Area Beekeeper Associations:

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Tennessee Beekeeper Association (TBA)    www.tnbeekeepers.org

Nashville Area Beekeepers Association (NABA)   www.hivetool.com/naba

Alabama Beekeepers Association    www.alabamabeekeepers.com

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Newsletters:

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Brushy Mountain    www.brushymountainbeefarm.com

Dadant     www.dadant.com

Mann Lake   www.mannlake.com

Walter T. Kelley   www.kelleybees.com

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Interesting Websites:

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Backyard Beekeeping   www.hive-mind.com/bee/blog/

Bush Bees   www.bushfarms.com/bees/htm

City Bees   www.citybees.blogspot.htm

Honeybee News   www.honeybee-news.com

Honey Locator   www.honeylocator.com

Linda's Bees   www.beekeeperlinda.blogspot.com/

National Honey Board    www.honey.com

                                 www.bakingwithhoney.com

The Hive and the Honeybee  www.bees.library.cornell.edu/

The Sustainable Beekeeping Project    www.biobees.com

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Pictures???

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If you have any interesting pictures, we would love to add them to our picture page. Just email them to me at bricknerden@charter.net along with a description of the event and names of persons in the pictures.

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Replacement for Pfizer TM-25 Terramycin

Pfizer discontinued the production of TM-25 antibiotic which has been widely used for control of American Foul Brood in honeybees.

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Most local farm supply stores now sell oxytetracyline as a liquid (such as Pfizer's Liquamycin LA-200). Each milliliter contains 200 milligrams of oxytetracycline. A small syringe can be used to add 1 milliter of the Liquamycin to 1/2 gallon of 1:1 syrup. Apply 3 applications at 4 - 5 day intervals in the spring and/or fall at least 4 weeks before the honey flow begins to prevent contamination of production honey.  This is a better source of medication for the hobby beekeeper and is much easier to prepare in a sugar syrup than the TM-343 listed next.

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Old Posting:  The following procedure should be used only by beekeepers with large apiaries since a package of TM-343 produces medication for a large number of hives. 

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The product you can now use is called TM-343 soluble powder, which is still the same chemical as TM-25 (oxytetracycline HCl), except that it is more than 10 times stronger than TM-25.  Since most hobby beekeepers do not have a large number of hives, the method of diluting this antibiotic is very important.  TM-343 is sold in 4.78 ounce packages, which I have found online from Amazon.com for $9.99 plus $6.99 S+H.  This may seem expensive compared to the price of TM-25 that I previously purchased at the Maury County Farmers Co-op., but the material has shelf life of 4 years and when following the dilution instructions below, will make enough solution for 3 applications to 150 colonies.    

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It is recommended to add 200mg of TM-343 to 5 pounds (1/2 gallon) of a  1:1 sugar solution to each colony in 3 separate applications at 4-5 day intervals.

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To obtain this concentration, I recommend the following procedure:

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Dissolve 1 level teaspoon of TM-343 in 1 quart of water and mix thoroughly.  This is enough TM-343 to make 14 batches, or enough for the complete feeding of  3-1/2 colonies.  Now add 4-1/2 tablespoons of this mixture to each half gallon of syrup.  I refrigerate the unused mixture between applications and store the TM-343 is a Zip-lock bag in a refrigerator.

To make a smaller batch, dissolve 1 level 1/4 teaspoon in 2-1/2 gallons of syrup.

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Small Hive Beetle Trap Juice:

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Mix 1 cup of water, 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar, 1/4 cup sugar and a ripe banana peel.  Blend as needed.

Bait for Beetle Barns

We are using a cockroach bait in the Beetle Barns for hive beetles.  The product is Maxforce FC Magnum produced by Bayer that can be purchased online at www.domyownpestcontrol.com .  The 33 gram syringe will fill about 50 traps.  The syringe sells for $14.99 with free shipping.  If you pool your order with other beekeepers, you can get it for $12.25 per syringe (2 syringe order), or $9.99 each if you order 3 or more.

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Feeding Sugar Syrup:

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Under warm conditions, a thick sugar (67%) syrup can be applied.
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Thick syrup (67%) is less stimulative than thinner (50%) syrup
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      for spring feeding use a 1:1 ratio of sugar to water (50%)

      for fall feeding use a 2:1 ratio (67%)
      to stimulate brood rearing use a 1:2 ratio (33%)

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      For 1 gallon of 50% syrup, mix 3 quarts of sugar and 2 quarts of water.

      For 1 gallon of 67% syrup, mix 3.5 quarts of sugar and 1.75 quarts of water.

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Click on the links at the bottom of each page for other topics.