Door County Beekeepers Club

Promoting beekeeping in Door County

Door County Beekeepers Club

Promoting beekeeping in Door County

Max’s Minute 2026-01-23

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Happy New Year, everyone!  This time of year is the doldrums of beekeeping, a great time to learn something new about the hobby.  There isn’t a lot to do, but there are very important things to periodically check. We’ve seen temperatures with extreme cold and some warming into the 30s and low 40s.  It is important to observe the hive entrance, look for bees taking cleansing flights on the warmer days, and keep the entrance to the hive clear from expiring bees.  Use a bit of caution because the bees can and will fly at you.  You should also be checking colony food stores by doing the tilt and lift to gauge the weight of the hive.  When it’s above 32 degrees, it’s safe to do a quick 30-second peek and add supplemental feeding if needed; food includes sugar brinks, fondant, and some use sugar on a paper plate.

If you did experience a colony loss or a “dead out”, it’s important to take care of it as soon as possible.  You can learn a lot if you have a colony loss by doing a “bee-cropsy” to see if the colony had adequate food stores, and other contributors to colony loss.  The important part is to clean the dead bees out and protect all that drawn-out comb to use in the spring if you decide to repopulate the colony.  Once you have it cleaned out, you can freeze the frames for 24 hours or more to try to remove any other unwanted problems.  Try not to freeze them too long; the comb can get more brittle.  Once removed, you can store them back in their hive box but be sure to continue to protect that hive against things like wax moths.

Bee Equipment Sale

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Long time beekeeper Kevin O’Donnell is retiring from beekeeping, and he is selling his equipment. This might be a good resource for new beekepers, or for those wanting to expand their operations.

Click the link to view a detailed list of the available equipment.

Max’s Minute 2025-05-09

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Congratulations if you’re a new beekeeper and are enjoying your first hive(s), of if you’re celebrating because your bees overwintered and are back in active mode. There are plenty of pollen sources around now so you can stop any supplemental feeding. For those with new bees, pollen patties should still be in use until Memorial Day. If you have new foundation (undeveloped comb) light syrup feeding should be continued. You will know when to stop when the bees stop feeding – but no later than June 1st.

If you got packages of bees on Saturday April 26, hopefully you have all been in your hives and observed eggs, larva, and capped brood.
If you got packages on Sunday May 5th, you should have gone into your hives by now to make sure your queen is out of the cage, If she is not, be sure to remove the cork and  install a marshmallow. If you have undrawn comb be sure to keep feeding sugar water to encourage wax production.

 

Max’s Minute 2025-04-22

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ATTENTION: Georgia bee packages and Carniolan nucs (Italian nucs will come later) will be available for pick up on Sunday, May 4th, at 5:00 pm at Max’s house.
4419 Walker Rd.
5-6pm last names W-S
6-7pm last names R-J
7-8pm last names H-A
If you ordered packaged bees from Georgia or Carniolan nucs, you will be receiving a text from Max on Thursday or Friday.

Max’s Minute 2025-03-28

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Bee activity in your apiary should be significantly increasing by now if your bees have over-wintered. Spring is a critical time for the bees and it is important you check food supplies and supplements if needed. Most spring colony failures occur due to depleted food stores. Supplemental food includes sugar brinks, fondant, and/or pollen patties. Depending on the temperatures, late April is when you should begin providing light syrup feeding in addition to pollen patties.

If you did experience a colony loss, Max Martin is once again selling bees from “Heritage Honeybees”. By now you should have received his email outlining packages, nucs and queens that will be available. Orders were requested by the end of February but understanding that you may not know your total losses yet, he is willing to work with you. Please text or email Max your orders asap. Delivery will be late April or early May.

UPDATE: (April 2) The bees will probably arrive the first weekend in May. Max is able to still take orders if you find your bees have departed from this world.