Let's gather 6:30PM tonight Wed 2/21 to listen to a short presentation by David Schiefelbein and let's also update each other on what's happening in our hives, be it signs of bees brooding up and coming out of winter, staying in cluster for another month, or deadouts.

Pollen forage is already available if weather is fair enough and warm enough to allow bees to collect. Photo of bee on willow above and on filbert (hazelnut) below. These are already blooming in Snohomish County, lowlands a week or so ahead of higher elevations, but promising spring will come.

Topic: SnoKing Monthly Meeting Nucs & Packages

Time: Feb 21, 2024 06:30 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting

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Meeting ID: 841 0793 8300

Passcode: 436007

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Meeting ID: 841 0793 8300

Passcode: 436007

Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/knz3MYTKw

Below you will find classes, discussion group meetings and other networking/sharing opportunities of 2024. Some notices are not time-critical, however, this beekeeper "down time" may be the best season to connect and share information. After winter comes spring and summer with so many demands on a beekeeper's time surface all at once, that there may be little time to take classes.

If planning community or club service to meet Journeyman certification requirements, remember the Apprentice certificate should be completed before that service. Next Apprentice class starts Tuesday Feb. 6.

CONTENTS:

SnoKing speaker Feb. 21 David Schiefelbein

Membership - new and renewal

Classes

"Auditing" classes - free for members

Beginner - Feb 3-24 Saturdays

Journeyman - continuing through March 18 6:30PM Mondays

Apprentice - just started, continuing through April 2 6:30PM Tuesdays

'State of the Hive':

 Feature Article

My Beekeeping Journey Part 3,

Carol Moore, Journeyman Candidate

Healing through Hives

beekeeping class reimbursement for military veterans and family members

Outreach & Service Opportunities

Teach Me Bees podcast

Discussion Groups

   The Hive Mind 2nd Thursdays

   Facebook closed discussion group

  Trophallaxis 1st Wednesdays - March 6

topic "Queen Introduction Methods"

Donations

Extractors

Calendars

Teach Me Bees podcast - service opportunity

Club Apiaries - closed for the season until further notice

Our February club speaker will be Dave Schiefelbein of Elite Honey https://www.elitehoneyandbee.com/ says he has “a presentation that I (Dave) have given to bee clubs and other groups that tells a bigger story of where our honey bees come from. It's a bit of a behind the scenes look at how and where the packages, nucs and queens that we receive in the PNW come from. It's all documented with the photos I have been taking since 2011. Most hobby beekeepers just know a package of bees when it shows up at their pickup spot. But most don't know how it got there. My presentation tells that story.”

     After Dave's presentation, we will continue with club discussion of what is going on in our hives right now. If you need encouragement, remember deadouts are not a complete negative! You have gained experience, a honey bank for your survivor hives or a sweet reward for your hard work despite the disappointing results.

    Brief review of nuc/package ordering, pickup, installation, care and followup, etc. This is not just for beginners, but also a review for potential mentors. If you mentors have successfully done it in the past, can you explain it to help someone else succeed? 

MEMBERSHIP - Please join or renew to support our club activities in 2024.

  SnoKing Beekeepers membership year runs from October 1 to September 30 of each year. Our thanks to those who have already renewed. If you have not already done so, please join or renew by completing our membership application at www.snokingbka.org/join and payment of $30 via paypal to snokingba@gmail.com or to the Donate button at the top right of our webpage header:

CLASS COMPLETION:

      Is finishing a certification started in 2023 or a previous list one of your 2024 resolutions? Winter is the best time to finish, particularly any academic portions. If you already have paid and have the manual, you can join a current class session to finish. Just email eliochel@snokingbka.org to get on the weekly class email list.

AUDITING CLASSES: In addition, SnoKing offers an unusual member benefit: a member can audit a class for free for any level already achieved. Email eliochel@snokingbka.org to be placed on the weekly class email list at no cost for current members.

This is of particular benefit to those who took classes pre-2019, before the major rewrite of the manuals. Any member who previously earned a certificate is welcome to join a current class for free and access the most current information. The easiest way to join as an “alumnus” is to email eliochel@snokingbka.org and ask to receive the weekly class emails with link, handouts and other information.

Military Veterans and your families:

Thank you for your service. In addition to mere words such as those, there are some programs that thank you by assisting with some expenses such as beekeeping classes.

If you are a veteran or a family member thinking of starting beekeeping, there are funds for reimbursement of some beekeeping class fees and perhaps for other classes as well. You fill out the form at  https://wafarmvetco.org/healing-through-hives (photo of website above) and ask about reimbursement. It should apply to WASBA certificate classes taught by SnoKing or any other member clubs of WASBA.

CLASSES offered year-round via zoom with SnoKing Beekeepers Assn.

All classes include manual, online testing, and WASBA certificate plus WASBA 2024 membership upon course completion. Please register as far in advance as possible so that print manuals can be ordered and mailed to you before the beginning of class.

Next BEGINNER starts 6:30PM March 25, continuing for 6 more Monday evenings. Registration and more information at www.snokingbka.org/beginnerapplication

APPRENTICE has started on Tuesdays 6:30 PM and meets for 7 sessions total, ending April 2. Registration and more information at www.snokingbka.org/apprenticeapplication

JOURNEYMAN continues through March 18. Registration and more information can be found at www.snokingbka.org/journeymanapplication or ask to be notified when the next cohort starts.

Questions? Call or text 206-859-7392 or email eliochel@snokingbka.org.

Next TROPHALLAXIS zoom meeting Wed March 6 at 6:30PM is open to WASBA Journeyman candidates, Journeymen, and Master Beekeepers. The March 6 topic will be "Queen Introduction Methods".

Masters, Journeymen and Journeyman candidates: Trophallaxis, a Journeyman and Beyond online networking and sharing group for all who have taken or are taking the academic portion of the WASBA Journeyman, is meeting by zoom on first Wednesdays. Although hosted by SnoKing Beekeepers, this discussion group is open to all Washington State Beekeepers who are Journeyman or Masters, and those who are taking or have taken the academic course of WASBA Journeyman certification.

Other groups such as The Hive Mind can meet the needs of beekeepers not yet taking Journeyman. See that information elsewhere in this newsletter.

NOTICE: There will be one essential rule at Trophallaxis and at any meeting or activity hosted by SnoKing Beekeepers. Ron Robinson stated it best for our Facebook discussion group, when he said:

"SKBA prides itself on the fact we are not like other groups on Facebook. We have become known as a safe group for keepers of all levels to comfortably ask questions and opinions without being blasted or publicly humiliated for asking what may seem like a very basic question to others. Any harassing, bullying, demeaning behavior, or such will not be tolerated. We have a zero tolerance policy and such behavior will result in immediate removal from club and all club activities."

Above: WS-5000 Ambient Weather Station report at Maltby Apiary, 15324 228th ST SE, Snohomish, WA 98296, for the last couple months. Still too wet and cold most days for even cleansing flights.Yellow Jacket traps deployed but no YJs caught in the traps yet, but a few bees were. Here's hoping that those were older scout bees whose time was up anyway.

STATE OF THE HIVE - Eli Ocheltree

Hi, beekeepers! Here’s hoping that you feel that you have done the best you can for the bees and they need to do the rest. Chart of temperatures above reminds us that individual bees are cold-brooded, even though the cluster is warm-blooded. If we disturb bees and they fly out, even at 50 F, they may not be able to return to the hive before their tiny bodies are chilled to the point that their muscles can't work. Other than clearing entrances and checking to see if they need more supplemental feed, we observe and wait.

We don't lift even an outer telescoping lid unless we have a reason. Broodminder graphs don't tell us much, although one of the Maltby hives is included above. The temperature increase for the larger cluster hives indicates that they did start raising brood by the end of January. "Reading" a slideout board such as the one below tells us a little more. Remember beekeeping is supposed to be fun and simple: If you have followed "Keep the bees dry, fed, and treated for mites and “do no harm,” this is beekeeping planning, networking, and planning time.

Wooden slideout bottom board above. Cluster is small, near south end of hive.

“Patience is a virtue”, but we can still tick items off a winter checklist:

WINTER CHECKLIST:

Clear entrances.

Count & examine dead on ground or on bottom board or slideout board.

Check for adequate stores that bees can access.

     Heft or weigh without lifting inner cover.

If unsure, add emergency (dry) feed above inner cover.

Dismantle and store deadouts.

     Don’t supply yellowjacket nest boxes!

     Don’t draw robbers to your apiary, bees or wasps!

     Woodenware stored dry lasts longer

Salvage resources.

     If a colony dies due to low population, starvation, mite load, etc., but not disease:

     Remaining stores can be given to survivor colonies. This is very useful if there is no good place to store them.

If adding honey bank stores from your freezer to your hives, the bees appreciate it if you warm the frames you are adding to room temperature before placing frames in hives.

Sometimes an inner cover can be lifted off a colony, a super of stores can be quickly placed on a colony and the inner cover replaced on the super. However, resist the urge to open hives simply out of curiosity. Stop and ask yourself: Will this stress/harm the colony? Is it necessary? Will it cause chilled brood?

Instead, repair, mend, and plan.

     Imagine having a needed piece of equipment ready at hand when you need it in the spring.

Plan and order. That’s what the wonderful wintertime is for.

Attend meetings, classes, discussion groups and use beekeeping resources.Thank you for reading my thoughts above. Eli O.

Best Wishes for a Great Beekeeping Year in 2024!

FEATURE ARTICLE

The following article is written by one of our members, a Journeyman candidate, whom I asked to write out her beekeeping journey. Everyone's beekeeping is unique and sometimes it's only in the telling, that a beekeeper realizes how much she has learned. 

Feature Article:

My beekeeping journey – part 3

Carol Moore

 I just concluded my seventh season of beekeeping, and I have no live colonies.  No queen-right colony has ever made it through a winter. Others in my area successfully overwinter bees and the only difference I see is that they treat year-round for mites with oxalic acid, and I don’t. My hope is that by sharing my story I can help other beekeepers avoid this pitfall.

Each year I’ve made changes to my setup based on my research and input from other beekeepers.  In 2023 I separated the hives inside my apiary so I wouldn’t have drifting.  I turned the entrances to face more south than west.  I added 2x4s under the bottom boards to keep them off the cement square bases and elevated the back of each hive for water drainage.  I inspected them regularly, faithfully fed with 2:1 sugar syrup, and found and marked each queen.

My first nuc (the CALM hive) expanded to fill two deep boxes quickly so I gave them more room.  My second nuc (the NASTY hive) grew too but was always in attack mode.  Several times I had to walk away and let them settle before finishing an inspection.  As August ended I had two thriving hives. In early September, I treated them with Apiguard gel according to the directions.  My rational for not using OAV was that they were new nucs and I had never seen any mite drop.

Carol Moore continues:

The changes I made to my overwinter set-up included purchasing peaked outer covers to help with rain issues.  I tied down roofing material that extended past the drip line of the peaked outer covers.  I gave the hives moisture blankets and foam insulation.  And when the temperature dipped, I put on insulated wraps, fed them, and closed them up for winter.

Every time the temperature went above 50 degrees, I checked for bee activity.  In November both hives were looking good.  In early December I was able to open both hives to check their food stores.  The NASTY hive was buzzing with activity, and they stung me twice.  The CALM hive was too quiet and there was barely any activity.  I closed the hives to watch and wait.  By December 15th the CALM hive was dead.  There was a layer of dead bees on the bottom board, and they still had lots of stored honey, dry sugar, and fondant.

 On November 20th and December 15th, the NASTY hive had activity.  On December 29th I went into the hive and found a very small cluster of bees with the marked queen.  By January 5th the cluster and queen were gone.   As with the CALM hive, there was a layer of dead bees on the bottom board, and they still had lots of stored honey, dry sugar, and fondant.

Carol Moore continues:

I’ve researched new hive types thinking that maybe I need to insulate and handle moisture better.  Until last week I wasn’t willing to admit that mites have been killing my bees and I haven’t been doing what is necessary to deal with the issue.  Note the mites on the bee at the bottom of the picture above.  I’ve read (and been told) “if you can see mites on bees there is mite infestation, and it may be too late to save the hive!”

My conclusion is that my system for controlling Varroa mites isn’t working. I relied on counting mite drop and thinking that because my nucs were new they shouldn’t need more than the once yearly treatment.  This has been a hard lesson for me to learn, accept, and finally admit! If you don’t treat regularly, the Varroa mite will overtake and eventually collapse your hives.  I understand there could be other causes for my colonies to die, but before I can address anything else I have to deal with mite infestation differently.

I am the kind of person who procrastinates when something is difficult.  I find the OAV wand/battery process daunting.  For 2024 my plan is to purchase the equipment necessary to make the process easy so I will do it regularly.  This year I am also going to start with packages rather than nucs and take advantage of the natural brood break.   My journey isn’t over.  I will be a successful beekeeper!  I won’t give up!  If nothing else, I am persistent!. . . Carol Moore, Journeyman candidate.

Journeyman Service Opportunities:

Outreach/Service Opportunities are most frequent at this time of year. If you might be interested in a certain area or type of group presentation, contact Eli 206-859-7392, eliochel@snokingbka.org.

One way to reach out to the public is through podcasts. “Teach Me Bees" is a podcast from Honey 4 Hope in Monroe, Washington, co-hosted by Dave Wescott and Scott Calentine. They welcome just about anyone with bee experience and episodes are about 30-40 minutes long. If you're interested in joining us, email scott@honey4hope.org.

FREE for pickup by SnoKing members at the Maltby Apiary. Free cinder blocks and quart glass canning jars donated to our club by fellow beekeepers. Text Eli 206-859-7392 or email eliochel@snokingbka.org .

DISCUSSION GROUPS:

SnoKing club ASK A BEEKEEPER sessions will pick up again in spring; dates and times TBA.

THE HIVE MIND networking group for beginning (and advanced!) beekeepers continues on 2nd Thursdays. Contact Gina Cuff ginacuff@gmail.com for information and zoom link by monthly reminder email.

SNOKING BEEKEEPERS Facebook discussion group is open to all Western Washington Beekeepers and continues throughout the year. Ask to join on Facebook or by emailing beebuddy.skba@gmail.com Ron Robinson with the email that you use on Facebook and he can invite you to join.

     Although the academic course is only part of Journeyman certification, many Journeyman candidates find that it gives them knowledge and confidence to complete the other requirements, particularly the service hours requirement which may include mentoring, presentations, and other club & community service hours.

DONATIONS:

    Donations are growing our club; thank you to all who donate equipment, money and time. Please continue to help us in 2024 as well, including by payment of annual dues via paypal after completing membership form at www.snokingbka.org/join .

If you need a donation letter as receipt, SnoKing Beekeepers is glad to provide one as a 501(c)3. Contact Eli 206-859-7392, eliochel@snokingbka.org

2024 Class auditing benefit for SnoKing Members:

     Is finishing a certification started in 2023 one of your 2024 resolutions? Winter is the best time to finish, particularly any academic portions. Members who already have paid for an earlier session and already have the manual, are welcome to retake the course for free. 

EXTRACTORS: Three extractors are now available for use by club members. Get more information at the meeting or contact Ron 206-859-7392 or Eli. 

CLUB APIARIES:

Closed until April/May except by appointment

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

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

We look forward to talking bees with you at 3rd Wednesday monthly meetings. Zoom link for the next meeting:

Topic: SnoKing Monthly Meeting Nucs & Packages

Time: Feb 21, 2024 06:30 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84107938300?pwd=NFFNbm9sUENYcmV4S0U1a1ByNWRpdz09

Meeting ID: 841 0793 8300

Passcode: 436007

One tap mobile

+12532050468,,84107938300#,,,,*436007# US

+12532158782,,84107938300#,,,,*436007# US (Tacoma

Dial by your location

• +1 253 205 0468 US

• +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)

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.

"We talk bees!" at SnoKing Beekeepers Association.

Best wishes for 2024: keep your hopes high and your mite counts low!