6:30 PM THIS WEDNESDAY JULY 20, 2022

July meeting presentation topic:

QUEENS FOR THE WESTERN WA SMALL BEEKEEPER

Time: Jul 20, 2022 06:30 PM Pacific Time

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84637967777?pwd=YXpnSDVRMGQ3dEVGdWNGcVVVYWQrQT09

Meeting ID: 846 3796 7777

Passcode: 034685

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Queen Raising for the cool maritime climate of Western WA, including "Vertical, not Horizontal" swarm control, splits, nucs, queen raising. Proactive -- not reactive -- beekeeping for hobbyist or small scale yields greater success earlier in the year!

CONTENTS:

The bees have gone "nectar crazy" and beekeepers are just as frantic in the short Western Washington summer. Yes, summer will be over all too soon! Meet fellow keepers outdoors and in person before the cold rain returns!

Please make time to connect with other beekeepers at:

EVERGREEN STATE FAIR, Monroe

Signup for 3 -hour shifts at the club booth will be at: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0F4DAEAD2FA0FAC07-evergreen1

HIVESIDES: outdoors in person mini-classes from now until late August. Saturdays in Maltby & Sundays in Granite Falls. Open to all who have paid their 2021-2022 dues.

ALSO: other volunteer opportunities, pick up Giant Hornet traps at any of 4 locations, donated equipment sales continues

Also not to be missed:

Bee Punny! continues with a different Bee Joke each day of the year. Don’t miss the 365 bee jokes, posted one per each day of 2022! Guaranteed “groanworthy.” Bee sure to share them; why groan alone when we can groan together?

DRONE LAYING QUEENS, article by Eli Ocheltree.

     Given this year’s rainy overcast weather, we should expect a number of queens mating this spring to be drone layers and poorly mated queens. Already we are seeing both in our hives.

     At the last Maltby Hiveside, we verified that a new queen emerged in May as a drone layer. With a lack of 70+ degree sunny days, it’s not surprising she failed to mate. We used that hive to demo an alcohol wash and OAV (oxalic acid vaporization) with a wand. We will leave that colony intact long enough to see what mite drop we get in the next couple days because we did find 2% mite infestation in the mite wash.

     Then we must catch the drone-laying queen because she must be removed before another queen can be introduced or before the workers can be merged with a queenright colony. So, we will try the following “separate the queen" tactics.

    Shaking the entire colony through a queen excluder won't work, so we will skip that approach. She is petite and will slip through. We looked quickly at each frame but with overcast weather, she was not spotted. Next comes a thorough inspection of every frame on a bright sunny day with flashlight if necessary, transferring every frame to a new box. If we don't find her, then we can try putting only a single frame of brood back into the hive, waiting, then checking that frame to see if she is on it.

     If she is still not found, next comes shaking each frame and box completely out on a bedsheet to see if she will stay on the sheet after the foragers fly off to join other hives. Because she has not flown since her mating days, if she ever flew then, she should not know how to return to where the hive was.

     Different beekeepers have had success with all the above methods. Ask at the club meeting this Wednesday and we will share our success/failure with you. Do tell us what worked for you!

HIVESIDES HandsOn - Saturdays & Sundays until the Fair

For hands-on and in-person experiences, SnoKing annual membership includes our outdoor Hiveside mini-classes. For members current on dues, these are on Saturdays, usually 2pm to 4pm, at the Maltby location and on Sundays usually noon to 2PM at the Granite Falls location. They will continue until the Fair starts August 25. ONLY 5 WEEKENDS LEFT before the Fair!

Next scheduled Hivesides are this Saturday July 23, 2PM to 4PM Maltby and Sunday July 24, noon to 2PM Granite Falls. If interested in attending a Hiveside, please contact the Hiveside Manager  just before to make sure there are no location or time changes, or cancellations due to rain.

HiveSide Managers:

GRANITE FALLS - Ron - beebuddy.skba@gmail.com

MALTBY - Eli - eliochel@snokingbka.org

SULTAN - jneiffer77@gmail.com

Membership? If you have taken a class from SnoKing Beekeepers since September 2021, you paid dues for the 2021-2022 membership year, so you are a member and eligible to attend Hivesides.

EVERGREEN STATE FAIR, Monroe, WA, August 25-30, September 1-5, 2022 .Our club is staffing an agricultural display booth for the 12 days of the fair. This is your chance to meet in person some of those beekeepers you've only met online up until now! Volunteers receive free admission passes! Signup for 3-hour shifts will be at:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0F4DAEAD2FA0FAC07-evergreen1

If you need assistance, https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0F4DAEAD2FA0FAC07-evergreen1

T-SHIRTS:

First 40 members to sign up by August 1st for at least 2 Fair shifts will each receive a free “SnoKing Beekeepers” T-shirt, so sign up early! Those “early birds” will be contacted before the fair for T-shirt size.Fair Committee Chairs: Walt and Anna Filson. Questions? Email them at waltfilson@gmail.com .

SnoKing Beekeepers Association booth schedule for the

Location: Outdoor Agricultural Display Area

Please schedule 3-hour shifts on August 25 - 30, September 1 - 4 with 3 openings per shift. Note the fair is closed Wednesday, August 31st for changeover. The Fair also closes early the last day, Labor Day.

9:30-12:30

12:30-3:30

3:30-6:30

6:30-9:30

September 5 (Labor Day)

9:30-12:30

12:30-3:30

3:30-6:30

no 6:30-9:30 shift

NORTHERN (Asian) GIANT HORNET

SnoKing Beekeepers is again assisting the WSDA AGH Citizen Science Project by distributing trapping kits to Snohomish County residents and members.

Trapping instructions video for 2022: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypXaB3We_sU

Trapping bottle kit instructions for 2022: https://agr.wa.gov/departments/insects-pests-and-weeds/insects/hornets/citizen-science/trapping

Logging your trap location on the Citizen Science Trapping Map: https://agr.wa.gov/departments/insects-pests-and-weeds/insects/hornets/citizen-science/trapping/map-a-trap

PICKUP POINTS:

To reserve and pickup AGH trap kit materials, contact the distributor at the location convenient for you:

EVERETT - Karryn Meeker karrynme@gmail.com

MARYSVILLE - Pat Wehmeyer swehmeyer07@comcast.net

GRANITE FALLS - Sandra Forrer dragonflysg4@aol.com

MALTBY - Eli Ocheltree eliochel@snokingbka.org

WASBA 2022 ANNUAL CONFERENCE, Othello, WA October 1-2, 2022. Don't miss this great opportunity to meet fellow beekeepers! SnoKing Beekeepers will staff a vendor booth there at the in-person part of this hybrid (online & in person) conference.

Sign up for 2-hour shifts, 2 openings per shift at https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0F4DAEAD2FA0FAC07-wasba

Saturday Oct 1, 2022, 8AM – 6:30PM

Sunday Oct 2, 2022, 8AM – 1PM

RETURN OF THE SALMON Celebration, Sultan, Washington, Saturday September 24, 2022.

SnoKing Beekeepers will staff a public outreach booth at this free family friendly community event. Sign up for 2-hour shifts at: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0F4DAEAD2FA0FAC07-return

EQUIPMENT fundraiser:

Sale of equipment donated by the Heegs continues. $20 for an “as-is” 10-frame deep box with wood frames (no foundation in the frames) or one cleaned, repaired as needed, and painted by Ron Robinson for $30. Contact Ron 206-719-3604, beebuddy.skba@gmail.com

NEXT CLUB MEETING July 20

Topic: QUEENS for the Western WA Small BeekeeperTime: Jul 20, 2022 06:30 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)Join Zoom Meetinghttps://us02web.zoom.us/j/84637967777?pwd=YXpnSDVRMGQ3dEVGdWNGcVVVYWQrQT09Meeting ID: 846 3796 7777Passcode: 034685

Description: How to raise queens and overwinter them in order to have them when needed in late winter and early spring.

     We will open the meeting at 6:30 PM with announcements and updates, followed by Eli Ocheltree's presentation. The presentation and meeting will officially be over by 8:30 PM but we can continue to network, Q & A, or share with one another as long as people want to "talk bees."

     Looking forward to "talking bees" with you. Meetings are open to all beekeepers or those interested in beekeeping.