February Meeting Minutes

The February meeting of the Wasatch Beekeepers Association was held on February 15, 2007 at Jones Bee, 2586 West 500 South in Salt Lake City. The meeting was conducted in the beginning by Karen Dupaix, due to the absence of other presidency members. When Maurice Cobo arrived a few minutes into the meeting, he commenced conducting the meeting. Nine members were in attendance.

Karen Dupaix read the minutes from February’s meeting. They were approved by Mary Jane Grange and seconded by Paul Dupaix. The treasurer’s report was given by Byron Anderson, and later by Maurice Cobo. We have $268.38 in our Zion’s Bank account. Arrangements were discussed to update the signature cards at the bank. The newsletter report was given by Paul Dupaix. 28 February newsletters were mailed out, and approximately 20 more were emailed to members. The journal report was not made because the vice-president, Jim Broseus, was not in attendance.

The program was presented by Mary Jane Grange and Maurice Cobo. Mary Jane discussed spring feeding of the bees, taking information from online sources at www.beeworks.com and www.beeclass.com. Various types of feeders were discussed, as were various types of feed. It was emphasized that once you start to feed the bees, you must continue until they have a good nectar source, such as dandelions. Pollen supplementation was also discussed, as were the pros and cons of the different pollen substitutes available.

Byron Anderson shared pictures of his bee yards, and California hives and orchards.

Mention was made of the new disorder causing hives to decline. Everyone is anxious for more information and knowledge of how to prevent this in our bee yards.

Maurice gave a report on equipment care, noting that this is the best time of year to maintain your equipment. He recommended looking over hive boxes and making repairs, plugging holes with drywall hole filler, using a good primer, and then painting with Latex paint that has been mis-mixed to save money. Hive tools can be cleaned in the dishwasher after either scraping them off, or using them in the garden to help clean them off.

The meeting was concluded with brownies and milk, and a discussion about next month’s meeting in which Lloyd Hefflin will discuss queen rearing as a hobbyist beekeeper.