The May monthly meeting of the North West Arkansas Beekeepers Club was a field trip to the SouthWest corner of the Prairie Grove Battlefield Park. The Hives owned by the club president Tom Nichols were on the edge of an Alfalfa field owned by Mr. John Hart. The location was near water and presented an excellent “hands on” demonstration of a working hive.

Mr. Aman Minick, the Regional Inspector for the State Apiary Board conducted the invited inspection of the 13 hives and 3 NUCs at that location. His “how-to” and “what to look for” presentation gave the members present, several valuable tips and tools to use when working their hives.

Aman stated that in the order of WHAT he always looks for….His methodology seeks out FoulBrood as the number one “bad” event in any hive, followed thereafter by Mites…then Hive Beetles. Additionally he demonstrated his systematic approach to hive inspection and recommended that club members, new or old, follow the same approach to each hive, each time.

A final tip from Aman Minick for all bee keepers was that if during any inspection, starting from the end frames and working towards the center of the super or hive body, when and IF brood cells with eggs (brood-comb) accompanied with a “goodly” amount of honey-comb are discovered, and both with good pattern development, close that hive ASAP…and continue to the next hive.

A step-by-step “powdered sugar” demonstration was conducted by Aman Minick whereby powdered sugar is added to a sample of bees in a container, shook-up, and then poured out onto a white or stainless pan whereby the mites IF ANY could be seen. This particular inspection showed no mites to be present, and in general his examination of all hives reflected generally good healthy hives.

CONCLUSION: This Field Trip in which 68 club members were present, to include family and friends was a valuable, time spent well period for all those in attendance.