Title: "Glimpse into Approaches to Global Beekeeping" presented by Sara Leedom at SnoKing Beekeepers monthly meeting
Time: Wednesday May 18, 2022 6:30 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)

Meetings are open to all beekeepers or those interested in beekeeping.

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82424106363?pwd=WIQVGOnhteseP3k1_gdkfnX0k0X6z_.1

Meeting ID: 824 2410 6363

Passcode: 117314

Description: For the past four months, Sara has been meeting with beekeepers, bee researchers, and other bee lovers in pursuit of understanding how culture impacts choices in beekeeping. This presentation will share some insights into how individuals and communities – from Thailand, Sri Lanka, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mexico – are cultivating honey bees and what some lessons are that might be of value for US beekeepers.Photo below from her blog, www.saraleedom.com

Bio: Sara Leedom is a newbie beekeeper with a passion for learning from others around the world. She splits her time between Whidbey Island, where her family are fourth-generation residents, and East Africa, where she co-founded a non-profit organization focused on entrepreneurship development in refugee communities. Originally from Washington, DC, Sara has lived in Rwanda for 10 years, and prior was in India and the UK. Sara’s an apprentice beekeeper at Oregon State University, has an undergraduate degree in African Literature, and an MBA from Oxford University.

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

     Also below in this issue:

Classes:

Next Beginner & Apprentice courses starting June 9th & 6th.

Volunteer Opportunities:

Evergreen State Fair, Return of the Salmon, WASBA 2022 Annual Conference

Hands On Hivesides - outdoors in person mini-classes Saturdays & Sundays

To Do List - May/June

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?

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES staffing booths at:

Evergreen State Fair, Monroe, WA, August 25-30, September 1-5, 2022 .

Sign up will be on signupgenius.com, same as last year.

Fair Committee Chairs: Walt and Anna Filson. Questions? Email them at waltfilson1@gmail.com. More information will be coming later this summer.

Return of the Salmon Celebration, Sultan, Washington, a Saturday in September 2022, exact date not yet known.

WASBA 2022 Annual Conference, Othello, WA October 1-2, 2022

May/June to-do list

Monitor feed and ventilation, and watch for swarm cells!

    Perhaps an inspirational message to beekeepers would be more useful than a to-do list. The rain is not unusual, but temps in much of Western WA are running about 5 degrees lower than average, both day highs and night lows.

    Populations of nucs and packages are not growing as fast as they would with warmer weather. Some new beekeepers have been puzzled with all the advice about keeping their bees well-supplied with syrup.

     So, warning! Changes coming! Beekeepers are seeing feeders emptied and patties, ignored weeks ago, now being consumed quickly. Now it’s important not to let the new (weak) hives run out while they are drawing out comb and building the broodnest. At daytime highs only in the 40s, the bees had difficulty leaving cluster and their brood warming  duties to take syrup. Even nibbling on a pollen sub patty directly  above them was difficult until now. However, bees are nothing if not resilient; it’s in the genetics of the superorganism we call a hive.

     This was a year that overwintered hives benefited from surplus “just in case” honey – honey left on hives by beekeepers in excess of average winter consumption.

      Leaving winter insulation such as moisture absorbency shims and insulation under the outer cover also helped bees by warming the syrup enough that they could take it. Also, condensation is prevented from forming above the cluster on the inner or outer cover and dripping on the cluster. This is particularly important when nucs and packages are still setting up house and their ventilation system. In a warmer spring, this would be easier because the rapidly building population would better control humidity through heating and ventilation.

       First year keepers are reporting mold on outside frames of their hive boxes. Without  the thermal stabilizing effect of drawn comb filled with brood, nectar, pollen, even honey that overwintered hives have, the new colonies need time to optimize thermoregulation. Slight increases or decreases in ventilation may help. Usually beginners would not see mold on outer frames but this is colder and damper than the bees usually deal with.

    Overwintered hives –Beekeepers have been adjusting the ventilation more than usual while spring broodraising generated more water vapor in the hive yet the weather remained cold and damp. 2nd-year beekeepers, you have the advantage of being able to leave top insulation or moisture absorbent materials on in order to help hives start up. Overwintered hives usually have high population and a ventilation system set up already. Small changes may aid the bees: slideout board in or out or halfway inbetween, or a crack between inner cover and outer cover less than ¼”.

    There have been several reports of hives knocked over or falling over. Watch for moles coming up under a leg of your hivestand, raccoons playing around for a sweet treat, those random wind gusts. Don’t be too proud to join western Washington keepers in topping your hives with bricks, or even cinder blocks, maybe decorated or placed with a message in mind. See Michael Duncan’s presentation last month for “The Language of Bricks.” Better yet, check out Jessica Neiffer’s stable apiary foundation project at that meeting. .

    Varroa treatments. Only now are the daytime highs reaching the minimum temperatures for many of the treatments, if you have detected mites by alcohol wash, sugar roll or mite count board.

     At this time of year for overwintered hives, we are usually checking for:

Swarm cells

Queen’s laying pattern (replacement needed?)

Brood nest congestion (adding empty frames/boxes or shifting frames to expand the broodnest)

Stores falling low enough during the buttercup dearth (right now in some areas) to halt colony buildup

Strong hives that need to be split or equalized with weaker hives

Readying supers for the blackberry flow.

     Prepare to do all that has been delayed as soon as the weather warms, as it must!

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

Topic: 'Glimpse into Approaches to Global Beekeeping" SnoKing Beekeepers May 18, 2022 meeting

Time: May 18, 2022 06:30 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82424106363?pwd=WIQVGOnhteseP3k1_gdkfnX0k0X6z_.1

Meeting ID: 824 2410 6363

Passcode: 117314

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