Apiary Application

The Carolina Bee Company

Owner: Todd and Monica Warner

Farm Address:
237 Jason Way
Youngsville, NC 27596
Franklin County
United States

daytime phone: 919-728-0827
evening phone: 919-728-0827
Web site: http://www.carolinabees.com

Application Date: 2010-01-31

General Information

Apiary Location and Position

Some beekeepers seek certification for more than one apiary. Please provide the location (or locations) of the apiary (or apiaries) for which you seek certification.	Home apiary. Second apiary on dormant farm. Third queen mating yard - TBD.
Briefly describe the landscape where the apiary is located. What surrounds the apiary? What are the nectar sources?	In all apiaries, the primary nectar sources are sugar maple, tulip poplar, holly, dandelion, clover, goldenrod, aster, and other wildflowers. Surrounding: Home: semi-rural residential Farm: primarily open land and a many-year dormant farm. Mating yard: TBD
Do you own or manage the land on which your apiary is located? (If at least one of your apiaries is on land you own or manage, answer yes.)	yes
Do you agree not to use on this land any synthetic materials that are not allowed under the CNG produce or honey programs?	Yes. We agree.
Use this space to describe any land management practices you use to support the honey bee population.	We use zero chemicals on lawns and surrounding areas.
Within each apiary for which you seek certification, do you manage any hives "conventionally", using practices or substances that are not allowed under the CNG apiary standards?	no
Are all hives in the apiary at least 6 inches off the ground?	yes

Hive Construction, Components, and Comb Removal

Do your hives have any paint or chemical treatment on the interior surface of the hive?	no
Do you have, or will you develop, a labeling system and schedule to ensure removal of at least 20% of brood frame per year, such that there is never brood comb present that is more than 5 years old?	yes
Please breifly describe your comb removal practices to date, and your plans for the coming seasons.	All combs are labeled with the date of drawing (i.e., we don't label them if they don't have comb). We rotate out combs that are 3 to 5 years old. All combs that we have purchased via nucs are labeled with an "X" and are first priority for rotation. Combs that are foundationless are labeled as such. This has been our practice since inception 5 years ago.

Apiary Transition

Does your hive contain brood comb that A) is from another beekeeper (including from purchased nuc), or B) has been exposed to Tylan, or C) has been exposed to three or more treatments of fluvalinate (Apistan, Mavrik) or amitraz (Miticur, Taktic, or Mitak)?	yes
Will you ensure that, through brood comb replacement or operation expansion, no more than 40% of the exposed comb will be present in the apiaries to be certified, AND that the exposed comb that remains will be marked and removed from your apiary within two years? Your apiary will have transitional status until all exposed comb is replaced.	yes
Please indicate the month and year when you expect you will have replaced all marked brood comb (the comb that was purchased from another beekeeper, treated with Tylan, and/or exposed to three or more more treatments of fluvalinate or amitraz)?	We no longer purchase nucs (2 years since last purchase). We rotated out those comb as rapidly as possible. I believe we are 100% clean of suspect comb.
Has any wax or comb in your apiary ever been exposed to coumaphos (CheckMite+) or fenpyroximate (Hivastan), or more than six indirect exposures of coumaphos (CheckMite+), hydramethylnon or fipronil (Max Force Gel roach baite) as closed trapping for SHBs?	no

General Bee Maintenance and Care

Describe how you maintain your bee population from one season to the next. Do you rely on survivor colonies, incorporate feral colonies, purchase new bees every year, or some combination of these and/or other practices?	Feral colonies are often established swarms from neighboring managed hives. Hence, we distrust them greatly. We incorporate swarms and feral established hives occassionally, but we are inclined NOT to in the future. I.e., we are in debate on the value of this - unless the feral hive shows signs of 3 years or more of establishment. We breed our own bees, but, like this year, our hive count is significantly down. Therefore, we are purchasing packages to boost our numbers (we no longer purchase nucs due to fear of disease / chemicals). Our queens are a mix of Minnesota hygienic and Italian. Currently we breed for general health and brood population -- and of course, survival (though we are at a unsustainable breeding population at the moment). We may incorporate hygienic breeder queens in our program this year (undecided). So... combination with an emphasis on self-breeding. We hope to not have to augment with package purchase in the future and breed for survival genetics. We are not there yet.
Do you sometimes feed the bees when honey supers are on the hive, or within two weeks before honey super addition?	no
If and when your bees require supplemental feeding, what do you feed them? Please be specific and include all ingredients.	Sugar syrup. That's it for carbs. Megabee pollen, which we understand we will have to change this practice.

Management of Pests and Disease

Varroa Mite
Please briefly describe what measures you take to suppress the Varroa mite population in your hives.	We have been using one treatment of formic acid in the fall. We may switch to "no treatment" this year. We have also utilized brood interruption and powdered sugar techniques.
How do you monitor mite population levels? When and how often?	We sample count periodically. And even then we don't "count". We estimate the load depending on season and strength of hive.
Before treating any hive for Varroa mites, will you monitor the Varroa mite infestation level to determine whether it exceeds the treatment threshold set by your local network? (If you run a survivor colony, and you never treat, please answer Yes.)	yes
If you choose to treat colonies infested with Varroa mites, will you keep records of treatment methods, along with pre- and post-treatment monitoring results?	yes
American and European Foulbrood
How do you prevent and treat American Foulbrood (AFB) and European Foulbrood (EFB)?	We don't. And so far, knock on wood, we have not seen it. I suspect if we find it, we'll burn the hive and sanitize equipment. We intend to switch to having duplicate equipment for each apiary so that infestation will be localize should it occur. We have the state bee inspector inspect us in the spring and fall yearly.
Nosema
How do you prevent and treat Nosema?	We have not seen nosema... yet. The intention is to prevent it: good hive location, healthy nutrition, adequate ventilation, space management.
Other Diseases
What has been your experience with other diseases (such as chalkbrood, viral diseases, wax moths, small hive beetle)? How have you dealt with them? How will you deal with them if they recur?	We have seen chalkbrood, varroa and varroa attributed viruses, wax moths and beetles. As for diseases and parasites, we just try to maintain healthy bees and use healthy practices. Wax moths: we sometimes struggle with wax moths. We try to keep up with hives that are having issues (wax moths can move in quick!) We keep all unused equipment outside in sunlight and that keeps them at bay. We have SHBs in all our hives. They have yet to be a problem. More of a nuisance.
Pests
What measures do you take, if any, to protect the hives against pests such as mice, skunks, possums, raccoons, and bears?	So far, we have had zero problems with such pests. we just try to make sure hives have a good population / brood box-size. We have possums and raccoons but no issues so far. We have no bears.
Please describe any other practices you follow to help strengthen the bee population under your care.	Poor queens are replaced pretty religiously. A practice we want to better utilize is breaking up poorly performing apiaries (reaching carrying-capacity). Also, considering experimenting with periodic apiary moves to break up SHB breeding cycles. Would love to start a queen swap program. We have some candidate breeders willing to give it a go.

Colonies Engaged in Pollination Services

Are your colonies engaged in pollination by contract?	yes
Are any crops on the land contracted for pollination managed with the use of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides and fungicides during time of pollination or for the three months prior?	no
Do you agree to obtain a signed contract with the crop producer specifying that for the entire time the land is occupied by the bee colonies and for the three months prior, no prohibited pesticides herbicides or fungicides will be used?	yes
Are any of your colonies moved more than three times per calendar year for purposes of pollination?	no

Local Networks

Are you a part of a local network of beekeepers using natural methods? This could be a formal network like a county beekeepers association, or it could be an informal network of beekeepers in your area with a commitment to using natural methods.	yes
If this is a formal network please indicate the name of the network below. (If it is not a formal network, please simply write "informal".)	Informal.
If this is an informal network, please indicate below the names of at least two other beekeepers who participate. They do not need to be CNG beekeepers, but they do need to have some commitment to and knowledge of natural practices. (If you're part of a formal network, please simply write "see above")	Betsey Spencer Larry Green Sandy Carlson

Agreements

Please indicate your agreement with the following statements by entering your name/s in the spaces following the statements.
I/we will only use the Certified Naturally Grown name and label on apiary products (honey, pollen, propolis) that are in fact from the CNG apiaries described in this application.	Todd and Monica Warner
I/we understand that CNG beeswax certification is a separate process (not yet available in 2010), and that the basic Apiary Certification doesn't confer CNG status on beeswax.	Todd and Monica Warner
I/we understand the CNG work requirements: A) To complete at least one certification inspection of another CNG apiary in my area each year. B) To arrange at least two annual inspections of my/our apiary, to be carried out by qualified inspectors as outlined in CNG informational materials.	Todd and Monica Warner
I/we have reviewed the Certified Naturally Grown standards, understand them, and will abide by them. I/we understand that if I/we have any questions I/we may contact CNG for clarification.	Todd and Monica Warner
You may use this space to tell us anything else you think we should know about your farm: