Rich had asked that I speak at the WVBA June picnic before it was cancelled due to the heat wave. I was going to discuss two new reports. Here is that information. New HBHC report on treating varroa mites The Guide to Varroa Mite Controls for Commercial Beekeeping Operations lays out a vision that addresses …
WVBA members were encouraged to complete a web-based survey document in a continuing effort to define overwintering losses/successes of backyard beekeepers in Oregon. This was the 12th year of such survey activity. I received 368 responses from OR backyarders, keeping anywhere from 1 to 40 colonies; Willamette Valley members sent in 22 surveys, 6 more …
The PNW honey bee survey is now open extending to end of April. WVBA members had been consistently participating but last year only 16 individuals reported on 88 fall hives. But those 16 had great news to report – the WVBA club report had the greatest survival of all the bee clubs with only a …
Some WVBA beekeepers may remember Emily (Cross) Painter. She served as Secretary of WVBA for a couple of years, 2014-2016 while a West Salem High student. She left then to spend a gap year in England and for last four years has been an undergraduate student at the University of Vermont. You may be interested …
January is not a month for bee colony inspection. But that does not keep us from worrying about them. So what can we do with our bees this month (besides just worrying)? It is possible to roughly group our overwintered colonies into two groups per our last fall judgement/inspection. We sought to have mostly strong …
PARASITIC MITE SYNDROME (PMS) Parasitic Mite Syndrome is a condition, not a specific disease whereby a honey bee colony dies rapidly in the fall months. The initial PMS field symptoms include reduced adult population and spotty brood pattern with dying larvae. These symptoms intensify over a short time as the colony gets close to dying. …
Doesn’t this just say fall? Monarch Butterfly and Honey Bee on Sunflower Photo by Kathy Garvey
SWARMING Problems from swarming Reduces the worker force Hive that swarms may not make any surplus honey Sometimes the swarm is not recovered Valuable queens can be lost There may be after-swarms which further reduces the worker force Factors that may lead to swarming (“Suggested”) Overcrowded hive Congestion of the brood area or lack of …
If you think of your hive as having three parts, swarm control will involve separating one of these three parts from the other two. The three parts are: 1) Queen 2) Brood and Nurse Bees 3) Flying Force To separate the Queen: Make a nucleus to separate the Queen from the parent colony which has …
Report Swarm! Report a swarm of bees in Willamette Valley.
