Essex County
New Jersey
Who We AreThe Essex County Beekeepers Society, Inc. is an independent branch of the New Jersey Beekeepers Association. It is a regional organization of anywhere from 30 to 50 bee hobbyist, sideliners (less than 300 hives) and commercial beekeepers & honey producers. Our members generally reside in and around Essex county - although membership is not limited to this region of the state. What We DoThe purpose of our Society is to (1) foster and promote the art of apiculture in New Jersey, (2) to educate residents of the Garden State about the state insect, the honey bee, and its vital role in agriculture, (3) to produce bees and honey and related products, and (4) to simply share and enjoy our fabulous and fun-filled pursuit of raising and caring for honey bees. Our members, beekeepers and non-beekeepers alike, work, cooperate and support each other in promoting beekeeping and related activities. To that end, our members are engaged in mentoring new beekeepers, holding periodic social and business meetings where members can share experiences and ideas and provide educational opportunities for schools and the public at large.
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Visit the Essex Calendar on the NJBA website for current ECBS Meetings. 
An evocative treatment of a society older than humanity... the story of a colony of bees with their prodigious labor, birth and death, tragedy and joy, victory and defeat. See Books web page for more...
NJ STATE REPORTS ARE IN... Shortfall of food stores. Reports from the field, from Tim Schuler (NJ Apiarist), Karoly ("Charlie") Toth, Janet Katz and others indicate a serious lack of honey stores sufficient for many hives to survive this winter. These reports apply to new hives as well as old hives (more than one year old). The problem stems from much wet and cool weather at the tail end of the nectar flow season (e.g. June), the summer dearth when much of the honey was consumed after the beekeeper took a share - if any!. It is not clear if the expected "fall flow" will take place -- and if it does -- it is not clear if sufficient gathering will make up for the extreme shortfalls that are being observed. Your bees need about 60# of capped honey to survive an average winter in most parts of New Jersey. 60# equals ONE FULL DEEP SUPER. This super must be the 2nd super, above the one with the cluster/brood surrounded by some honey at the beginning of the winter season (i.e. October - November hard frost). If you run all mediums, then the capped honey must occupy at least the top 1.5 supers or more. What to feed? Sucrose (refined white sugar) syrup is a superior feed, since it stays liquid and contains no solids that might cause digestive problems. Prepare syrup in a 2 (sugar) : 1 (water) by weight (by volume is a reasonable approximation). Adding 2-3 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar to a 5-gallon pail of syrup is thought to lower the chance of the syrup going bad and doesn't bother the bees. How much do you feed? It takes 1 gallon of 2:1 syrup for the bees to convert to approximately 7 pounds of stores. So if the entire top deep is empty, you’re talking about 10 gallons of syrup! Landi Simone says bees should also be fed a pollen substitute. There is some pollen out there but not in all areas, and fall pollen is crucial to making “fat” wintering bees that will make it to next March. Try Mega-Bee, but Bee-Pro is also good. The patty should go right smack on the brood nest, between bottom supers. Varroa Mite Control. Above normal mite counts have been observed here & there around NJ. If you use mite products such as Apiguard which require temperatures above 60 degrees F. or so, there is still time to treat for Varroa mites. (Remember - do not extract honey while you are doing that.) Of course, if you use the powdered sugar method -- that can be done anytime. Varroa mites effect the winter population - not enough bees to stay warm, they can't travel to the food, and they starve. However, Landi Simone reminds us that a colony that has had a significant number of bees parasitized by a mite, even if the mites are killed before the winter, WILL NOT SURVIVE, because varroa reduces the life span of the individual bee by 50%, and the bees that have hosted a mite will die. If there are enough of these, the winter cluster will become too small to make it to spring. Beekeepers who have colonies with high mite loads and have not yet treated can do so, but they should pray for a long mild fall to give the queen a chance to lay some healthy overwintering bees.
Some hives don’t have treatable levels of mites, which is why Tim Schuler advises determination of mite levels by a sugar roll (10-12 mites per 100 bees to treat) or drop (above 60 in a 24-hour period to treat). If there has been a break in brood rearing, e.g. queenlessness for whatever reason, low food supply/starvation, that will knock down the mite levels too. For beekeepers that have one or two hives, the powdered sugar treatment might be more effective at this time of year than ApiGuard. See also Landi Simone's
IPM: Varroa Mite Controls presentation for
more details.
Landi's June 9, 2009 presentation on
IPM: Varroa Mite Controls A must read for new beekeepers and a good refresher for ol' timers! Also see: IPM: American Foulbrood & Varroa Mites 
Getting Started With BeesThe Bees Have Arrived The Above Articles by ECBS's Own ANNEMARIE CONTE Alarm on European Bee Industry A Low-Tech Treatment for Bee Plague Let’s Hear It for the Bees |
