May Meeting
Thursday, May 9
Central Skagit Valley Library in Sedro-Woolley |
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Our monthly meeting is on Thursday, May 9 at 7 PM. We will be meeting at the Central Skagit Valley Library in Sedro-Woolley.Here's what's up this month: - Beginning Beekeeper Q&A - Are you a beginning beekeeper and want some advice?
We will have an experienced beekeeper available for consultations and
inspirations in an adjacent room from 6:15 until the meeting starts at
7 PM.
- Bee chat - Come early if you can for our informal "bee chat" beginning at 6:30 PM with a few refreshments to which everyone is invited.
- Bee talk - Dawn Beck and Les Scott will
discuss the art and science of splitting strong colonies into two
hives, how to catch swarms, and how to remove colonies from undesirable
locations and get them into your own hives (see more below).
- 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.
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April Bee Talk
The Ins and Outs of Deadouts
Thursday, April 11th at our monthly meeting |
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Dawn Beck and Les Scott will
collaborate on a presentation on two relate topics that frequently
dominate May beekeeping: how to successfully split colonies to avoid
swarming, and what you can do when swarming occurs. |
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Splitting
a healthy colony into two separate colonies is a means of expanding
your beeyard and averting swarming. Swarming can result in the loss of
a productive queen and many of your bees, leading to a greatly reduced
honey harvest. There are keys to success and a number of
factors to consider - can you identify the queen? What if you can't?
Are there swarm cells in the hive, and what should you do with them? Dawn will talk about the science and art that are involved in creating successful "splits".
But
sometimes you can win by capturing a swarm that has already left the
hive. With a bit of skill and equipment you can recapture swarms from
your own hives, or you can find ways to capture swarms straying from
other colonies. There are also ways to perform cut outs - literally
cutting out bees, comb, brood and a queen from a wayward colony that
has become installed in a barn, shed, roof or tree. Les will discuss the do's and don’ts of swarm catching and cut outs. |
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Field Days at the SVBA Apiary
At our hives in the field
behind the Terramar Brewstillery |
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Checking for Swarm Cells and Mites
Making a Split: Demonstration
Sunday, May 12th at the Apiary in Bow, 10 AM to Noon |
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We are hosting a working and learning session at the Apiary on the second Sunday of the month. Topics will include: - Checking for swarm cells
- Performing mite counts and mite treatments
- A demonstration of how to make a split
- Honey preparation
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Hive-side days at the Apiary
Every Wednesday in May, 10 AM to Noon |
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Join
us as we inspect and manage the SVBA Apiary. You can see how we observe
and respond to each colonies growth and challenges, and learn how to do
it yourself. Afterwards you might even begin your afternoon with some
eats and refreshments at our host's establishment, the Terrmar
Brewstillery |
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SVBA Apiary Comes AliveAt the Terramar Brewstillery in Edison |
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The
SVBA Apiary is up and running, thanks to a small mob of SVBA members
who helped put it all together. It is located in a field behind the
Terramar Brewstillery on 5712 Gilkey Avenue in Edison, which is a
village in Bow. It's easy to find, at the end of a road, and a
fantastic location. The Apiary is behind the brewery/distillery near a
field used for seasonal outdoor performances. Three hives have been
installed; they will be the focus of regular demonstrations and
educational sessions. |
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Special
thanks go out to Dewey Jacobsen who lent his truck, construction
equipment and know-how to preparing the site. While the assembly was
underway, Dawn Beck held an impromptu teaching session on how to
assemble and set up hives for the participants, initiating the
educational side of our new venture. |
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Donate a Pop Up Canopy to the Apiary! |
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We
hope that someone might have a 10' x 10' popup canopy that we can set
up next to our new Apiary to use during demonstrations and create a
small working area. Wouldn't the group in the photo above benefit from
a little covering on a rainy day, or a place to shade supers while they
are being inspected? If you have one that we can repurpose, contact
Dawn Beck or Brett DeLawter - their e-mail contacts are in the list at
the end of the newsletter. |
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Seeking an SVBA Equipment Manager |
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We
are looking for someone who has a corner of a garage or shed to store
the small collection of SVBA equipment. They will need to occasionally
sign some equipment out to members who can benefit from using our
extractors or varroa mite treatment tools. It's not a lot of equipment
or a demanding schedule, and it is a great service to fellow
beekeepers. If this job is for you, contact Brett DeLawter, listed in
the contact information at the end of this newsletter. |
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SVBA Facebook PageGet in on the conversations and info |
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Susan
DeLawter maintains our private Facebook page, which is an excellent
insiders' resource for ideas and links to information. It is set up to
include only SVBA members, so you need to request access when you
initially login. Once the door is open, you can tap into - and
contribute - to any of the topics.
Just search for the SVBA Facebook page, and click on the one that looks like this: |
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A veteran beekeeper, overheard at a recent SVBA meeting: "I think my bees are going on strike. Now they want to keep more of the honey and have shorter working flowers." |
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A Deep Dive into Hive ProblemsApril's SVBA bee talk |
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Dewey Caron was
our guest speaker at April's SVBA meeting. He described how to
systematically evaluate a colony that has perished and determine the
cause. Using photographs of "deadouts", he showed how to understand
what has happened, and how to change your bee management to reduce the
number of failed colonies in the future. |
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- The majority of deadouts are due to the side effects of varroa mite infestations -
The mites don't kill off a colony directly, but they substantially
damage bees' resistance to fatal viruses, reduce their longevity, and
their resilience.
- Understanding the mite life cycle is leading to more effective treatment -
Dewey described how mites selectively target drone brood in the spring,
then move to worker brood and workers. He is a big advocate of inducing
bees to create drone cells on a special frame, which is basically a
honey frame without the foundation. Then, when the drone brood is
capped, he removes it, lets the bees create more drone cells, and
removes them again. This interrupts one of the key, explosive
population growth periods in the mite life cycle so that you other
management methods can be more effective.
- Starving is rare, but it happens - It
is not hard to keep you bees fed, so pay attention! Full frames of
honey on the outside of your supers can go untouched in very cold
weather because they are too far away from the warmth of the huddled
bees.
- Weak colonies have a tough time -
Colonies that are too weak become victims of pests like yellow jackets,
hive beetles and the like. But the root cause is an underpopulated or
unhealthy colony that doesn't have the reserves and resiliency that it
needs.
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So far, May weather is bringing in those flowers. Former SVBA President Brad Raspet's checklist for May includes:- Conduct full frame inspections (on a day when it is at least 60 degrees)
- Check
for overcrowding and create more space if needed by: splitting large,
crowded colonies, or...adding honey supers for full colonies not being
fed, or...adding a second brood box for the new hives when the first
box is getting full
- Continue pollen patties and syrup (1 to 1) for new hives only
- Remove all comb in deeps that are 2/3rds full of capped drone (mite control)
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Dave Schiefelbein still
had a few bee packages and one nuc left for sale as of May 1. Dave was
our March speaker and described how bee packages are prepared. He sent
us word that he still has a few available through his business Elite
Honey and Bee. If you are in the market, look him up at https://www.elitehoneyandbee.comLes's Bees always
has a range of beekeeping supplies in his Bellingham supply house, and
owner Les Scott might even arrange to drop off on-line purchases for
SVBA members at our meetings if you get in touch in advance . Go to leszbees.com. Or you can contact Les Scott directly by e-mail, call, or text: 360-303-0396. If
you have supplies and equipment that you may be interested in swapping,
selling, or just plain giving to other interested members of the SVBA,
send a brief description, price, and contact information to your editor, cecilbees121@gmail.com. |
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Membership in the SVBA
Join or Renew |
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Annual
membership dues are for a calendar year and there is still plenty
of time to renew, join or rejoin your SVBA membership. Annual dues are
only $12 (or $13 using our online payment system). It'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. |
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Skagit Valley Beekeepers Association
Brett DeLawter President brettdelawter@gmail.com
Dawn Beck Vice President dawnrunner@live.com
Domie Bourgeois Treasurer 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 |
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