NORTHWEST INDIANA BEEKEEPERS ASSOC.
QUEENRIGHT
April 25, 2025 – Editor, Janice Wrona
Hallelujah, as promised Spring has arrived!!!! Isn’t is glorious to step outside without a jacket to see what’s in bloom? I bet the bees feel the same way with the exception of a jacket. Whether you are inspecting over wintered bees, installing new packages or awaiting the arrival of nucs, your job as a beekeeper has begun! As a general rule, feeding your bees shouldn’t stop until full bloom, or once capping begins and first supers are being added. If you follow a Spring, Summer & Fall timeline for mite control, it’s never too soon to test, treat and test again. Eversweet Apiaries has a chart on their website (www.eversweetapiaries.com) that lists all the currently approved chemical treatment options. It’s an excellent resource to see the pros and cons of various treatment options. Our April meeting was held at the Moose Lodge in Hobart. Attendees were in agreement that the Lodge will serve as an excellent venue to conduct future meetings. Therefore, our next meeting will take place on Thursday evening, May 1st at the Hobart Moose Lodge 143 S. Hobart Rd., Hobart, IN. The meeting will begin at 6:00 and will most likely end before 8:00. Mark your calendars for other upcoming events such as Purdue Field Day which will be held on 6/21/25 in Lafayette. The Lake County Fair takes place August 1st-9th. We have already started to collect names of members interested in helping out and additional members will have the opportunity of signing up at the May meeting. The May meeting will be a good opportunity to start the 2025 season off on the right foot! I’ll leave the educational aspects of beekeeping for Nicky to address at the meeting, and divert to a topic that I found of great interest. I read an article in the April edition of Bee Culture Magazine regarding the ancient tradition of “Telling the Bees”. I’ve heard of the tradition before and have no doubt that many of you know about it as well. The tradition speaks to the feeling of spiritual solace I have when in the bee yard and I was touched by the article. It spoke of the National Park Service reaching out to the Georgia Beekeepers Association to perform the “telling of the bees” at the boyhood farm of Jimmy Carter. Perhaps the words spoken to Former Pres. Carter’s bees on January 29th will renew your love of beekeeping:
O gentle bees, I’ve come to say
Your master Jimmy has died today,
And we know by the smile on his face
He has found a dear one’s resting place.
So bees, sing soft, and bees, sing low,
As over the Georgia fields you go,
To the blooms of flowers and trees,
Stay here with cheer, O gentle bees
Now sing of your Master who is fast asleep.