Topic: SnoKing Beekeepers monthly meeting Time: Dec 21, 2022 06:30 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada) https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83912423766?pwd=bysxK1BueUtnRzFXOUp4Vld6NnNWUT09 Meeting ID: 839 1242 3766 Passcode: 815687 One tap mobile +12532050468,,83912423766#,,,,*815687# US +12532158782,,83912423766#,,,,*815687# US (Tacoma) Dial by your location +1 253 205 0468 US +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) |
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Sign in Wednesday 6:30PM to share what's going on in our hives and in our club. This late in December is a great time to stay inside where it is warm and "talk bees." MEETING AGENDA: We will start with a quick business update and the outlook for 2023. Then, winter is on everyone’s mind, so we will start with any questions, comments or concerns about our hives until about 7PM. Remember we can share screen one member at a time, so show us your hives and ideas. Then we will discuss and/or view a winterization talk given by Alan Woods at the 2022 WASBA Conference last October. Here's the link to Alan's 30-minute recording, followed by about 10 minutes of questions: https://youtu.be/fLzcBQAp2fU We can watch the 30 minute talk as a group or if enough people have watched the talk before the meeting, I can summarize the ideas and we can discuss it from there. And, of course, the meeting is a chance to talk bees until sunrise! Well, maybe not that late. |
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Also in this newsletter: IN-PERSON SOCIALS CLASSES START JAN 5, 2023 HIVESIDES MONTHLY TO-DO LIST WEATHER NOTES QUEEN PROJECT MEMBERSHIP PRIZE WINNERS |
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Our first IN-PERSON SOCIAL of 2023 will be Saturday Jan 21st 10:30AM to 12:30PM. We will be decorating hive boxes. Stencils, brushes, acrylic paints, sealant and all supplies provided by the club. Bring your own painted box or help decorate the club’s boxes to be used at the demo sites in 2023. Pictured are examples of the kind of stenciling we will do. We will meet at St. Thomas Greek Orthodox Church, 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, contact Tawnya Sapp, tawnya.sapp@gmail.com , 253.797.0949. Ideas and help needed for more in-person get-togethers, particularly hands-on activities, including people to lead them, maybe some of the following: Wax food wraps Pollen patties and fondant frames Frame and box assembly AZ hive presentation |
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CLASSES: All levels start again in Jan. 2023. JOURNEYMAN
If any of you beekeepers are hesitating to take the Journeyman class, we have heard that WASBA Journeyman certification will be a prerequisite for the new WASBA Master Beekeeper course to be offered next year. So, starting Journeyman this January would allow enough time to complete certification before 2024. The Master Beekeeper online course is in the process of development by Dr. Kelly Kulhanek of WSU and WASBA. JOURNEYMAN Class starts 6:30PM Thursday Jan 5th and continues for 10 consecutive Thursdays through March 9th, covering 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. |
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We are also offering: BEGINNER: 4 consecutive Saturdays 8:30am to 12:30pm Jan. 14, 21 & 28 and Feb. 4th. Feb. 4 is actually a makeup day (due to power outage or other unexpected problem) or for test review or questions, if needed. https://www.snokingbka.org/beginnerapplication APPRENTICE: 6:30PM 7 consecutive Mondays Jan 23rd through March 6th. Please also keep March 13th open as a makeup day (due to power outage or other unexpected problem) or for test review or questions, if needed. https://www.snokingbeekeepers.org/apprenticeapplication |
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HIVESIDES: Hivesides are waiting on Mother Nature, so are on hold until April or when the weather permits inspection. Think about volunteering to host if you would like company or support installing your package or nuc. In the spring, beginners are often most interested in nuc/package installations, and weather is usually too cool for lengthy hive inspections, anyway. 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 |
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MONTHLY TO-DO LIST by Eli Ocheltree: Monitor: Clear entrances, check moisture absorbent materials and replace or fluff as needed. Check slideout boards under screened bottom boards to see how active your bees are, and what they are doing. With day time highs in the 30s and 40s, do not go below the inner cover, except in an emergency. Even checking below the outer cover should be limited to brief peeking. Protect bees from condensation, and feed should already be in the hive where bees can reach it. The most you can do at these low temps without harm to the bees is to add sugar or fondant to the inner cover or candy board above the frames without disturbing them further and chancing chilling them. |
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Entrances Last snow melt after a couple weeks with night lows in 20s revealed bee corpses on the ground in front of the colony. Photograph or estimate the number and record, particularly if you have concerns. The dead may appear in bursts: the undertaker bees of a colony may fall behind removing the corpses due to inclement weather and then catch up suddenly. Use a tool to reach inside hive entrances to make sure bees can get out for cleansing flights. A small upper entrance can also be used for thos flights if the lower one is blocked. 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, but may block bees when cleansing flight weather happens. So, be sure to clean behind mouse guards, robbing screens, or any entrance reducers you may be using. |
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However, beware of completely removing the robbing screens because they will be needed as early as January to deter vespid queens emerging from dormancy as soon as the weather warms, ever so little. Robbing by neighbor hives will probably not start until a minimum foraging temperature of 45 degrees F is reached, and usually not even that early. |
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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. A cinder block or paving stone and strapping hive stack together and to the hive support are extra insurance against windstorms and varmints. 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. If hefting or weighing the hive or just nerves! lead you to think that the bees need more, dry feed can be added to top side of inner cover or candy board. Then, |
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RELAX & PLAN: Stop stressing, biting nails, etc. This is a beekeeper’s “down time”. Or locate another beekeeper with a FLIR, and reassure yourself as Leah Mesford did with her new HIKMICRO E1L Compact Thermal Imaging Camera in the photos above. Both hives are looking great, Leah! Brood to the bottom of both hives to start! 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. |
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We hope the bees 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 has been some years in the past, but every year is different in Western Washington. |
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“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! |
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QUEEN PROJECT: Queen rearing and overwintering in double nucs update: Nothing to add since the last newsletter. We 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. Here's hoping our plan to test overwintering them as smaller colonies in double nuclei stacks was the best method to overwinter them. Overwintering reserve queens would greatly increase success and sustainability of any apiary, given our unreliable Western Washington weather. |
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Also not to be missed: Bee Punny! will end on December 31st! 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 2022 will be replaced by Bee Trivia & Tips 2023, one drop of sweet wisdom each day for the 365 days of the new year! |
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MEMBERSHIP DRAWING: The winner of the gorgeous quilt pictured above is Brandy Eckman! The winner of the Guardian Bee jacket with veil was Sarah Wright. Congratulations to our winners and thanks to all who remembered to renew membership, getting us off to a solvent start in 2023! 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. |
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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. We expect WASBA Journeyman certification to be a prerequisite for the course, so take Journeyman asap if you are looking forward to the opportunity to take an in-state Master option, instead of going out of state to get Master Beekeeper. |
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Hope to see you all 6:30PM Wednesday Dec. 21st. 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. Monthly Meeting Time: Dec 21, 2022 06:30 PM Pacific Time https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83912423766?pwd=bysxK1BueUtnRzFXOUp4Vld6NnNWUT09 Meeting ID: 839 1242 3766 Passcode: 815687 One tap mobile +12532050468,,83912423766#,,,,*815687# US +12532158782,,83912423766#,,,,*815687# US (Tacoma) Dial by your location +1 253 205 0468 US +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) Meeting ID: 839 1242 3766 Passcode: 815687 Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kdYGQzVrsc |
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