Important Notice: In the second half of the year, WE WILL BE MEETING ON SATURDAYS, in the hope that more of our members with Monday to Friday obligations will be able to attend. Please see newsletter for the schedule or our presenter’s page.
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
By Jeremy Egolf
“You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows,” (so said Bob Dylan) but neither we nor the weatherman knows with any certainty which way it will blow next week. At our place, a flock of barn swallows typically arrives on or very close to April 15th and heads south September 15th. We had reliably a couple dozen but last year the count dropped to about 14-17. So far this year we spotted one on April 14th and four more the next day, raising questions about what’s happening down south. Ours are not the cliff swallows who migrate between Argentina and San Juan Capistrano – we are not sure exactly where our flock winters in Central and South America.
We’ve seen both bumble and honey bees in our small patch of blooming fava beans so we look forward to planting many more to overwinter and help fill in the gap between the early spring alder pollination and the blackberry nectar flow.
The recent unseasonably warm and dry periods of coastal weather may stimulate brood production but the intermingled cooler and drizzly days discourage sufficient foraging to feed the growing colonies, so this is an especially important period to keep an eye on the food stores. Is there still a supply of honey or do they need some supplemental sugar syrup or fondant while awaiting the summer bloom? Consider adding a pollen supplement so the young adults don’t need to raid the bee bread for their protein.
It’s a good idea to also clear out dead bees which may be blocking the hive entrances and to hang out the yellow jacket traps if you haven’t already. If you plan to install a new package or nuc, it could be wise to prepare to do a mite treatment, unless you know for a certainty that the incoming bees have been treated very recently and know beyond any doubt that capped brood (i.e., in nucs) is free of mites – which may be a stretch of imagination. For those comfortable with oxalic acid, the installation of a package installation may be a good opportunity to fumigate the phoretic mites.
This issue of the newsletter has something of an international cast, with stories from Guam and New Zealand, casting some light on attempts to control varroa in the western Pacific. We’ve also included a fairly long but quite readable article on the use of “pseudoscorpions” to control varroa mites.
At our March meeting, Max Kuhn spoke on swarm control, an important issue for those fortunate beekeepers whose colonies not only survived but thrived. For April, we will have a review of dead-outs and a round-table on lessons learned and war stories, and in May OSU Bee Lab Director Ramesh Sagili will grace us with his presence.
For outreach, we’ve booked a booth for the Lincoln County Fair over the July 4th weekend, Watch this space as our plans solidify – we’ll need volunteers with any level of experience to help staff the event .
And we’re counting down the weeks until the April 24th deadline for members to purchase bees through our bulk order. Club package and Nuc ordering info here.
ANOTHER REMINDER: Please Respond to the PNW Honey Bee Survey!
Click on https://pnwhoneybeesurvey.com It is electronic and should take 5 minutes or less. The survey is for any and all members who had colonies last year they expected to overwinter. The survey covers questions on survivorship (loss) and managements for varroa mite control. Dewey Caron usually receives fewer than 6 Central Coast member responses. This is 15th year and he is hoping for a good response from all OR beekeepers including those in the Central Coast. The Survey is NOW OPEN (through end of April).
The survey is rather interesting in itself, and includes questions on types and longevity of colonies, supplemental feeding, mite testing and treatments used, re-queening and suspected causes of hive losses.
**********************
You will never be solicited by the club or asked for payment (other than annual dues). Be aware of scam emails.
Honey Bee Videos from OSU
Carolyn Breece of OSU Oak Creek Apiary fame has put together a video channel with some great stuff on many aspects of the honey bee world. Check it out.