Meeting Starts Early This Month!
Arrive early!
Presentation from 6:30 to 7:30 PM!

November Meeting
Thursday, November 14
Central Skagit Valley Library in Sedro-Woolley

Our monthly meeting is on Thursday, November 14th beginning with a special presentation at 6:30 PM, followed by the regular meeting. We will be meeting at the Central Skagit Valley Library in Sedro-Woolley. Come early if you can!

Here's what's up this month:

• Bee talk - Our speaker, Professor Tom Seeley will provide a talk on “Colony Thirst”. He will be joining us online from the East Coast, so we have adjusted our schedule to accommodate the time difference. 
• Elections and Updated Bylaws - We will be electing SVBA officers and board members and voting on the proposed update bylaws.
• A "bee chat" after the meeting - We invite you to linger to share tips and tales with a few refreshments to which everyone is invited.
• Zoom option - If you can't come, but want to participate, you can join us by Zoom. An e-mail with the link will be sent to members before the meeting.

November Speaker 
Tom Seeley on “Colony Thirst”
November 14th at the SVBA Meeting

What is the big deal with water and bees? 
 
Join us and learn more from Thomas D. Seeley. He is a widely published researcher and lecturer on the behavioral and social life of honeybees. A proponent of natural methods of beekeeping, Tom is a Professor in Biology in the Department of Neurobiology and Behavior at Cornell University back East, an epicenter of scientific beekeeping. He will be online for his talk with us from 6:30-7:30 PM.
 
For more information about Professor. Seeley, check out this article in Bee Culture at https://www.beeculture.com/tom-seeley/

December Holiday Event
Holiday celebration and cookie exchange
December 12th at the Sedro-Woolley Library

The December meeting is a relaxed opportunity to share stories, meet fellow beekeepers, and enjoy some holiday refreshments as we round out another Skagit Valley beekeeping year. Last year's cookie exchange was a big success with a delicious array of choice offerings to take back home. Honey-themed goodies are encouraged, but we're not very picky, so find a favorite recipe, cook up a surplus, and share the results.

December Program
Learn how to use an EpiPen for bee stings

At the December 13th meeting/celebration, we will have an explanation about how to properly administer an EpiPen injection in the event of an extreme allergic reaction to a bee sting. It's rare, but can be a life-safer. Join us.

The consensus on the 2024 season? It was a below average year among the participants in our annual honey harvest survey. But results varied considerably. Some very fruitful hauls reported by some of our members, counterbalancing those who got "skunked" and reported no harvestable honey from their hives. 
 
We had 33 participants in this year's survey. Participants were offered the opportunity to score their results on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being "terrible, no honey" and 5 being "holy cow, amazing haul". The average score was 2.67, meaning that it was close to an "OK, average year", but leaned towards "some honey, but a bad year". Among those who reported positive harvests, we were able to calculate that the average haul was 21.5 pounds of honey per hive.

Here are some takeaways:

• New beekeepers, low honey - We had a significant number of new beekeepers with new colonies. Several reported satisfaction with the honey that their colonies have stored for the winter, although no there was no surplus to extract and bottle this year.
• Experienced beekeepers with little or no honey - Some of our most experienced beekeepers had no or low honey harvests, including Brad Raspet, and the DeLawters. The wet spring and hot dry summer seemed to be key factors.
• Some very high yields - Bucking the trends, we had several experienced beekeepers with very successful years. Van Smith averaged 50 pounds for his 6 hives and Bill Markus, past-President of the SVBA, averaged 60 pounds for his 3 hives. Topping the chart this year was Mark Miller who reported a whopping 80-pound average for his 3 colonies. Good going!

Thanks to all of the survey participants, and even better luck to us all next year.

Board Member Elections
Coming up at the November Meeting

As part of our annual cycle, elections are coming up for our officers (President, Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary) and two SVBA Board positions. All of the existing officers and the 2 Board members have agreed to continue in their current roles, if they are elected at the meeting - so participate and help us set the stage for the coming year.

Updating the SVBA Bylaws
Approval required November 14th

The Board of Directors of the SVBA has overhauled the bylaws of our organization so that they are better aligned with our mission and future needs. It must now be adopted by the attending members at our next meeting to go into effect. Thanks to the Board for their hard work, and thanks to our members for your help on this!

Project Apis m.
A research-oriented non-profit

Dawn Beck introduced us to the unique organization "Project Apis m." which is devoted to promoting the health and productive lives of the western honeybee (Apis mellifera). This non-profit helps to fund and support an amazing array of research projects. Among other services, it maintains a comprehensive database that is a guide to past and current funded research.
 
Check them out at https://www.projectapism.org

Dawn Beck prepped us for winter, so that we can better manage our hives during these cold months.
 
Dawn's approach and advice is evolving as she tracks new research and emerging best practices. She then field-tests the techniques in the 40 colonies that she manages; the survival rate is superb. Half of the 40 colonies are bee club hives, including those at the SVBA Apiary over in Bow.
 

Here are a few highlights and insights from her presentation:

• Temperature control is key, moisture control not so much - Recent studies show that low temperatures in the hive are a far greater threat than too much moisture to colony survival. As a result, Dawn buttons up her hives with few openings, insulates them, and uses a moisture board above the winter top board to draw off excess moisture, rather than lots of ventilation.
• Handy wrappings - Dawn begins insulating her hives with a layer of foil-faced plastic bubble wrap. She then continues wrapping them with a black, coated fabric that she obtains as a cast-off from lumber lots and home improvement outlets. This is a fabric that is used to wrap lumber when it is shipped to them, and is normally discarded.  Secured with wraps of duct tape, it makes a cozy package at low cost. 
• Foam insulation - Another method is to cut sheets of solid foam building insultation and fit them around the hives, fastening them with wraps of duct tape. This works well, and she prefers 2" insulation. The cost of the insulation has climbed sharply, but can be practical if you don't have too many hives. 

• Topping it off - Some solid foam caps the colonies, and the entire package can be secured with straps or rope to keep it from blowing apart in our windy winters. Or find some stones, bricks or blocks to add on top.
• Feeding the bees - Raw cane sugar or feed patties should be placed in the hive as an important food reserve to complement the stored honey. There are various approaches to this, but it is important to prevent raw sugar from pouring down onto the clustered bees from your top boards.

The cold, wet, and stormy weather is descending on the Skagit Valley and will last awhile. You need to finish buttoning up any hives that lack their full inter set-up. Here is a November checklist drawn from Brad Raspet's monthly schedule of activities:

• Add your moisture control and insulation if still needed.
• For colonies without strong honey or pollen reserves, provide cane sugar, sugar patties and/or pollen patties to help tide them over.
• Make sure that your opening reducers are in place, and mouse guards if you use them.
• Start thinking about next year, and obtaining the new gear you will need.

Membership in the SVBA
Join or Renew

Annual membership dues are for a calendar year. Membership renewal (or new memberships) begin in January. Annual dues are only $20 for an individual or $30 for a household. That's a high value investment and supports the wide range of programs and events that we offer. The membership form and payment instructions are found on our website or by clicking HERE.

The online payment option can be accessed by clicking HERE.

Skagit Valley Beekeepers Association

Brett DeLawter              President  brettdelawter@gmail.com
Dawn Beck                    Vice President   dawnrunner@live.com
Domie Bourgeois         Treasurer/Website Manager domie.bourgeois@gmail.com
Brenda Crossley          Secretary   brendacrossley49@gmail.com
Steve Cecil                    Newsletter  cecilbees121@gmail.com
Don Johnson                Board   homebrewtwo@gmail.com
Jim Kohl                        Board
Heather Oates               Board  hoates@gmail.com
Seth Smith.                   Board   seth_smith@live.com
Chris Zimmerman        Board  gocougs87@gmail.com
Matt and Nikki Jones   SVBA Equipment Managers  lamesican@gmail.com