Do you have enough bee books? Is there room for one more on your shelf? If yes, consider Raising Resilient Bees by Eric and Joy McEwen. (Chelsea Green Publishing. 2023. 254 pages). Eric and Joy McEwen live on a 35 acre farm in the remote Illinois River valley of SW Oregon close to the California […]
Robber bees are foraging honey bees gone bad! Robbing bees take the fast track to riches – they invade another colony to steal insufficiently protected stored honey reserves or sugar water being fed to a colony other than their own. Robber bees aren’t trying to destroy another colony, rather they seek to save their own
Spring – the busiest bee season! Like the other four seasons (swarming, supering, harvesting, fall), spring comes with varying activities for beekeepers depending on weather conditions and our beekeeping objectives. Beekeeping is a continuous learning experience. In spring, bee colonies need to grow their colony population and rebuild their stocks of honey. Our “reluctant” March
What an interesting spring Read More »
Beekeepers MUST work in the spring to keep mite numbers low in September and October. The concept: if we flatten the mite growth curve in the spring their eventual population will not be as large and the harmful viruses they foster will mean less fall colony collapse and overwinter colony losses. Read to end for
Start mite control in spring Read More »
Many WVBA members probably saw the news about the development of a honey bee vaccine to protect colonies from American foulbrood. The most recent good news was that the USDA has issued a conditional license for two years for vaccine use. The vaccine, PrimeBEE, should be available for purchase in 2023. And additional good news
Vaccinating honey bees Read More »
Well winter finally caught up to us after milder than normal summer and fall months. Our bees were winding down but it became serious business for them after mid-October now into November rain and colder nighttime temperatures. We should now shut down for any further manipulations with a couple of exceptions. We can still arrange
Finishing the Season Read More »
August was definitely NOT a month for much hive examining. Temperatures were hot and hives full of bees (and maybe supers had some honey). September is a critical juncture in our annual mite fight – take samples NOW. A nice resource is the August BetterBEE Buzz (a bee supply newsletter) “Winter Bees and Varroa Mites”.
September in Apiary Read More »
We typically think of honey bee foraging as gathering pollen and nectar from flowers. However, they also forge for propolis and water. As the bee nutrition studies at OSU by Ramesh Sagili and postdoc Priya Charkrabarti demonstrate, the nutritional requirements of honey bees are quite complex. It turns out that maybe nectar and pollen doesn’t
Spring is the busiest time of the year for the beekeeper. Bee populations develop rapidly and changes happen very quickly in the beehive. It is a challenge for the beekeeper to stay ahead — to anticipate, not merely re-act. We often have to make decisions based on relatively little information. It is probably the toughest
INFORMATION YOU CAN USE Read More »
The PNW honey bee survey is now open, extending to end of April. Survey can be completed in only 5-10 minutes. Go to: https://pnwhoneybeesurvey.com/survey To examine past survey results look for WVBA survey report on same site under survey results. I ASK WVBA members to complete a survey again this year. Last year, the 22
Annual survey open – FLASH Feeding makes difference Read More »
