Happy Holidaze!

KBEE Public Informational Meeting
Monday 12/20/10 5:30pm

Kauai Community College
Electronic & Technology Building
Rm 114  

(look for KBee sign)

Tonight's KBee meeting will be starting at 5:30 pm instead of the 6pm time posted earlier. With the college shut down for the holidays we will have no lights in the parking area. So starting earlier will allow us to end earlier and allow the fading light assist in negotiating the stairs and help us find our cars before the lunar eclipse starts. Should be an amazing celestial show if the clouds part and let us enjoy the sights.

I received an email from a friend with this link to a New York Times article. It's a great read and explains why people all over are setting up hives in their backyards or in their neighbors. Not everyone gets into beekeeping to make money, or to pollinate their crops. Some do it just to help the bees or want to contribute to the overall health of the environment. Others see the value they add to agricultural or horticultural endeavors on a local level. In my opinion, it's good value and the article sums up my reasons for getting involved with bees and trying to help them stay healthy here on Kaua'i.

With that said, I hope you can make it tonight for our last meeting of 2010. May the New Year bring you plenty of peace and prosperity, an abundance of good health and happiness and lots of flowers for your bee friends. Bee well and and have a Merry Christmas.

Kaua'i Beekeeper's Association Meeting

Here's a link about an article in the NY Times concerning the hazards of red food color from Marischino cheries and their waste mixing with foraging bees. How do you control those bees?

I'm glad that we don't have to contend with that. Our biggest concern is the small hive beetle  and the dreaded varroa mite.

Our next meeting will be on Monday December 20, 2010. It will be our last meeting of the year and we look forward to planning some events for the New Year. Here's the details:

KBEE Public Informational Meeting
Monday 12/20/10 6:00pm

Kauai Community College
Electronic & Technology Building
Rm 114

Pot luck and share your mana'o
Look for KBee signs outside E&T Building

Happy holidays!

Seen it before....

not really news......


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT -  JIMMY TRUJILLO 346 7725


TWO PRESENTATIONS ON BEEKEEPING
MONDAY NOV 29, 2010 6PM
KCC  TECH 114
TUESDAY NOV 30, 2010 9AM
HDOA CONFERENCE ROOM

****************************************************************
The Kauai Beekeepers' Association and the Hawaii State Department of Agriculture invite Kaua'i beekeepers and persons interested in learning more about beekeeping to a free presentation by Rob Snyder, a member of Bee Laboratory team at Pennsylvania State University where he organizes and
assist in the National Honey Bee Survey. The Penn State Bee Laboratory is recognized nationally as one of the premier labs conducting research on varroa, diseases associated with varroa and colony collapse disorder.

Mr. Snyder will be giving two separate presentations on Monday evening and Tuesday morning. The first Beekeeping Basics, is geared toward beginning beekeepers and hobbyist and will address a variety of issues including how to keep your hives healthy and basic good practices for beekeeping. The second presentation is entitled “Preparing for Varroa and Small Hive Beetle”. This presentation is oriented to more advanced beekeepers and will focus on what beekeepers can do now to prepare for varroa and small hive beetle.

Presentation: Basic Beekeeping                                     Preparing for Varroa and Small Hive Beetle
Location: Kauai Community College                             HDOA Conference Room
Tech 114                                                                    4398A Pua Loke Street
Date: November 29, 2010                                           November 30, 2010
Time: 6:00 PM                                                             9:00 AM

For more information contact Darcy Oishi at (808) 973‐9524 or darcy.e.oishi@hawaii.gov
or Jimmy Trujillo at 346 7725 or jtrujill@hawaii.edu or visit  online at http://kauaibuzz.blogspot.com/

hope you can make it....

As noted in an earlier post there will be a presentation on beekeeping at KCC on Monday November 29 in the Electronic & Technology Building (ETRO 114). What I didn't know at the time of the previous post is that there will be an additional presentation on managing your hives and trying to keep a head of varroa mite and small hive beetle. 


This presentation will be on Tuesday morning at the HDOA conference room in Lihue. 
For more details on the state's response check out this link on their web page . For more details on the presentations check out the comments section in the earlier post, where Darcy Oishi from HDOA explains the focus of the workshops:  
Mr. Snyder will be giving two presentations. The first, Beekeeping Basics, is geared toward beginning beekeepers and hobbyist and will address a variety of issues including how to keep your hives healthy and basic good practices for beekeeping. The second presentation is entitled “Preparing for Varroa and Small Hive Beetle”. This presentation is oriented to more advanced beekeepers and will focus on what beekeepers can do now to prepare for varroa and small hive beetle. 


Basic Beekeeping Location: Kauai Community College, Tech 114
Date: November 29, 6:00 PM

Preparing for Varroa and Small Hive Beetle
Location: HDOA Conference Room
4398A Pua Loke Street
Date: November 30, 9:00 AM



For more information contact Darcy Oishi at (808) 973‐9524 or darcy.e.oishi@hawaii.gov

Hope you can make it.....

Good news

Went out to check on a hive that had some unusual brood cells. The larvae were somewhat deformed and the irregularity was noticeable to my novice eye. I pointed this out to my friend who after a few glances observed the misshapen form the uncapped brood.

Afterwards I went online and did a Google search for Honeybee Brood Disease. I wasn't too sure what I had seen but it looked like the larvae has been squashed yet there was no evidence of damaged cells and the misshaped forms were found at random in the brood cell. My worst fear was that it might be the dreaded American Foul Brood.

What I found, when i checked my hives in the fading light of early evening, appeared more like Chalk Brood. Now I will  have to ask some of my more knowledgeable bee keeping friends how to treat this bee malady and how to prevent it from spreading to other hives in that yard. Sure glad I won't have to torch my hive to get rid of the disease.

Some more good news comes from the Big Island, where the Big Island Beekeepers Association hosted a Honey Tasting event. The results were hard to find on the BIBA website but thanks to an e.mail from a friend this link to Damon Tucker's Blog gave the results in an excellent post that included pictures from a recent swarm removal on his property.

Congratulations to Kauai beekeepers Joyce and Francis Takahasi with their Miki Mac honey and the Lydgate Ohana of Steelgrass Farms in Wailua who won a blue ribbon each in the Best Liquid and Best Appearance respectively. Mahalo for representing Kaua'i so well.

Might as well pile on some more good news. Coming up in a few weeks on Monday November 29 at KCC, a panel discussion hosted by the Hawaii State Department of Agriculture will take place in the Electronic and Technology Building's lecture hall at 6pm. I hope to receive some more details on the speakers and the subject matter and will post them as soon as I can. Here's an excerpt from HDOA agent Darcy Oishi's e.mail,"The post-poned trip is finally happening and I must apologize but we have short notice again. Can you set up a room for them to give a presentation on Monday the 29th if at all possible at 6:00 PM. I'm going to generate info and everything about the meeting. Things have been crazy hectic man. The talk they'll give is a beekeeping basics course and kind of cover what you all need to do to prepare for varroa and small hive beetle. it will focus more on best practices. "

This was scheduled earlier this year but had to be postponed due to a family emergency of one of the featured speakers. I'll post more details later. Mahalo to Chris, Ben and Joshua for forwarding bee related info to me. I hope this blog can continue to be a useful forum for folks wanting learn and share more about bees and beekeeping. Aloha aina and have a beautiful day.








 

November already?

Thought I'd post something sooner but been too busy with other stuff. I did want to thank folks who showed up to our last KBEE meeting. There was a fine discussion on how beginning beekeepers best learn and how KBEE can play a role in assisting them in finding equipment, information or places to host a hive or two.  We also discussed hosting a series of meetings and screenings of the film, Vanishing of the Bees.
Another topic of discussion was about the way you orient your frames in your boxes and the importance of keeping your frames in order and to take care not to just randomly place the frames in your box wily-nily style. To a beginner like me, this was good information. A handout was passed around and I'll try to post it here once I figure out how. A suggestion to scan and send via e.mail sounded more promising. Let me know if you are interested in receiving this information.
Another topic was the pros and cons of wax or plastic foundations. This will be a post on it's own and will save it for later. The morning light is bright and I have way too much to do today. I will post more on the subject later.
Until then here's a link to a PBS video from their Nature series. Also a couple of links to other bee bloggers who are sharing the news about beekeeping. Enjoy and bee well !

The back of Xman's truck after removing a hive from underneath a deck. We bagged the comb after filling up the cooler and pots with honey drenched comb. Was a sweet mess for sure!

Fall is in the air

Just a quick post and announcement. Did get some e.mail w/a link I wanted to share regarding the NY Times article on solving the mystery of colony collapse disorder.

                              **********************************************

The Kauai Beekeeper's Association (KBee)

invites the public to attend

an informational meeting on

 Wednesday Oct 27, 2010

6:30pm – 8:00pm

KCC-Technology Building

Open Invitation to all beekeepers, farmers and anyone

concerned about honeybees on Kaua'i.

 Learn about Varroa Mite Prevention Strategies for Kauai

and how to become involved with KBEE's effort

 to keep Kaua'i varroa mite free.

For more information please visit us on the internet at:

 http://kauaibuzz.blogspot.com/

or contact

Jimmy Trujillo 346 7725 or Erik Coopersmith 335 0710

What happened to September?

Had an earlier post disappear into cyber space; hope this one doesn't. Speaking of disappearances, here's a link to a recent article explaining the cause of colony collapse. It is a NY Times article so you may have to register to read. Here's another option if that didn't work. Another interesting site is this one where some additional links will take you to another NY Times article about bees.

Staying Busy

This summer has been a busy time. Lots of activity around the island with folks calling about swarms establishing themselves in walls, beneath decks, up in the eaves and even in trees. Been hard to keep up. Spending a lot of time building boxes, frames and coordinating crews to help folks out with their problematic visitors. Sure do appreciate all the folks who choose to remove them instead of extermination. Often this is much more expensive but it is a better alternative as it helps the bees the do their pollination service which helps us have more local food to enjoy. So mahalo to all of you who choose the eco-friendly alternative to extermination as a means to rid yourself of nuisance bees in your home.

Here's a link to a great article I read online this weekend. It's about backyard beekeeping and how to get started. If this interests you, come to a KBee meeting and get involved in keeping bees on Kaua'i. As the article points out it's really simple to get started. Here's a couple of video links showing you how some folks do it. This one's really good. There's a second part to it. There's lots of useful online information out there.

For more information about beekeeping here on Kaua'i you might want to come to KCC later this week. KBEE will be hosting Darcy Oishi from the Hawaii State Department of Agriculture on Thursday evening. Darcy who is the state coordinator of HDOA's varroa mite project will be discussing, amongst other topics, an upcoming visit by researchers from the USDA doing a varroa monitoring project in the state. The monitors from USDA will visit all the islands that have not reported varroa mite and Kaua'i is their first stop. Their visit will be next week on Monday and Tuesday. They will be presenting at KCC on Monday evening. I haven't received all the details from Darcy but will post more information before their arrival.

Here's the details for this Thursday's KBEE meeting:

Time:  Thursday 8.5.10 6:00pm- 7:30pm

Location: KCC Electronic Technology Building-Conference Room ( look for KBee banner)

 

This is an open meeting and all interested community members are welcomed. Hope you can make it.

The latest Buzz: Recent news coverage of KBee

The Kauai Beekeepers Association held their most recent meeting last week. It was attended by some of the regulars and some first timers interested in learning more about KBee and getting started in beekeeping

Also in attendance were Bill Spitz from the county's Office of Economic Development who oversees some of the county's local agricultural initiatives. Bill provided some helpful insight into other aspects of funding opportunities for KBee and the county.

Another surprise visitor was Coco Zickos from the Garden Island Newspaper. Her articles in the Sunday and Monday editions covered the meeting's highlights well. Mahalo Coco for the coverage and followup with Monsanto representatives. We'll see where the conversation takes us. We look forward to finding out more from our local seed farmers on how their operations impact bees foraging for food on Kauai.


We'll keep you posted on any developments as we engage with folks interested in keeping Kauai's bees clean. Here's a couple links that may help you understand what's going on with bee's around the globe.

Kaua'i Beekeeper's Association Meeting this Thursday

It's been a while but we're having a meeting this week. Please come and check out KBee's meeting this Thursday at KCC in the Electronic Technology Building's conference room (look for the KBee banner). The meeting starts at 6pm and will end around 7:30pm. We'll be discussing workshops and trainings, our varroa mite swarm trap program w/HDOA and what's going on with the bee on the Westside. Of course there will also be discussions on swarming bees, handling calls from the public and responding to swarm removals for folks w/unwanted bees. Hope you can make it. Here are the details:

KBEE Meeting 

Thursday July 1, 2010 

6:00pm - 7:30pm

KCC Electronic Tech Building

Hard to keep up!

Here's the first post in a month. So much stuff going on. The Garden Fair was a good time, mahalo to Eric and Francis for your help in making the KBEE booth happen. Unfortunately, Darcy Oishi from the HDOA was unable to attend but Jackie Kozak from HISC and Cal Hirai from OC 16 were present to video tape part of it as a project to raise awareness about the role HDOA plays in securing and inspecting agricultural products moved throughout the state.

Craig Kaneshige who is the Kauai HDOA field person who does monitoring and pest removal was able to attend the meeting and shared that there was a swarm trap with bees in the Port Allen vicinity. Craig along with KBEE members removed the swarm trap. 

Here's a couple of photos of the swarm trap excursion.

 This was the first joint swarm trap removal between HDOA and KBEE.  The trap was full of bees and some comb and has been sent off island to be tested for varroa mite and other bee maladies such as American Foul Brood .

Of course, now with the news from the Big Island, the small hive beetle  (SHB) may be our next pest of great concern. We'll post any news or reports from the HDOA on how we may best prevent the spread of SHB. The bees sure have a lot of challenges these days but hopefully the resiliency of our honey making pollinators can overcome them. From over working them to potential harmful GMO products our bees are at risk and need all the support we can give'em.   Mahalo to all of you who have decided to be bee friendly and help however you can.

We'll be sitting at a KBEE booth at the Seed Exchange next week in Kapa'a. Hope to see you there.

The Kauai Beekeeper's Association (KBee)

invites the public to attend

an informational meeting on

Saturday April 17, 2010

4:00pm – 5:30pm

KCC-Technology Building

Open Invitation to all beekeepers, farmers and anyone

concerned about honeybees on Kaua'i

Learn about Varroa Mite Prevention Strategies for Kauai

and how to become involved with KBEE's effort

to keep Kaua'i varroa mite free

Invited speaker will be Darcy Oishi

from the Hawaii Department of Agriculture's Plant Pest Control

to explain how to prevent varroa mite from becoming a

major problem on Kaua’i

 

buddah's bee beneath the banyan trees

I thought I'd post a foto or two and a couple of links folks have sent my way. This tree is down in the valley in the NTBG. We took a cool little jitney to the McBryde Gardens. They called KBee to remove the hive and try to preserve it instead of just exterminating it.

Three of us showed up on an early Sunday morning at the Kalaheo gate and was shuttled down to the stream. This grove of trees, where they filmed parts of Jurassic Park, was just off the walking path but begged to be explored when tours paused for photo ops. Nobody had been stung but NTBG managers wanted the hive removed and we went in to try and find the queen and coax them out and into our boxes.

Well, we weren't so persuasive. Not with some long metal prying devices(some dull, some sharp) and smokers To make matters worse, the tree's cavity that hosted the bees was no wider than a gloved hand and the back of it was an arms length too far away. 

Needless to say, we didn't find the queen. We chased them to the back of the cavity with our bear like prodding and smoking and barely got enough brood comb to fill up a couple of frames. The hive never transitioned to the box and the bees got a free ride to Kokee where they have blended into the mountain blossoms.

Removing bees is not easy but can be rewarding on many levels. If you're interested in learning more leave a comment and some contact info and we'll get you on assignment to help remove some pesky hive waiting to be boxed and managed.

My how the time flies

I was pointed to another Blogsite via an e.mail from someone wanting to attend the next KBee meeting who mistakenly thought it was last week. She had read the meeting notice but did not notice the date was March 17, 2009 not 2010. Anyways, it's funny to think that it was only a year ago when we hosted a Kukakuka Big Tent Event. We've had a good run so far and still building support for our work to highlight the concerns for varroa mite. Certainly a team effort if we want to have success in keeping Kauai varroa mite free. One more way to help our bees is to start an organic garden. Or you could join KBee and start managing a hive or two when the opportunity knocks. Find out more online.

Showing some love

Here's a request for any of you who'd like to see KBee receive a little acknowledgment from our legislative team of Reps. Tokioka, Sagum and Morita. Mahalo for the nod from Rep Tokioka who has been following our progress for over a year. I also talked w/Darci Oishi from the Department of Agriculture who also acknowledged KBee's organizing efforts and how it's noteworthy how Kauai's beekeepers seem to be a little more willing to engage with each other and HDOA as well. If you'd like to support HRC 203 and KBee please submit testimony here.

Here's a photo of some KBee supporters. Never thought how tending a hive could become a spectator sport: 

it's best fresh!

Funny how quick things get stale; like a blog site that hasn't been updated. Well, since the last post KBee hosted an informational meeting that went well. In an e.mail to a member who didn't attend the meeting this was one member's recount of the KBee gathering," The last KBee meeting was very informative.  Chester Danbury and Oliver Shagnasty shared their knowledge about varroa and bee diseases with the group.  Chris of Honi Honi Honey seems to want to take an activist role in putting posters at Honolulu and mainland airports to keep Kauai varroa mite free.  He also wanted to get some legislation passed to strengthen laws against the unristricted importation of bees and other pests into Kauai.  This was a public meeting and there were a few new people in attendence.  There was a good flow and dynamics at the meeting with no one trying to dominate the agenda.  I think Jimmy Trujillo would like to keep it that way so everyone will feel comfortable.  To expand membership we need to have a compatible group willing to work together for a common goal."

The meeting did inspire some action and hopefully some drafting a resolution or perhaps legislation to help reduce the likelyhood of inter island shipping being the culprit most likely to bring varroa to the garden isle.

As another beekeeper pointed out there might be even worse things out there than varroa. Check out this article for more on that subject. I'd have to say the bee's are fighting for survival these days. It doesn't help to have marauders like those in the photos tearing you out of the hive and trying to relocate to more manageable location. more on that later.

It's nice that the days are a little longer now and if the wind ever stops blowing, it just might be pleasant again. Should be good right about swarming season. If you need help getting rid of those pesky bees, KBee has friends that will assist in removing them and finding a more suitable location for habitation. Will post sooner than later next time; hard to keep up but it's been nice to hang w/the bees lately.

These photos are from two recent hive management tasks. I harvested with some friends on their property and help to remove and relocate a feral hive in Lihue that had been established for over a year beneath a deck and living space. They were well established and had the load honey, brood and bees. Hopefully I got enough of the right combo of bees, broods and stores of honey, pollen and royal jelly. Wish'em well.

maybe this time?

The Kauai Beekeepers Association is hosting

a Public Meeting Today

 

Saturday 2:00pm – 3:30pm
February 20, 2010

Invitation to the Public to attend informational meeting
On Varroa Mite Prevention Strategies for Kauai
Learn how to become involved with KBEE
Get informed on ways to prevent Varroa Mite from becoming a
major problem on Kaua’i

Saturday 2:00pm – 3:30pm

KCC-Technology Building

What will we do about varroa mite and honeybees?

come check out our meeting today at KCC in the Tech Building. the meeting starts at 2pm and will conclude around 3:30. hope you can make it. malama pono, aloha aina

Smelling the Flowers

still figuring it out

Mahalo to Dr Francis Takahashi for his leadership and support of KBee. Francis was instrumental in setting up the KBee information booth at KCC's culinary fundraising event. There were loads of people and we had a chance to expose folks to KBee's mission and objectives. Check out today's Garden Island News article by Dennis Fujimoto. Also check this out this photo of Dr Takahasi with a swarm trap that will be used in the effort to Keep Kauai Varroa Mite Free.
If you are interested in learning how to become involved with KBee's effort to keep the deadly little buggas off our bees, please join us for an informational meeting at KCC next Saturday Feb 20, 2010 at 2:00pm. This meeting will be an opportunity for folks to find out more about KBee's partnership with the county and state to help keep varroa at bay. For more information feel free to contact Jimmy Trujillo @ 346 7725 or e.mail him . You can always leave a comment here as well. Enjoy the fine weather today and take time to smell the flowers. Just watch out for our winged friends in there; they like that smell just as much as we do.

You Read It Here First

hey, so the garden island got part of the story; at least they got some of the story . but where's the picture?
any how, mahalo to young brother's community advisory board and to george costa with our county's office of economic development to fund some future KBee activities. they see the connection between healthy bees, a healthy environment and a healthy economy. of course if we want a healthy economy we need a healthy environment. food production is some thing we need more of not less. loosing all feral hives to varroa would be a significant loss for our pollinating friends. the impacts on our local flower power could be quite negative.  i'm no expert but me thinks it would be bad for the environment and the economy.
anywaze, here some info on varroa. pretty basic stuff but devastating for the bees. we'll have more information to share as we figure out a schedule of events and trainings for beekeepers and their  supporters. we'll need to build up the stocks of managed hives and increased apiary activities all across the island if we'd like to see our food productivity increase and not decline in the coming years. the longer we can hold off the infestation the better off we'll be. staying varroa mite free is a worthy cause. please join in the effort to build community around a vision of sustainable agriculture, right lively hood and environmental justice. with so much inter island traffic the likely hood of varroa coming to kauai is pretty high. we'll need to take every precaution with in reason to help our bees stay clean. we'll keep you posted on our progress. you might even read it here first

For Immediate Release

Feb 5, 2010
Kauai Beekeepers Association
For Immediate Release:
Contact Info:
*********************************************************
Jimmy Trujillo 346 7725   
Erik  Coopersmith 335-0710
Jose Bulatao, Jr.
Chris Kobayashi 
**********************************************************
LOCAL EEFORT TO PREVENT SPREAD OF VARROA MITE

KBEE AND GIRCD RECEIVES FUNDING
WILL ASSIST STATE DOA
IN VARROA MITE PREVENTION PROGRAM

AWARD PRESENTATION FRIDAY FEB 5
10 AM @ YB NAWILIWILI OFFICE

LOCAL MEDIA INVITED


Scroll Down or See Attachment for Full Story

*************************************

Local beekeepers on Kauai have received financial assistance from two
local sources to help keep the Garden Island Varroa mite free. The
Kauai Beekeepers Association(KBEE) will work with the Hawaii State
Department of Agriculture to help keep Kauai's bees clean and free
from this deadly parasite. KBEE will be assisted by Garden Island
Resource Conservation and Development, Inc. (GIRC&D), an 18 year old
community-based 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, who is the financial
oversight co-sponsor of this community movement.

At the request of KBEE, the County Of Kauai and Young Brothers have
given financial assistance to help implement a local response plan for
monitoring against the introduction of Varroa mite.

Pictured here, Young Brothers Community Advisory Chair Wanda Shibata
says, "Kauai residents and businesses need to understand the Varroa
mite poses a threat to the Kauai honeybee population and their
introduction to Kauai will disrupt the pollination process having an
effect on our local food production, agriculture crops and our
indigenous plants. Should the Varroa mite get out of hand, it poses an
unfathomable and consequentially dangerous situation to our local
agricultural economy and to the existing local environment as well."
Shibata continues, "Before it gets to that point, we need to take
these monitoring measures and address the issue beforehand and not
after the fact. YB is taking a proactive role to assure that the
spread of this mite is not in transit from our shipping operations.
With this grant, YB will be assisting in the purchase of the swarm
traps to assist KBEE and GIRC&D, Inc. with their volunteer monitoring."


Ray Maki, GIRC&D Board Secretary adds, "We are pleased to be
supporting KBEE's mission to keep Kauai Varroa mite free.  GIRCD would
like to thank Young Brothers and the County of Kauai for supporting
this unique collaborative effort between the Hawaii Department Of
Agriculture, the County of Kauai and  local community groups and
businesses."

For more information about KBEE and how to get involved with their
efforts to keep Kauai Varroa mite free please visit their
informational blog, KauaiBuzz, at http://kauaibuzz.blogspot.com/.

***********************************************************************
FOR FULL STORY Continue:

The effort by local beekeepers on Kauai to help keep the Garden Island
varroa mite free just got a boost. The Kauai Beekeepers Association
(KBEE), a project of Garden Island Resource Conservation and
Development (GIRCD), has received financial assistance from two local
sources to help keep Kauai?s bees clean and free from the deadly
parasite. The County Of Kauai and Young Brothers Community Advisory
Board have awarded financial assistance to KBEE to help develop a
local response plan for Varroa mite.
*******         *******                **********           ********
Varroa mite (scientific name- Varroa destructor) is a tiny external
parasite which attaches itself  to the bodies of honey bees and feeds
off the hemolymph or blood of the host bee. The mites are then
established in the hives and have a devastating impact on the host
colony. Feral or wild honeybees are at greatest risk of destruction.
Varroa is a global threat and was discovered on Oahu in 2006.  A 2008
outbreak in Hilo, Hawaii raised the level of concern about the spread
of varroa throughout the state.
*******         *******                **********           ********
KBEE was formed as a direct result of the Big Island infestation in
January 2009 after a series of community meetings were convened and
hosted by Garden Island Honey proprietors Marie and Jimmy Torio, of
Anahola. Selection of KBEE's organizing committee occurred at a
community meeting that January in Niumalu.
*******         *******                **********           ********
One of the organizing committee members, Erik Coopersmith says, "KBEE
is not merely an organization for professional beekeepers. In fact,
many members receive little or no compensation for their beekeeping;
we are largely volunteers and hobbyists, but we really need Kauai's
professional beekeepers to get involved, too. What we all have in
common is a great appreciation for our honeybee's critical plant
pollination activities, in addition to their honey and other wonderful
by-products. KBEE holds monthly meetings and has been actively
courting Kauai's beekeepers and anyone else interested in the future
of Kauai's honeybees to attend our meetings and get involved."
Coopersmith, a Westside resident and beekeeper helped to secure the
two grants that KBEE received.

According to another KBEE member and organizer, Jimmy Trujillo,
"KBEE was formed as a proactive effort to rally Kauai beekeepers,
community members and government officials to take action and prevent
the spread of the varroa mite to Kauai from infested areas on the
islands of Oahu and Hawaii." Trujillo, a Kapahi resident who tends a few hives on a
neighbor's parcel and removes unwanted hives from buildings continues, "With the funding
from the Office of Economic Development and Young Brothers
Community Advisory Grant, KBEE is helping to establish a program to
assist the state's Department of Agriculture in monitoring swarm traps
in high risk areas. By placing and monitoring swarm traps in
areas adjacent to the ports and harbors on Kauai KBee members can be
of assistance to the lone HDOA staff person responsible for Kauai's
first line of defense against a potential varroa infestation."

Community advocate Jose Bulatao Jr., a KBEE supporter who appreciates
the contribution of honey bees to a healthy environment and
sustainable food production asks, "How will our agricultural
activities be affected; what will happen to the flowers to make leis
to greet our visitors; in which ways will our local economy be
impacted?". The retired educator from Kekaha continues, "Isn?t this
reason enough to make every attempt to work together and address the
"plight of the honeybees" here in the State of Hawaii?".

*******         *******                **********           ********
In March 2009, KBee hosted two meetings that involved state and county
interests. The first, held at Kauai Community College, took place with
HDOA staff from Oahu and Kauai. This meeting was the first opportunity
to meet face to face with HDOA folks who are involved with varroa mite
eradication efforts on Oahu and Hawaii. The second meeting occurred at
Kalapaki Beach Park with state and county officials present along with
community members to discuss critical issues facing agriculture, bees
and the environment.

Further discussions with the Kauai County Office of Economic
Development (OED) led to a partnership with Garden Island Resource
Conservation and Development (GIRCD). GIRCD is a federal non profit
501 c3  on Kauai, dedicated to supporting community groups and efforts
related to water and soil conservation, agriculture, and cultural
awareness. This partnership led KBee to seek county funding to
purchase swarm traps and work with HDOA and the UH BeeProject. The
goal is to develop a first line of defense and a rapid response plan
to facilitate containment of known varroa infested bee colonies on
Kauai.
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George Costa, OED Director states, "The County of Kauai, Office of
Economic Development acknowledges the effort of the Kauai Beekeepers
Association in preventing the infiltration of the varroa mite on
Kauai. This grassroots organization that was formed a year ago and is now led by
Executive Committee Chair James Trujillo. Through diligence and
collaboration, KBEE has received a grant from the OED administered
through Garden Island RC&D and in partnership with HDOA to monitor
traps in the Nawiliwili area for varroa mite. KBEE has also created an
awareness of the varroa mite and the detrimental affects it can have
on our honeybee population and pollination of our essential
agriculture industry and island food supply."

Ray Maki, a board of director with GIRCD adds, "We are pleased to be
supporting KBEE's mission to keep Kauai varroa mite free. GIRCD would
like to thank Young Brothers and the county for supporting this unique
collaborative effort between the Hawaii DOA, the County of Kauai and
local community groups and businesses."

Young Brother Community Advisory Chair Wanda Shibata adds, "Kauai
residents and businesses need to understand about the varroa mite
threat to the honeybee population and the pollination process and how
it affects the fruiting seasons for our local food production and
agriculture like mangoes, lychee, tropical flowers, vegetables, etc.
and our indigenous plants. Should the varroa mite threat get out of
hand, it poses an unfathomable and consequentially dangerous situation
to our local agricultural economy and to the existing local
environment as well."
Shibata continues, "Before it gets to that point, we need to take
measures and address the issue beforehand and not after the fact. YB
is taking measures to assure that the spread of this mite is not in
transit from our shipping operations. With this grant assisting KBEE
and GIRD with the purchase of the swarm traps we can help keep that
potential threat at a very low or non-existant level."

Mr. Bulatao concludes, "Perhaps nothing on our list of disappearing
America is so dire. Honeybee populations are plummeting so enormously;
and are so necessary to the survival of our food supply. 'Colony
Collapse Disorder,' or CCD, has spread throughout the U.S. and Europe
over the past few years, wiping out 50% to 90% of the colonies of many
beekeepers, and along with it, their livelihood. If this does not ring
bells among ALL of us here in Hawaii, think about what will happen
when the natural pollination process "changes" drastically."
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For more information about KBEE and how to get involved with the
effort to keep Kauai varroa mite free please visit their informational
blog, KauaiBuzz, at http://kauaibuzz.blogspot.com/. Their next
informational meeting will be held at 2pm on Sat. Feb 20 at KCC. Call
346 7725 or visit their blogsite for more information.

Kauai Beekeepers Association
Executive Organizing Committee


Jimmy Trujillo - Chair,
Erik Coopersmith - Vice Chair
Susan Zollinger - Treasurer
Ryan Wooton - Secretary,
Francis Takahashi -Advisor
  Jose Bulatao, Jr. - Advisor
Chris Kobayashi - Advisor
Debbie Erickson - Advisor
*************************************************************
What is a varroa mite? The scientific name is Varroa destructor
(Anderson and Trueman).  In Hawaii, it's only known host is the common
(western or European) honey bee.   Elsewhere in the world, it can
utilize a different species called the Asian or Oriental honey bee.


Why are varroa mites a problem?

Varroa mites are one of the most destructive pests of honey bees.
Adult female varroa mites lay their eggs in the brood cells of bee
hives.  The mites feed on bee larvae and pupae, resulting in
deformation of the wings and bodies of bees when they develop and
emerge as adults.  They also feed on adult bees.  The feeding causes a
decline in bee populations which ultimately reduces pollination
necessary for the production of tropical fruits and vegetables.

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Kauai Beekeeper?s Association
For Immediate Release:
Contact Info:
**************************************
Jimmy Trujillo 346 7725   
Erik  Coopersmith  335-0710 
Jose Bulatao, Jr.
Chris Kobayashi 

First Post-An adventure in the works

Here goes! A new blog for Kauai's Beekeepeers and their supporters. Wish us luck as we try to keep Kaua'i varroa mite free. Inspired by others to inform the uninformed about the potential harm that varroa mite can bring to beekeepers, their bees and livelihood as well as the effects on food production and feral bee populations.

It is also an exchange from others who want to learn, teach and share experiences about bees and their contributions to our agricultural sustainability, culinary delight, economic productivity and environmental health. Please comment and share with others. Mahalo for joining in on the discussion.