Prairie State Beekeepers - Meeting December 1, 2022
The December 1, 2022, Prairie State Beekeepers meeting will be a Christmas Gathering at Topcats Grill and Chill. Dinner will be on your own. Start time is 7 PM. We will send out an RSVP link via the Prairie State Google Group so we can get an idea of the number of persons planning to attend.
The regular meetings at the Sangamon County Farm Bureau Building will resume in January 2023. Further information to be published in the future.
No Zoom link for the December meeting/gathering.
The December 1, 2022, Prairie State Beekeepers meeting will be a Christmas Gathering at Topcats Grill and Chill. Dinner will be on your own. Start time is 7 PM. We will send out an RSVP link via the Prairie State Google Group so we can get an idea of the number of persons planning to attend.
The regular meetings at the Sangamon County Farm Bureau Building will resume in January 2023. Further information to be published in the future.
No Zoom link for the December meeting/gathering.
Tentative Agenda
- Business items to attend to (max time is 15 minutes)
- Short recap of ISBA Fall Meeting
- Winter Build Project ideas
- The registration for the Introduction to Beekeeping Class will go online the first business day in January 2023
- Other topics of interest such as the discussion and Q&A in the meeting indicate
- If your hives were light when you stopped feeding liquid syrup - you should have your winter feed on the hives
- If the hives were heavy, you should get your winter feed on by mid December.
- Your winter feed can be in a variety of types of a solid form food source on top of uppermost brood box (Sugar brick/cake, candy board, mountain camp, Missouri Krabby patty or commercially available winter patty)
- Check your winter feed at least once a week if possible and replenish or add to it as needed (be sure to veil up at a minimum when you do)
- Make sure the hive has adequate ventilation at the top of the hive.
- Provide a thermal break (barrier) at the top of the hive.
- Provide a windbreak for the North and West sides of the colony if a natural or other windbreak, such as a building does not exist.
- If you are using straw bales as the windbreak, place them 3 feet from the hive. Since the straw bales will be a draw to mice,place some mouse poison in a 1 foot length of 1 1/4" or larger PVC with one end capped. You can place it under your hive, presuming your hive is not sitting directly on the ground. You want to secure it under the hive or secure it in some other fashion to keep your pets from upsetting it to the point where the poison block will come out.
- Late November and December when the queen usually quits laying is the ideal time for the Oxalic Acid vapor.The bees know the days are getting longer. Some queens will resume limited laying of eggs in late January
Note: Winter Solstice - December 21, 2022 3:47 PM CST - shortest day of year. Each day gets longer afterward
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Membership dues: $15 yearly, $10 of which includes membership in the Illinois State Beekeepers Association (ISBA). Memberships are calendar year based (Jan 1-Dec 31) and not prorated.
The Membership renewal fee AFTER the March meeting increases to $20. New Memberships are still $15 per person. If you do not renew your membership, your membership will be inactivated on the Prairie State and the Illinois State Beekeepers membership rosters. You can reactivate your membership by submitting a renewal. Late renewals will incur an additional fee The membership application/renewal form can be found on the Documents page tab of the website. Bring it to the next meeting you can attend. Give your membership renewal or new membership form and payment to the Membership Secretary. The Membership Secretary will process it forward the payment to the Treasurer for deposit. New member applications will be reviewed by the officers before the membership is approved. You can mail in your renewal to Steve Petrilli (membership secretary), his contact information is below so you can email or call him to obtain his mailing address. It has also been posted on the Prairie State Google Group. |
Our thanks to Jefferies Orchard
for support of Prairie State Beekeepers 
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Your membership entitles you to a discounted subscription rate for the American Bee Journal magazine. Bee Culture is also an excellent publication, but it does not offer a discounted subscription.
Contact Information & Officers:
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Prairie State Apparel Committee Chairperson
Melissa Gerard Athens, IL 217.691.2223 melmels.1999@yahoo.com |
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ISBA Vice President
Steve Petrilli Mechanicsburg, IL 217.638.7891 spetrilli45@gmail.com |
ISBA Legislative Liaison
Rich Ramsey Rochester, IL 217.691.9354 rramsey2@gmail.com |
State of Illinois Dept. of Agriculture Apiary Inspector
Illinois Bees and Apiaries Program
Arvin Pierce
Waverly, IL
217.638.6371
rvnpirc51@gmail.com
Illinois Bees and Apiaries Program
Arvin Pierce
Waverly, IL
217.638.6371
rvnpirc51@gmail.com