Topic: Summer is too Short!

SnoKing Beekeepers Meeting Monday July 19, 2023

Time: Jul 19, 2023 06:30 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85766269333?pwd=YXMwM0VnMGVyN0UrZVE5WUYvVEhlZz09

Meeting ID: 857 6626 9333

Passcode: 423799

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• +1 253 205 0468 US

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Additional MEETING TOPICS not mentioned in first version of this newsletter: HONEY!

Tim Ade, Beekeeping and Honey Display Supervisor at the Evergreen State Fair Aug. 24 to Sept 4 (Labor Day) will be at the meeting to explain how easy it is to enter your hive products and more! in the fair.

The first annual Honey Spin Off and tasting was hosted by Dennis and Jo Dietzel in Edmonds.  The win goes to
Heidi Goodgion! And her " Honey Goods LLC". Among the honeys sampled were Italian sunflower, Wenatchee, gold, big Island Bees Hawaiian organic honey, New Zealand reserves Manila, honey, Spanish wildflower honey, grocery store clover honey, blackberry honey and Brick House Bees suburban  honey.
Using SnoKing's extractor equipment (for loan free to members!), 8 gallons of honey was spun. Fun was had by all.  A sweet sticky time.  

Thank you to the Dietzels for hosting and presenting this workshop! Another great offering by our Journeyman candidates.

MEETING TOPIC:

   Now that summer weather has arrived, we find ourselves still dealing with swarms as the all-too-short Western Washington summer races past us. The blackberry flow in many areas promises to be longer lasting although not as short and intense as in other years. The yellow jackets are at the hive entrances already. Round 2 of the Queen Rearing project  is running into the end of July/August dearth, although some beekeepers are predicting the blackberries will continue blooming through the usual dearth.

    Others are already experiencing the MIA queens (missing in action) we associate with that late summer dearth, although many of us are starting to question the quality of queens we can obtain commercially. This is reason enough to explore raising our own queens and overwintering some for next spring.

     The first phase (grafting, mating and proofing of queens) of the club Queen Rearing Project will continue up to the fair. Then in Phase 2, we will overwinter some mated queens in double nucs, which was successful last winter, and possibly attempt overwintering caged queens in a double deep queen bank, using an Oregon State University method.

     As if all this was not enough, it’s time to prepare for the Varroa population explosion that happens in most hives in late summer.

      For discussion of all this and whatever else you beekeepers want to discuss, we will see you 6:30PM Wed. “Let’s talk bees!”

Bring your favorite ideas or concerns and have your pictures ready. Remember we can screen share one person at a time on Zoom, so have your pictures ready. 

FAIR COUNTDOWN: 38 days until first day of fair (August 24)

    See more information below. Shift signups: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0f4daead2fa0fac07-2023#/

CONTENTS & CALENDAR OF EVENTS for this rapidly disappearing summer:

July 22, Saturday 10-noon, GRAFTING CLASS, Maltby Apiary

July 22, Saturday 1-3PM, Queen Rearing workshop continues at Maltby Apiary

July 29, Saturday 10-noon, VARROA CLASS at Maltby Apiary

July 29, Saturday 10-noon, VARROA CLASS at Maltby Apiary

How to apply the available Varroa treatments; the dos and don'ts for each method.

August 5, Saturday 1PM to 3PM. VARROA CLASS at Maltby Apiary (repeat)

August 10,  Thursday 6PM, THE HIVE MIND meets online. Contact Gina Cuff ginacuff@gmail.com for more information and the Zoom link.

September 11, Mondays 6:30PM JOURNEYMAN starts.

September 14, Thursdays 6:30PM BEGINNER starts.

October 17, Tuesdays APPRENTICE 6:30 PM starts.

JOURNEYMAN LEVEL DISCUSSION GROUP forming this Fall

NEED A QUEEN? Is your queen MIA? Many suppliers have queens on hand during the beekeeping season, so check out the 2023 NUC & PACKAGE SUPPLIER LIST on Home page of www.snokingbka.org . At 9 pages, this must be the most comprehensive Western Washington list available. However, your local bee club and beekeepers can be the best sources for late season bees and replacement queens, so you might try them first.

This is one of the grand prizes for the membership drawing which will be held again at the November monthly meeting. This bee-themed quilt has been crafted by Anna Filson for this event. Every member who is current on dues on October 31st will receive one entry chance to win this and other prizes. Additional chances can be earned by volunteering shifts at our booth at the Evergreen State Fair as explained below.

EVERGREEN STATE FAIR 8/24-8/29, 8/31-9/4 (Labor Day), Monroe, SIGNUP

Fair chair: Walt Filson waltfilson@gmail.com

     Only 5 more weekends before the fair starts. Western WA summers are all too short. We hardly finish off the fireworks and we are planning the end of summer! 

     Sign up for fair shifts at:

SKBA Volunteer: 2023 Evergreen State Fair - SKBA (signupgenius.com) https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0f4daead2fa0fac07-2023#/ to sign up for shifts.

     This year for every four hour shift you do at the fair you get an entry into the drawing for the 2 grand prizes pictured above – handcrafted bee themed quilt or a Mann Lake donated single deep hive with solid bottom and inner and outer covers -- and a couple additional prizes. Winners get to pick their prize in the order in which their names are drawn.

     We would also like to see youth volunteers at the booth so if you are a member bringing a high school (grades 10 to 12) student member of your household, please email me. If they are not beekeepers, we would still like their help with activities for children.

     If you do 2 shifts, you get a t-shirt with the 2023 logo Becky Glaze designed and has volunteered to print. If you do a 3rd shift, Becky will make you a vinyl sticker pictured below.  

Even if you are not yet sure which shifts you can do, text your t-shirt size RIGHT AWAY to Becky Glaze 903-931-1834 who has volunteered to handcraft each one. She needs to finish them at the beginning of August.

YELLOW JACKETS: traps, reduce entrances, robbing screens

Yellow jackets are showing up more and more often. Last fall’s extended warmth and sun is expected to result in a high population of these vespids this year.

ROBBING SCREENS

Also, some of our hives need protection from each other! Time to get robbing screens on before July dearth! Dearth leads to robbing; bees are efficiency experts not moralists. Robbing is more efficient than desperate searches for enough nectar to feed a growing population.

JOURNEYMAN starting September 11, 2023 class registration is now open at www.snokingbka.or/journeymanapplication

Class includes manual, and WASBA certificate and 2023 WASBA dues gifted to the student upon completion of the course. Questions? Call or text 206-859-7392 or email eliochel@snokingbka.org.

Journeyman candidates, keep logging your service hours. We encourage any beekeeper approaching 3 years of beekeeping to pursue Journeyman. For many of you, mentoring, teaching, volunteering in your local bee club, presenting about bees and pollinators, staffing booths at fairs and community events and more! is what you do without expecting compensation. However, recognizing that service is part of Journeyman, and service after earning the Apprentice certificate can be counted towards the required 35 service credits.

TROPHALLAXIS - a JOURNEYMAN level discussion and networking group

SnoKing Beekeepers will start an online Journeyman level discussion group/club this fall. Interested beekeepers in Western WA – Journeyman candidates, Journeymen or Masters – will be invited to an organizational meeting on Zoom in September, time and date to be announced. We are looking for a venue to encourage beekeeper communication, education and networking after completion of the WASBA Beginner and Apprentice level. The topic of the first meeting will be the desired format for such a group. Possibilities include a Facebook group, a website forum/blog allowing members to start posts, comment and share profile information, use of online chat session software similar to zoom, or continuing with regular Zoom meetings.

   Please watch for a time and date for this organizational meeting, and start thinking of how to set up and maintain communication for such a group. Ideas are welcome! Email eliochel@snokingbka.org if you have suggestions or questions.

QUEEN REARING PROJECT

There are 2 ways to benefit from the Queen Rearing workshop. You can come multiple sessions, for the experience, to see the entire grafting process, and in order to earn queens reared in the club apiary. Or you can drop in and see what we are doing on a given day and we will explain what is going on that day. No experience or skills needed; we explain as we go through the process. Text Eli 206-859-7392 for address/directions.

If you wish to participate but are not able to on Saturdays, weekday opportunities to participate are also available because project maintenance is necessary before and between these Saturdays. Make mid-week appointments with Eli to participate and contribute extra hours.

QUEENS:

     While we are on the topic of queens, it is part of July dearth to find queens are MIA but sometimes turn up when workers start supporting her egglaying and raising brood again as nectar flow returns in the fall. On the other hand, queens are not as longlived as we would like.

     Remember that a queen has only 3 duties: to lay eggs, to emit pheromones and to hide from the beekeeper. That last duty is the one that causes beekeepers, particularly beginners, the most worry.

The mission of the SKBA, a 501c3 member club of WASBA, is to provide educational opportunities, networking and support to beekeepers and people interested in honey bees, particularly those involved in small-scale beekeeping in Washington State west of the Cascades.

Thank you for reading this newsletter. We hope to talk bees with you at the SnoKing Beekeepers Meeting Monday July 19, 2023.

Topic: Summer is too Short!Time: Jul 19, 2023 06:30 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85766269333?pwd=YXMwM0VnMGVyN0UrZVE5WUYvVEhlZz09

Meeting ID: 857 6626 9333

Passcode: 423799

One tap mobile

+12532158782,,85766269333#,,,,*423799# US (Tacoma)

+12532050468,,85766269333#,,,,*423799# US

Dial by your location

• +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)

• +1 253 205 0468 US

Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kCu6mP5lX

"We talk bees!" at SnoKing Beekeepers Association.