees

- wear light colored clothing

- avoid using/wearing flowery or citrusy shampoo, lotion, perfume, aftershave, etc.

- if bees come after you, RUN! as fast as possible away from the bees

- try to cover your face as you run away since bees often try to attack that area

- find a sheltered spot as quickly as possible (inside a building, vehicle, etc.)

- do not try to hide under water or in shrubs

If you are stung what should you do? Remove the stinger as soon as possible. Bee stingers are barbed, like the end of a fish hook, so bees can only sting you once. As the bee flies away, it leaves the stinger stuck into your skin. The stinger should be scraped off, not plucked out with tweezers or your fingers (plucking will push in more venom). Try using a fingernail, credit card, knife edge, etc. to scrape the stinger off. If you are stung numerous times or begin to have any problems other than local pain and swelling, contact a physician immediately.

Another bee story this week is in the form of a "bee rescue" service- Central Texas Bee Rescue & Preserve. They will come out and for a fee, remove bees from the area. The bees will then be placed into hives instead of being exterminated. You can read more about this story here:

http://www.keyetv.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=e026cf25-54e5-42da-a792-1a662abb84f2

On a lighter note....BB's update:

Well, of course after posting that we hadn't felt any movement, BB decided to make his/her presence known. I'm now regularly enjoying pokes, prods, kicks, etc. It's a bit weird since it's a new sensation, but it's also really cool and reassures me that BB's in there swimming around doing his/her thing. So this week BB is about 5 1/2-6 inches long and developing fat layers on the body as well as myelin over the nerve cells. At this point, BB has active & rest periods. It seems one of the favorite times to be active is between 3-5 a.m. which is becoming interesting. If I look tired, you'll now know why. As for me, the belly is still growing and things that used to be simple are becoming increasingly difficult such as getting up off the floor or putting on my shoes and socks. I just can't quite bend like I used to.....

Have a great holiday weekend and be safe!

Honey bee swarms and hives- what's the difference?

When I get bee calls, which usually increase in the spring and fall, people want to know one (or possibly two) of three things.
1. Are the bees "killer" bees?
2. Why is there a big clump of bees on my tree/ shrub/ fence/ insert object here.
3. How do I get rid of bees that are in the wall void of my home?

To answer the first question, I don't know. Not really what most people want to hear from me, but I really don't know EVERYTHING. There's a lot of bugs and stuff to know about them and I still learn new things about them all the time...that's a part of what makes my job so great! But why I can't tell if the bees are "killer", or more appropriately Africanized, is because Africanized bees look pretty much the same as the regular European honey bees that everyone knows and loves. To figure out if bees are Africanized, the bees should be sent to the bee lab in College Station to be tested. You can find proper instructions and forms here:
http://honeybee.tamu.edu/bee_id/index.html

Onto the second question. Bees swarm. This is when a newly produced queen and about half the workers leave the old hive to embark on a journey to find a new hive location (kind of like kicking your kids out of the house after they graduate from high school). Often the bees will rest in a big clump on various objects while scout bees search the area for a suitable nesting site. Swarming bees should be treated with caution, and left alone if possible. Swarms often move on in a few hours to a few days. If you are really concerned about someone getting stung, you can contact a local beekeeper to see if they collect swarms.

Number three is a relatively simple answer but, again, usually not one that people want to hear- contact a pest control company to exterminate the bees. Yes, I know, bees are beneficial and help pollinate plants and create wonderful products such as wax and honey, but it really comes down to the decision of you living in the house or having the bees live in the house. Since I pay the mortgage for my house, I'll pick me living in my house over bees. Once bees have been exterminated, the wall void should be opened and comb and honey removed. This may be a a DUH-moment, but you should NOT eat the honey since it's been treated with insecticide. If you don't remove the comb and honey you can get secondary pest invaders (cockroaches, rodents, etc.). Once all the honey and comb is removed, seal up the wall inside and out so bees cannot reinfest.