Monthly Meeting Notes - May 18, 2021
Apple Grove Beekeepers Association
Meeting Minutes
5-18-2021
Meeting was called to order at 7:15 p.m. - (In person meeting)
We had approximately 12 members present and we had 2 new guests that joined us tonight.
John Beers presented the Treasurer’s Report:
Checkbook Balance - $2,259.67
Cash - $362.01
There are 11 copies of the Beekeeping Basics and 18 copies of the Field Guide to Honey Bees. There has been no activity to speak of except $5.00 interest.
New Business: We need officers. All officers currently want to transfer their duties. We had talked about the bylaws changing, but we will need to start over due to the time lapse and lack of participation.
John said that the email he sent out regarding feedback about relocating where we meet got few responses. The feedback he did get was 6 members wanted to stay where we are, 2 wanted to go to the VFW and 2 would like to meet at the library. So, for now, the consensus is to stay where we are.
John asked if we would be interested in having a social in June. A comment was made that it was too early to do that. We are just starting to meet again. Perhaps we should do that in the late summer and then maybe more members would attend.
John said that Dennis Conrad was coming to the meeting to talk about splits. Every Tuesday Dennis is at the Farmers Market so he will be coming a little late due to that. While we were waiting for Dennis, we chatted about general questions/conditions/etc. John said swarm traps have been successful - he and Dennis caught about 18 to 19 swarms. A member asked John if he noticed any difference with the Ankle Biter queens he had purchased. John said that he didn’t think they over winter well, but he does hope to graft them. As far as conditions for the bees this Spring Flow Season, the tulip poplars have been fantastic with big blooms full of nectar!
An email was received by the club from a new solar farm that will be located near the high school. They are contacting a local club to put hives there. What is in it for them? They are looking for the promotional side of it. The representative Slade spoke to said that would pay for what we need to get set up and that we could put a shed there and they would fence in the section we would be using for the hives which we would be allowed to access. Doug made the motion that we should proceed to explore this opportunity. Two members spoke at the same time to second the motion and it was unanimous with all the members present. Doug said that the Huguenot Bee Club was approached when a solar farm was planning to come to Powhatan, however the project ended up not getting approved. He said it would be a wonderful opportunity for the club to have hands on training. There needs to be 1 person making the commitment to manage it (Apiary Manager). We have also been talking about getting a shed and this would solve that problem. Slade will be in touch with the representative to get specifics and then we will need to make a list of equipment necessary to determine a price to present for approval. We also need to think of any questions we might have and make a list of them.
Dennis came and presented Bob LaVoits, June 2017 presentation on Summer Splits. There was also conversation about stressors for hives such as bear attacks and having “balance” in the hive.
Minutes Submitted By:
Linda Carpenter, Secretary
