Field Day – May 28, 2022

We had a great Field Day last weekend! (This one happened to have been at my house, so maybe I am biased …) We had about 20 people in all, and Tamie, Steve, and I worked together to demonstrate inspections, and I think great value was provided to those who attended. (Thanks to both of you!)

An update for those who were there – some of you were able to see that 4 of my splits were queenless. It was a little early to be checking them (3 weeks after split), but I had hoped to at least see the torn out queen cells. We saw nothing.

Today (June 3) I looked at those hives again, and 3 of the 4 definitely have mated and laying queens! The 4th one is uncertain at the moment, I will check again in another week. It is truly magic when that happens!

I am looking forward to the next field day, scheduled for late July!

Greg

Hive Observations – May 6, 2022

This is Greg Heller, recently elected vice president of the association. One of my goals this year is to rework our website, and to include more useful information on it. As part of that, you will be seeing more blog posts, both from me, and hopefully also from other beekeepers.

Blue Eyed MaryI would like to share a little about my beekeeping day. Today I inspected 7 of my 11 hives. There were a few things I (re)learned, so I thought I would take a minute to share with you here.

It looks like the nectar flow has started, at least at my location. This was evidenced by new white wax, and nectar in the cells. I have not been feeding, so it is clearly nectar, not syrup.

I am not sure what they are getting the nectar from, but there are many dandelions, oregon grapes, maples, baby’s breath, and blue-eyed marys (see photo) blooming on my property. The nectar may be coming from them, or somewhere else altogether. Whereas these are all strong overwintered colonies with good populations, I added a honey super to each hive.

At a recent association meeting, I suggested that I look for the nectar flow when the apples blossom. I guess I will need to revise that rule of thumb, as I see no apple blossoms. The flow looks to have aligned more with the maples this year.

The bees continue to bring in a lot of pollen, most of which looks bright orange, like dandelion pollen. I suspect they are also bringing is some maple and willow pollen, though that is tapering off. They are mostly ignoring the protein patties and dry pollen substitute that I have provided for them. Two weeks ago they were all over it, today they prefer the good stuff. Good bees!

One lesson I (re)learned is that it is a dumb idea to open hives on rainy days. I thought I had a good enough break in the rain to do the work, but ended up drenched when I quit. The first 5 hives went pretty well, but I should have quit on the 6th, and opening the 7th was stupid! I think the bees will recover from my error OK this time. I am hoping to try again on the remainder of the hives on Sunday afternoon.

All of my surviving colonies are looking good, despite my efforts. Two of them are very strong, so I was very intentional in looking for queen cells in them, but found none. One of them is usually very testy, and did not disappoint today in that regard. I did not have my veil zipped up as tight as I should have, and one bee nailed me on the chin. I guess it was her way of telling me that I should not have been there today.

A disappointing finding today was that a significant portion of my stored honey frames were damaged by wax moths. I have not had much problem with them in the past, so that was disappointing. I have a bit of cleaning to do to get them ready for the bees, but fortunately there were enough clean frames to use for now. It is always helpful to have extra equipment on hand.

I hope your bees are doing well. Feel free to reach out to me for any help, I promise to at least try to be of assistance.

Until next time,

Greg

Overwintering My Hives by Greg Heller

Overwintering My Hives

As I prepared this fall to settle into the winter routine of beekeeping, I did a lot of reading, reflecting, and discussing with others the reasons for colony failure in the winter. My understanding is that colonies fail to overwinter for several reasons, including cold temperatures, starvation, and excess moisture. Following are some thoughts on dealing with these problems; some are my own ideas, others I have learned from the masters. (Of course, disease, pests, or predators will also kill a colony, but that will save for another day.)

From what I understand, bees in a hive don’t usually die from cold alone; they die from being cold and hungry, or from being cold and wet. It therefore seems to me that the best way to overcome the effects of cold is through an integrated strategy … yes, help them stay warm, but also deal with the starvation and excess moisture.

Starvation is hypothetically easy to deal with – just ensure they have adequate honey stores to make it until the dandelions bloom in the spring. Easy, right?

Oddly enough, colonies will sometimes die of starvation while there is still food enough in the hive. The reason for this is that they don’t break cluster, and fail to find the honey that is just outside of their reach. Therefore, it is important to not only rely on the hive weight or number of frames of food stores, but also to occasionally open the hive to see if the honey is where the bees are, and move frames as needed to assist.

Because the bees consume their food stores to generate heat, the colder the weather, the greater the chance of starvation. And of course, moisture is increased as well.

Moisture is the hardest of the problems to deal with, as the source of hive moisture is the bees themselves. If there are bees, there is moisture; it is a product of the respiration and energy consumption processes of the bees. I know of three ways to deal with moisture in the hive; reduce, retain, and/or remove it.

First, moisture in the hive can be reduced. Make sure there are no liquids (such as syrup) in the hive. Make sure there are no water leaks into the hive. Reducing the bee population will reduce the moisture, but that might be counterproductive. Keeping the hive a little warmer through insulation or good siting will reduce the food consumption, thereby reducing both moisture and the chance of starvation.

Second, moisture can be retained. There are various strategies for doing this; the basic idea is that any moisture that is in the hive, but not in contact with the bees, is a non-issue. So, many beekeepers make quilt boxes to put wood shavings or dry leaves in the top of the hive. The dry material absorbs the moisture at the top (water vapor rises), and effectively removes it from the bees’ living space. Moisture boards are used for the same purpose, as is dry sugar.

Third, moisture can be removed. Having the hive tilted towards the front, allowing liquid moisture to drain out, is a first basic step. But the real problem is the moisture at the top of the hive, as it will tend to drip down on the bees and chill them. This moisture is most effectively removed by ventilation. Most beekeepers find that a combination of top and bottom ventilation is needed to keep the hive dry.

My Hive Setup

As I prepared my hives for winter, the choices I made were all guided by the desire to maintain adequate warmth and food, without allowing excessive moisture to accumulate in the hives.

First, to ensure they have enough food, each hive has at least 10 deep frames of honey, and I poured 10 lbs. of dry sugar in a feeder rim at the top of the hive as well. The beauty of the sugar, in addition to the food value, is that it will help dry the hive.

Above the feeder rim, I have a notched inner cover, providing ventilation and an upper exit. Above the inner cover, I have a moisture board, then 1″ of blue board insulation, and then the top cover. The blue board is there to keep the hive top as warm as possible, in order to prevent condensation at the top. Hopefully any moisture that condenses up there despite these efforts will be trapped either by the moisture board or the sugar.

At the bottom of the hive, I have a screened bottom board, with the drawer closed. Until I believe there is excessive moisture in the hive, the drawer is going to remain closed, in order to keep the cold out. But I do have a little ventilation from the bottom, both through the reduced entrance and through the sides and back of the drawer. Between the bottom board and the bottom box, I have a slatted rack, which provides a little buffer airspace and tempers the wind blowing through the entrance.

The hives are placed in direct sunlight, with a windbreak behind. I did not wrap my hives with anything, as I believe that might make the moisture problem worse, and will reduce the potential for solar gain when the sun is shining. But I did strap a layer of blue board insulation on the north side only, since there is no solar gain to be had there.

I think most beekeepers would prefer to have more insulation. Part of my thinking is that I prefer condensation to take place on the walls of the hive, and for that it needs cold walls. Moisture that condenses there will run down to the bottom of the hive, where it can drain out. This is better than condensing at the top, where it can drip on the cluster of bees. I may regret my choice to not insulate better, we’ll see.

That is how I have setup my hives, and I am hopeful it will work, but remember I am a first-year beekeeper.  I’d love to hear your ideas, write me at africabushpilot@gmail.com. Until then, I hope you stay warm, dry, and well fed, just like your bees. ~ Greg

Winter Beekeeping Thoughts by Greg Heller

Winter has suddenly and undeniably arrived in North Spokane County. With winter has come different tasks that were not necessary just a few weeks ago. Every couple of days the firewood needs to be brought in, and each morning I have to rekindle the remnants of the fire of the night before.

Beekeeping, likewise, has suddenly changed. No longer am I exploring the depths of the hive, nor do I find myself regularly wandering out to the apiary to see what the bees are doing. (In my imagination, I think they maybe would like a little woodstove in their home, like I have in mine.) From outside the hive, there is little to see.

Winter is a great time for learning. Many evenings I find myself looking at my favorite beekeeping sites, and there are so many books to read. Tonight I started “Honeybee Democracy,” by Thomas D. Seeley. It promises to be a great read, and is available from the Spokane County Library, at least will be when I am done with it. The library actually has quite a collection of beekeeping books and e-books, if you likewise are looking for good books to read.

Winter is also a great time for planning. Let’s see, I have two hives right now, and am thinking of having 4-5 next year – do I have enough equipment? Not quite, I need to acquire a few more supers and frames when the price is right. So, I am watching for sales, especially around Black Friday. And how am I going to populate the hives? At the moment I am hoping that I can do a split of each hive (assuming they both survive), which will populate four hives. Then maybe catch a swarm, which will give me five colonies. But what if one, or even both, colonies fail this winter? So, I will probably order a package of bees as well, just so I am not left with nothing if disaster strikes.

Next year I am planning on raising a queen or two. Not by doing anything elaborate like grafting, but I discovered this year that having a spare queen around would be a great thing. Fortunately, when my queen disappeared, a friend and mentor was there to help me out. Maybe I can pass on the favor to another this year. Perhaps as you make plans for next year, you could consider raising a spare queen as well?

It is also a great time to clean up, repair, and fabricate equipment. I am not a great woodworker, so there is little that I fabricate, but cleaning and fixing are in my skillset, as it should be for most
beekeepers, so I’ll get that done soon enough.

As Thanksgiving approaches, one of the things I am thankful for is my first year with the bees. I am thankful for the learning, the stings, the astonishingly generous friendships, the fear, the honey, the pollination, and all the other good things that come through this part of God’s handiwork. Yes, I am thankful for stinging insects that just over a year ago I cared little about. Funny that.

Next time, I think I’ll write a little more about winter management activities. I hope you will come back and read the blog again. Thanks for enjoying the moment with me.

Greg

The First Annual Bee Day Was a Success!!

It never ceases to amaze me how friendly the beekeeping community is!  

Last Saturday, April 15th, was BeeManiacs first annual “Bee Day” and the Backyard Beekeepers Association was there to witness the festivities first hand.  So what is “Bee Day” you ask?  Well, simply put, it is a day where anyone can come to BeeManiacs and pick up bees, purchase equipment, talk to local beekeepers, watch beekeepers work with the demo hives, buy bee-friendly plants, purchase local crafts or beeswax items, and spend some time with some of the nicest people I know.  “Bee Day” sprang from the minds of Ana and Ari Alvarez of BeeManiacs who hosted the gathering and who ultimately live bee conservation.  It was great to see their shop teaming with the buzz of customers and fellow beekeepers all day long.  Besides the Alvarez’s, many thanks to all the Backyard Beekeeping Association instructors who volunteered their time to demo different hive equipment, package and nuc installations and general beekeeping practices.  
Along with our instructors, we want to give a very special thank you to the Salcedo family for selflessly pitching in to direct the steady flow of traffic and keep the parking area safe for our beekeepers and our bees!

One of the highlights of the day was watching some of our newer beekeepers, Sean and Traci Ponto, talk about how they build their very own long hive  Wow, what a bee-autiful new home their bees will have!!

 

 

 

All in all, it was a perfect day.  Thank you BeeManiacs for hosting such a wonderful event!  We can’t wait till next year!!

“Where Do I Get Information?”


“Where Do I Get Information?” 

Today, I would like to introduce you to Molly Cole, an Apprentice Beekeeper with the Backyard Beekeepers Association, and the proud purveyor of “Our Little Acre Farm“.  Molly is one of those beekeepers who is always learning and looking for new ideas!  Let’s see what she’s up to today.

“Now a days there are thousands of different websites, books, blogs and magazines where beekeepers can find information and answers to their questions.  Today, I am going to share with you some great resources and beginning points I have found to help inspire you to get out there, try something new, and learn more about honey bees!

First, the hands down, best place to get the most information and support regarding beekeeping is of course, a local beekeeping group or association.  Here you can find mentors, classes, and all around help and ideas.  Beekeeping associations typically have all types of beekeepers; newbies, people who have been beekeeping for decades, people with one hive, and people with hundreds.  Most beekeeping associations have newsletters, blogs or websites that provide wonderful, local information, and seasonal help to all members.  If you have not joined a club or association, I highly recommend it!

If joining a club is not right for you, there are literally MILLIONS of other places to get beekeeping information!  I am going to give you just a few of my favorite options.

Periodicals/Magazines:

These are obviously super easy to get, as they are delivered to your house every month and do not require much effort.  “Bee Culture” and “The American Bee Journal” are the most popular and offer yearly subscriptions on their websites.  Being a millennial who enjoys instant information, the classic magazine style layout can be a little distracting, but they both offer some valuable information and interesting articles, such as the current price of honey according to your region, and some national and global news regarding beekeeping.

Websites:

I love websites because they have search bars!  You do not have to thumb through chapters or tables of content to find what you are looking for!  Some of my favorites are:

Beesource.com – Bee Source is more of a forum where you can register as a user (currently there are about 16,000 users) and you can start conversations, ask questions or answer them within this format.  It is a good place to see what other people think, but can become a bit overwhelming.

Bushfarms.com – Bush Farms is run by Michael Bush who is quite the Holy Grail of information regarding “treatment free” and natural beekeeping.

Honeybeesuite.com – Honey Bee Suite is one of my local favorites and is run by Rusty Burlew who lives in Western Washington.  She is great about posting new blogs and timely, insightful information on a regular basis.

Check out your local bee association, chances are they have a website too with lots of great advice and local information!

Podcasts:

One of my favorite and more technical ways to get beekeeping information is from podcasts.  There are a few really fantastic beekeeping podcasts out there, and my favorite is “The Beekeepers Corner” podcast.  The caster releases an hour long podcast every month.  He is based in New Jersey, and while that is not local to me, he still offers a ton of great information!  He tests new theories, performs a hive check every month, explains new processes, and keeps it simple for beginners.

Another of my favorites is “The KiwiMana Buzz” from New Zealand.  Now this one is no where near local, but they still offer super information and are so interesting to listen to!  And while New Zealand is the opposite seasonally to the US, they archive their podcasts, so you can go back and get interesting ideas within your current season.

Facebook:

Last but not least, is Facebook.  “BeeManiacs” frequently posts about beekeeping news, current local events and educational interests in my area.  Most beekeeping associations have great beekeeping Facebook pages and you don’t have to be a member to follow them!  You can also find regional pages, like “Washington Beekeepers”, “Inland Northwest Beekeepers” and “West Plains Beekeepers”; but even better you can follow associations all around the world!

Taking a beekeeping class and starting a hive are the first steps in beekeeping education. There are so many new and exciting things to learn beyond those first steps, so get out there and get connected!”

– Molly Cole, Apprentice Beekeeper/Backyard Beekeepers Association

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