Meeting Wed 11/16 6:30PM

Topic: Review of 2022 WASBA Conference at SnoKing Beekeepers monthly meeting

Time: Nov 16, 2022 06:30 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86460204773?pwd=eVdqNDhsd2RzTlR2MDVlMG5Td0ZxQT09

Meeting ID: 864 6020 4773

Passcode: 660812

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MEETING AGENDA:

Winter is on everyone’s mind, so we will start with any questions, comments or concerns on that topic until about 7PM.

Then Eli will provide a synopsis of the 2022 WASBA Conference of Oct. 1 & 2 in Othello, WA, at the new WSU Bee Lab. More topics this year were of interest to hobbyists and small scale beekeepers than those of the last annual conference in 2020. Over 2 dozen topics were covered and there is something of interest for every beekeeper.

And, of course, the meeting is a chance to talk bees until sunrise! Well, maybe not that late. 

CONTENTS:

Also in this newsletter:

IN-PERSON MEETINGS

CLASSES START JAN 2023                            

HIVESIDES

MONTHLY TO-DO LIST

WEATHER NOTES

QUEEN PROJECT

WEATHER NOTES

MEMBERSHIP PRIZE DRAWING

IN-PERSON MEETINGS may resume:

We have a location for in person meetings in central Snohomish County at St. Thomas, 4525 87th Ave SE, Snohomish, WA 98290 . Our warmest thanks to the church for allowing us to hold meetings and activities there.  For more information and to volunteer help, contact Tawnya Sapp, tawnya.sapp@gmail.com , 253.797.0949.

Ideas and help needed for in-person meetings, particularly hands-on activities, including people to lead them:

                Wax food wraps

                Pollen patties and fondant frames

                Frame and box assembly

                AZ hive presentation

CLASSES start again in Jan. 2023

JOURNEYMAN Class starts 6:30PM Thursday Jan 5th and continues on consecutive Thursdays through March 9th.  We will cover the material for the academic test portion of Journeyman certification. SnoKing's emphasis is on beekeeping west of the Cascades but beekeepers from other areas are welcome to join us, although -- Warning! -- we may talk a lot about rain! The prerequisites for Journeyman certificate and the complete certification requirements can be found at www.wasba.org. Class info & registration can be found at www.snokingbeekeepers.org/journeymanapplication. If the information there does not tell you whether Journeyman is right for you, contact Eli before registering and paying to make sure it is. We are also offering:

BEGINNER: 4 consecutive Saturdays 8:30am to 12:30pm Jan. 14, 21 & 28 and Feb. 4th if needed.

APPRENTICE: 6:30PM 7 consecutive Mondays Jan 23rd through March 6th.

More information and registration forms can be found at www.snokingbka.org/classes .

HIVESIDES:

Hivesides are on hold until April or when the weather permits inspection. In the spring, beginners are often most interested in nuc/package installations. Any member in Snohomish County or North King County ordering a nuc or package who would be willing to host a Saturday or Sunday nuc or package installation, please call Eli 206-859-7392 or email eliochel@snoking bka.org. It is a good way to meet several other beekeepers, often in your neighborhood.

HiveSide Managers:

Granite Falls - Ron - beebuddy.skba@gmail.com 206-719-3604

Maltby - Eli - eliochel@snokingbka.org  206-859-7392

MONTHLY TO-DO LIST by Eli Ocheltree:

MONITOR:

Clear entrances, protect from condensation, and feed should already be in the hive where bees can reach it.

Entrances

First hard frost may bring so many bee deaths that a pile may appear on the ground in front of the colony, or the undertaker bees of a colony may fall behind removing the corpses due to inclement weather. Use a tool to reach inside hive entrances to make sure bees can get out for cleansing flights. One disadvantage of using robbing screens to reduce entrances is that the berm of dead bees just inside the hive may not be visible to the beekeeper. However, robbing screens are better deterrents to vespids than simply reducing entrance size. Member beekeepers are reporting that the yellow jackets and hornets are still at the bee entrances, proving that they fly easily at 10 F degrees lower than honey bees. In the photo below, this nuc seems to have repelled at least 2 yellow jackets at the opening. Reducing the entrance down with duct tape may have been enough to help the guards fend them off. A white plastic robbing screen could have been fastened to this double nuc on a 10 frame although a wooden one would not fit, but I did not think of that until later.

Protection

If wrapping hives, remember that top insulation should be greater than side insulation to encourage condensation forming to the sides of the hive and not dripping onto the cluster.

Moisture shim or quilt board should be in place and any additional top insulation under outer top cover.

Feed

Dry feed (fondant, sugar blocks, dry sugar, and or pollen patty) should be below the moisture absorbency and insulation so that bees can reach it.

RELAX & PLAN:

Stop stressing, biting nails, etc. This is a beekeeper’s “down time”.

Attend SnoKing Beekeepers monthly meeting this Wednesday. Check out benefits of joining local clubs by attending their meetings, checking their websites and facebook pages, etc.

Share information, catch up with current articles and research.

Evaluate last season and plan next year, ordering equipment and bees as needed.

WEATHER NOTES:

This fall weather is confusing beekeepers and bees. The warmest, driest October in my 8 years of beekeeping has been followed by some of the coldest temperatures I’ve ever seen in November. Only weeks ago, the bees’ response to dry feed was to remove it from the hive dropping it on the slideout board below the screened bottom. Now, the bees are either too tightly clustered to remove the sugar or they may start using it.

I hope they have not used up too much of their winter stores up before the coldest part of the winter. That would usually be  December and January but I’m no longer assuming anything will be normal this winter. The weather we are experiencing in my part of Snohomish county is colder than December & January have been some years in the past, yet also drier than those years.

     “Beekeeping is like gambling for people who can’t count cards.” Thank you, Sarah Pulliam for giving me that saying. The best hand we are dealt is knowing that we did our best for our bees. If our colonies have enough bees, are staying dry, with enough to eat, and healthy because we treated for mites, they should survive winter. So we should relax, even if we can't count cards!

QUEEN PROJECT:

Queen rearing and overwintering in double nucs update: wrapped the hives after the first hard freeze, a freeze in the 20s. Below are the FLIR pictures before and after the wrapping. Black bee cozies on the center 2 show as warm, partly because the black plastic absorbs heat in the daylight. Reflectix wrap may not be more efficient but shows as colder in the flir pictures. Our plan to test overwintering them as smaller colonies in double nuclei stacks now appears the best method to overwinter them.

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?

Bee Punny! Bee Joke of the Day

MEMBERSHIP DRAWING: Live at the meeting, we will draw for the 2 great prizes pictured here - quilt handcrafted by Anna Filson and a jacket and  veil donated by Guardian Bee Apparel. All names of those who renewed by paying their Oct. 1, 2022 – Sept. 30, 2023 dues are included in the drawing. First name drawn can pick either of the 2 prizes and the runner-up gets the remaining prize.

     In addition to donating the jacket and veil, Guardian Bee Apparel says our members can use the following promo code for 10% off until the end of the year: Code SnoKing10. Their triple layer jackets and suits and gloves are top of the line with durable construction and metal zippers.

MASTER BEEKEEPER program changes are coming!

WASBA curriculum major changes in 2023 appear to be limited to development of an academic core for Master Beekeeper by WSU Agricultural Extension through Dr. Kelly Kulhanek, assistant professor.

WASBA asked for input via a survey in its last newsletter, so if you wish input into the future Master Beekeeper program, watch for those opportunities to be offered by WASBA.

Hope to see you at the 6:30PM Wednesday Nov. 16. Just as our bees will do this winter, it is important for us beekeepers to winter together, cluster, network and pass items to each other!

Looking forward to talking bees with you,

SnoKing Beekeepers Association.

Review of 2022 WASBA Conference

Time: Nov 16, 2022 06:30 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86460204773?pwd=eVdqNDhsd2RzTlR2MDVlMG5Td0ZxQT09

Meeting ID: 864 6020 4773

Passcode: 660812

One tap mobile

+12532158782,,86460204773#,,,,*660812# US (Tacoma)

+17193594580,,86460204773#,,,,*660812# US

Dial by your location

+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)

+1 719 359 4580 US

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

15324 228th St SE, Snohomish, WA, USA
(206) 859-7392

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