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
As we enjoy the unseasonably warm and dry early spring weather, you’ve undoubtedly seen the foragers out collecting nectar and pollen. The availability of pollen is probably stimulating brood production, which could be a harbinger of a bumper crop of honey this August.
But, unfortunately, there is a caveat, which is that the colonies may outgrow their stored food supplies, particularly as the windier days and occasional daytime showers discourage the foragers from bringing in fresh supplies. Therefore, it really is a good idea to check on the hives’ food stores and provide supplemental feeding as necessary. This would potentially include some pollen supplement, given that the young adult bees have their protein needs and feeding a pollen supplement gives them a source other than the bee bread, which the brood are fed.
Our colonies have their fairly predictable annual cycle tracking the contours of the micro-climate as do the flora they depend on, but our beekeeper’s cycle is slightly out of phase, and consists in large measure of anticipating and readying for the next season while addressing current issues.
As the Northern Hemisphere turns toward the sun, an Oregonian’s fancy anticipates drier days. You may recall the US Postal Service motto, “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.” Not so much for the bees. As the saying goes on the coast, “If you don’t like the weather, just wait five minutes, it will change.” Last summer’s coastal drought has long since been meliorated under the influence of atmospheric rivers. A harbinger of spring is the bloom of catkins on the alders (and, for a few adventurous tree planters, on the filberts that survived the elk). The bees have noticed, and we have reports they’re bringing in the creamy (pale yellow) and occasional orange-pink (filbert?) pollen with alacrity on the days they see fit to explore the neighborhood. On the other hand, late February and early March’s mix of rain, sleet, hail and snow had them sheltering indoors, but they again sprang forth with mid-March’s unseasonably warm and drier conditions (as I write, they and we face more days of drizzle). The bees which survived last year’s drought may well wonder if their keepers will provide a water source this summer (hint).
Speaking of survivors, please respond to Dewey Caron’s annual survey of hive losses (see page 4 of March newsletter) – we are the ones who stand to benefit from the result, and the questions themselves are a spur to improve our efforts to assist Apis Mellifera in our (for them) seemingly unnatural environment.
I hope our members have taken advantage of the odd February days when temperatures hit 55F and then March’s recent unseasonably warm days to explore the hives and audit food supplies and general health. Any visible eggs or (especially for us “mature” types with cataracts) larva? Max Kuhn reported he saw brood as early as February. Is there still a supply of honey or do they need some supplemental sugar while awaiting the summer bloom? Would they like a pollen supplement? Is it time to refurbish a hive? Chip off the burr comb? Retire those ten-year-old frames with ultra-dark wax? Clean out the mouse nest that somehow overwintered?
And speaking of pollen, the Honeybee Health Coalition’s new booklet summarizes some surprising findings about pollen supplements – featured on page 5 of March newsletter or here. This should generate much head-scratching this year. We look forward to discussing the implications of all this when Dr. Ramesh Sagili addresses our club this May regarding the OSU bee lab’s current research on the dual subjects of “Varroa Control and Pollen Supplements.”
At our February meeting Rick Olson presented on installing nucs and packages, which is timely since many of our members report deadouts and plan to replace their colonies (rather than attempting to reproduce the details, I refer you to Rick’s presentation Installing Nucs and Packages). We’re counting down the weeks until the April 24th deadline for members to purchase bees through our bulk order. Also at the meeting, Max Kuhn pitched the club’s queen sequestering cages, which are a useful means to maintain the queen in the hive (keeping the colony content) while producing a “brood break,” isolating all the reproductive phase varroa mites to a single frame of brood, which can then be frozen (after removing the queen, of course) – a handy complement to chemical treatments. Max’s documentation on queen confinement cages can be found here: Queen Confinement Cage.
At our March meeting, Max Kuhn will speak on swarm control, an important issue for those fortunate beekeepers whose colonies not only survived but have thrived.
In the world of outreach, Patti Johnson (a club member from Yachats) gave presentations regarding Honey Bees in February at the Siuslaw Middle School Science Class on two different days. Our Vice President, Jim Dawson, spoke on the radio about beekeeping, and, on March 19, we had a couple of tables at the Lincoln City Community Center Spring Celebration (thanks to Stan and Brenda Scotton for your support). We’ve booked a booth for the Lincoln County Fair over the July 4th weekend. Watch this space as our plans solidify.
Club package and Nuc ordering info here.
Stay tuned, the year is still young. See you in March!
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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.