Beekeepers: Reminder for Monday Evening's Meeting
From:
"CIBA MEMBERS" <donotreply@PROTECTED>
Date:
September 14th 2025
CIBA Sept. 15th Open Meeting
🍂 🍁 👌 Fall Beekeeping & Winterizing Hives 👌 🍁 🍂
Experienced members will offer insights and answer questions.
Other Meeting Highlights and Other Information:
- Native Plants Available for Fall Planting (See Separate Email For Details)
- Raffle: Always 3 Winners 🙏🏽
- “10 Questions” Beekeeping Quiz 😃
- Refreshments by "The" Kerry Werst 🎉
- As Always! - Your Questions
- Also: See Below for
- Important Upcoming Beekeeping Activities Dates
- Seasonal Thoughts for September-October
Meeting Zoom Link ?
We will do our best.. No Promises
Visit our Facebook page for Link
- Important Information on Upcoming CIBA Activities
- Annual Sugar Board Social and Silent Auction: Saturday, October 4th (Save the Date 😃)
- Beekeepers of Indiana Fall Conference: Evening Oct 17th & Saturday Oct 18th
- Keynote Speaker: Kent Williams is a Kentucky-based EAS Certified Master beekeeper who has been in beekeeping industry for 30+ years
- (Here in Indy this year! 🎉 😃)
- Our Next CIBA Open Meeting. (Monday, Oct. 20th
- CIBA’s “Winter Cluster” Social Event (Monday, December 8th, watch for details)
September-October: Seasonal Food-for-Beekeeper’s-Thoughts:
- Assess Colony Strength and Honey Reserves NOW:
- Strength:
- Ideally 25,000 Healthy Fat Bees, end of September.
- “Fat Bees” have many Fat Bodies with enriched nutrient stores
- Start on this NOW… (Starting end September is probably too late)
- Stores:
- Colonies require 60+ pounds of honey going into winter.
- Pollen stores are equally important
- Robbing Concerns: Strong colonies WILL attack weaker colonies. - (A weak colony can be wiped out in an afternoon)
- Reduce entrance sizes to less than 2 square-inches. (Entrance reducer small opening)
- Compact hive volume as much as possible
- Address other hive openings. (Damaged boxes, Excessive top cover access)
- Once robbing begins, it is EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO STOP
- Block all entrances until sundown (Do maintain ventilation)
- Seek advise
- Foraging Limitations: Nectar Flow is now VERY low.
- Sources: Clover, cone flowers, milkweed, sunflowers, asters, Joe-Pye weed, and some others.
- Remember: In most areas these are minimal sources compared to Spring Nectar Flow.
- This will be highly variable depending on your location.
- Recall Bees forage for a mile or more radius; greater distances mean less efficient foraging.
- Feeding may be required: Start NOW if reserves are low. (Later you start, the less effective it is)
- FEED INSIDE:
- Use a 2:1 syrup ratio (Sugar:Water), or stronger.
- EXTREME Caution using raw honey or essential oils
- Keep syrup available constantly (24/7) (Every few days may do more harm than good)
- Open feeding is an option… BUT… There are other considerations.. Seek advise
- Combine Weak colonies
- Larger populations and more stores have a much better chance of survival
- Brood Formation Comments:
- Expect to see.. No Brood formation
- Queens can be difficult to spot. - (Don’t panic if you can’t find her)
- Mite Treatments? - (Best if treatments have been given earlier)
- Options? - (One beekeeper’s opinion. - Seek advise from others as well)
- Extended release methods: Apivar or Oxalic Acid (OA) strips
- OA Vapor.. Requires at least 3 treatments at 5-7 day intervals
- Remember. First pull/harvest any honey for consumption
- Too late for Formic Pro.. Temperatures are too low.
- Other things to Think About:
- ALWAYS: Best defense is a STRONG Colony
- Watch for hive beetles, avoid excessive empty supers.
- Move brood area to bottom box, honey stores ABOVE brood area.
- Prepare your sugar/candy board. (Add it late November)
- Other concerns? - Contact Your Mentor
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