clean up the brush around the hives. Thanks for your hard work.

Education & Promotion Committee

Club members are out and about speaking to groups in the area. John Kuhn spoke on April 21 at the Green Fair at Lake Country Unitarian Universalist Church in Hartland. Josh Miller, Deloris Casper-son and Jeanne Malterer represented DJBA at Farm City Days on May 3. Jeanne Malterer will be speaking at the Women’s Banquet on May 10 at Zion Church in Burnett.

April in the Club Yard April 14th new and veteran beekeepers met at the club bee yard to install new packages of bees. Dean and his team were able to introduce newbees to the art of successfully installing packages of bees into new hives. Slick covered the importance of choosing fine weather, proper hive con-

struction and care, and how to introduce the queen safetly into the hive. Work-ing with our new members,

seven new packages of bees were installed at the bee yard.

While out in the yard, several wintered hives were inspect-ed as well. Dean opened up a couple of hives to demon-strate what to look for in new growth of the hives after a long winter's "nap". Everything in the yard looks really good.

Thanks go out to Jim Heinzen who took extra time to trim back some trees and

Club Happenings

May Club Meeting Date: May 20 Time: 1pm

Place: Club Yard

Our May Club meeting will take place in the Club Bee Yard. We will start with a business meeting then move on to working with the bees. There will be no potluck this month.

We’ll be looking into the hives; see how things are progressing with the new hives and with those that overwintered. It’s sure to be an informative one. Surely, NOT to be missed.

MAY 2012

DODGE/JEFFERSON

BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION Dodge/Jefferson Beekeepers

Association

Important Dates

May

Club Meeting - May 20 @

the Club Bee Yard, N2498

Plato Rd, Reeseville, WI

53579. There will be NO

POTLUCK this month

Inside this issue:

NEW Honey Queen 2

April Club Meeting 2

Mentoring 2

Book Review 3

Supersedure 3

Recipe 3

Newsletter Submissions

Club Committees

Club Bee Yard

4 4 4

Having fun with swarming

Bees

We are excited to welcome Taylor Egnarski as our Honey Queen for 2012. Taylor received her crown and sash at the April Club Meeting. We look forward to getting to know Taylor in the com-ing months.

If you are interested in booking Taylor for speaking engagements, please con-tact Abby Tracy at 920.261.9325 or at abbytracy09@hotmail.com. Congratulations, Taylor. Stay tuned to meet our Honey Princess, Anna Luytun.

your mentor at work, keep your questions focused, try the recommended proce-dures. Before long, you’ll have a method in practice. Terminology like “swarm cells” and “bee space” may sound abstract when you’ve never kept bees before, but with a full year of beekeep-ing (and beyond), these terms no longer sound con-fusing. Learning the lan-guage of a new culture gets easier as you become im-mersed in beekeeping. Bee culture is best learned with hands-on ex-perience. The experiences of other beekeepers are also important. The benefits of becoming a member of local & state beekeeping organi-zations are great. Associa-tions offer a variety of ways

to network and connect with other beekeepers, share methodology, and keep up on the latest in research and technology. And yes, alt-hough this kind of newbee-to-veteran information can also be gathered from the Internet (beekeeping blogs, e-zines, and You-Tube postings), the best tips and stories come between mouthfuls of potluck casse-role and coffee breaks at the bar. Take advantage of Wisconsin’s great variety of beekeepers within your county, district, and state. Come to a meeting or attend a presentation and you’re likely to leave a better bee-keeper! - submitted by Tracy Malterer

Meet Our Club Honey Queen

Why Mentors & Membership Matter: For Beginners (And Old Beekeepers, Too!)

The next Club meeting is

Sunday May 20

Starting at 1pm.

at the Club Bee Yard

N2498 Plato Rd.

Reeseville, WI 53579

The will be NO POTLUCK this

month.

Page 2 DODGE/JEFFERSON BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION

2012 DJCBA

HONEY QUEEN

What Happened at the April Club Meeting

April is behind us and spring has considerably SPRUNG! For the new beekeeper, April became the “moment of truth,” standing in front of a newly constructed hive with that first package of bees. A new adventure with nature begins. You’ve attended workshops, meetings, pur-chased equipment, and researched this new hobby. Maybe you’ve found a mentor in a veteran bee-keeper or visited DJCBA’s club beeyard. A mentor adds value to the newbee’s first year in beekeeping. Simple questions can be answered with a one-on-one conversation or even a phone call. It’s important for newbees to keep polite etiquette in mind: don’t call

We’d like to Welcome our new Club Secretary, Karen Schnitzler to her new post. Karen was voted in to fill the position. In the coming months, look here for information about our NEW WEBSITE. Josh Whitlock has graciously agreed to “build” a website for the club as a hugely reduced price. John Kuhn will be our Webmaster once the site is up and running.

There was much discussion about entering Honey at the Dodge County Fair. We would like to encourage EVERYONE to consider entering this year. You do NOT have to live in Dodge County to enter. Fair books will be out in July. Anyone with questions is encouraged to contact Jeanne Malterer (920.349.8853). She is a wealth of knowledge on the subject.

Attached to this newsletter is a flyer about the new “Baking with Honey” contest that DJBA is sponsoring. We will be awarding 3 prized in both 4H and Open Classes. Again, consider entering. Our new Honey Queen was presented at the meeting. The May Club meeting will be Sunday, May 20 in the Club Bee Yard. There will be NO POTLUCK this month.

DODGE/JEFFERSON BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION Page 3

Plan/bee Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About the Hardest-Working Creatures on the

Planet By: Susan Brackney

While perusing the nature section of Half-Price Books with my son not long ago, this sharp-eyed six year old spot-ted the tiniest little honeybee drawing on the spine of one. Extricating this small volume from amongst others of larger size (thereby declaring their importance) I was immediately charmed by the simplicity of the dust jacket. Plain and muted in both color and design I thought perhaps it was so dated it would likely contain information that has since been proven wrong in regard to the care and understanding of the honeybee. Not wanting to disappoint my boy who was so proud of the treasure he

found his mother, I checked the copyright and was delighted to find a 2009 date. Taking both the book and my son in hand, I brought my small treasure home. Plan/bee is just that – a secondary plan to keep bees that Susan Brackney defaulted to after learning the powers that be annexed her just outside of town half acre of land, thereby ending her dream of raising chickens. After a short beekeeping night class and an amazing yard sale find of every bit of bee-keeping equipment, Ms Brackney enacted her Plan/bee. A quick read, Plan/bee co-vers the basics that many bee-keeping books do – who’s who in the hive, parts and their func-tions of the bee, bee history (both of the insect and the hu-mans that care for them), bee illnesses and fairly recent re-search, the seasonal cycle and workload of the beekeeper, and of course, honey extraction and

what to do with all the wonderful products we get from our hives. If you are looking for new and groundbreaking information, you will not find it here. But, if you are looking for a short, general overview that entertains as you read along, give this book a try. Ms Brackney has no trouble laughing at herself and the mistakes she has made along the way. Her passion for her bees along with her own bit of eccentricity comes through in her writing and her embrace-ment of all things “bee”. As an added bonus there is a section of honey recipes, can-dle making, and even a Do It Yourself Death Mask out of beeswax. I did mention eccen-tric – did I not?! The cover of this book drew me in and did indeed live up to the charming potential it origi-nally showed when I freed it from its cramped quarters on the bookstore shelf. -Submitted by Jill Wagner

Directions Combine dry ingredients in mixing bowl. Mix well. In a separate bowl blend honey and melted butter, add water then nuts. Make an indentation or well in center of dry ingredi-ents. Pour liquid into well at

Honey Nut Muffins

Ingredients

1 ½ cup flour ½ c whole wheat flour 4 tsp baking powder 1 tsp salt ½ cup honey ¼ cup butter, melted 1 c water ¼ cup chopped nuts

once and mix just to moisten. Do not over mix. Batter will be lumpy. Pour into grease muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake at 375 25-30 mins until golden brown. Enjoy with Cin-namon Honey Butter. Recipe provided by Tami DeLisle

Book Review

Recipe of the Month

When a new queen is availa-ble, the workers will kill the reigning queen by "balling" her, colloquially known as "cuddle death"; clustering tightly around her until she dies from over-heating. This method is also used to kill large predatory wasps that enter the hive and may be used against a foreign queen attempting to take over an existing colony. Balling is often a problem for beekeep-ers attempting to introduce a replacement queen. If a queen suddenly dies the workers will flood several cells, where a larva has just

emerged, with royal jelly. The young larva floats on the royal jelly. The worker bees then build a larger queen cell from the normal sized worker cell and it protrudes vertically from the face of the brood comb. Emergency queens are usually smaller and less prolific, and therefore not preferred by bee-keepers. Sometimes a new queen bee is born while the other is still in charge. To de-termine the new queen, the two queen bees fight to the death. -reprinted from Wikipedia.com

Supersedure Supersedure is the process by which an old queen bee is replaced by a new queen. Supersedure may be initiated due to old age of a queen or a diseased or failing queen. As the queen ages her phero-mone output diminishes. Supersedure may be forced by a beekeeper. For example, by clipping off one of the middle or posterior legs from the queen, she will be unable to properly place her eggs at the bottom of the brood cell. The workers will detect this and will then rear replacement queens.

Membership Below is Mel’s contact information if

you meet someone who would like to

become a member.

Dues may be paid to

Treasurer, Mel Saeger either at the

meetings or by mailing them.

Mel’s address is W6140 Hwy 33,

Juneau, WI, 53039.

If you need to contact Mel, his phone

number is 920.386.2063

Small "Emergency" queen cells on the face of a

frame. -reprinted from Wikipedia.com

The Honey Bee

the honey bee is sad and

cross

and wicked as a weasel

and when she perches on

you, boss

she leaves a little measel

-Don Marquis from archy and me-

hitable

State Fair Chair - Elaine Mason 920.474.4694 Member - John Kuhn Member - Doug & Yvette Jenks Member - need Honey Queen Chair - Abby Tracy 920.261.9325 Member - Leland Kottwitz Member - need Member - need Entertainment (picnic/parties) Chair - Cathy Lapp 920.927.3848 Member - Mel Saeger Member - Becky Dorn ? Member - need Brat Fry Chair - Tracy Malterer 920.285.1817 Member - Lois Nass Member - Mel Saeger Member - Dean Lapp

Fish Fry - FOR Feb. 2013 Chair - need Member - need Member - need Member - need Member - need Club Yard Management Chair - Dean Lapp 920.927.3848 Member - Deloris Casperson Member - Josh Miller Member - Sam Kempf Member - Joel Cleery Member - Andy Leedle Dodge County Fair Chair - Jeanne Malterer 920.349.8853 Member - Wally/Lois Nass Member - Jim Smaglick Member - Louis Antonioni Member - Bernie Hall

Promotion/Education Chair - Tami DeLisle 920.382.0445 Member - Jeanne Malterer Member - Elaine Mason Member - John Kuhn Extracting (club member hon-ey) Chair - Mike Masche 920.927.1764 Member - Louis Antonioni Member - Dan Curtin Member - Sam Kempf Member—Josh Whitlock Newsletter Chair - Teresa Miller 920.927.3537 Member - Tami DeLisle Member - Tracy Malterer Member - Dean Lapp Member - Jill Wagner Please sign up for a commit-tee. Contact Teresa Miller (920.927.3537) if you can help fill a “need” spot.

Club Committee Members

Please send any questions, comments, pictures, or articles to: Teresa Miller, Newsletter

Dodge/Jefferson Co. Beekeepers Assn. N2322 River Oaks Rd, Reeseville, WI 53579 920-927-3537 or tmmiller9@tds.net If you are interested in receiving the newsletter via email, please email Teresa at the above address.

Club Bee Yard If you have any questions about the Club Bee yard, or would like to schedule a visit, please contact Dean Lapp at 927-3848. The club yard has been a great educational tool and showcase for our club members and the community at-large.

Dodge/Jefferson Co. Beekeepers Assn. 2012 Officers

President: “Slick” Kottwitz (920) 927-3312 Vice President: Abby Tracy (920) 261-9325 Secretary: Teresa Miller (920) 927-3537 Treasurer: Mel Saeger (920) 386-2063

Page 4 DODGE/JEFFERSON BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION