WILLAMETTE VALLEY BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION
07/24/23 MEETING MINUTES
7:09 President Rich F welcomed everyone and opened the meeting.
The Oregon State Fair is coming up August 25th through September 4. The Oregon State Beekeepers Association has a large booth to educate the fair-going public about honey bees. The sign-up sheet to help with the fair booth is through the ORSBA website. Helping with the booth comes with free fair admission. Everyone was also encouraged to enter products from the hive. To do that one needs to read the State Fair Exhibitor Handbook.
The ORSBA fall conference dates are Friday Oct 27 through Sunday, Oct 29 at the Riverhouse Hotel and Convention Center in Bend. Jeremy M has worked long and hard to bring great speakers and to change the format a bit so it is geared more toward backyard beekeepers. Speakers are from all over the world. OSU will present a brood disease workshop, which is worth the price of admission all by itself! Dr. Sarah Wood, from University of Saskatchewan, will stir controversy with her talk on EFB and fungicides in blueberries. Come early on Friday to take advantage of Dr. Dewey’s workshop on beginning beekeeping. It runs from 1:30-4:15.
A blueberry grower outside of Newberg, Curt Ellson, is looking for somebody willing to place a couple of colonies on his place for pollination. Paul J will visit his place to assess the situation.
This is the lowest swarm year that Rich has ever seen. The weather was cool and wet, then turned warm and dry in time for plants to pour on the nectar flow, stopping most thoughts of swarming because the bees were too busy gathering nectar.
Are we in a nectar dearth? Depending on location, yes in agricultural areas, on the verge in areas where the bees have access to irrigated fields or floral landscapes.
Is there any value in reinstalling supers after extracting honey? Only to allow the bees to clean the comb, and then they should be put on above the inner cover. Take them off again within a week.
Todd wished everyone Hap-bee New Year. If we want our bees to survive into 2024, we must treat mites aggressively. Then feed pollen patties and syrup to build up winter bees.
The club honey extraction equipment is available to paid club members. Contact Rich to reserve it.
Why does this batch of honey have so many bubbles. The honey got too deep in the extractor so that the bottom of the frame basket whipped air into the honey. Heat the honey a little and the bubbles will rise to the surface.
Rich gave an excellent presentation of the history and use of miticides. There was quite a bit of discussion about what treatments people are using and what treatments they don’t like and why.
As odd as it seems, we need to start winter preparation.
- Install robbing screens
- Pull honey supers this week
- Start mite treatments as soon as supers are clean next week.
- Start feeding after mite treatment
If one experiences robbing the most effective measure is to cover the entire colony with a sopping wet bed sheet and keep it wet until would-be robbers give up in disgust.
Raffle with fun prizes then meeting adjourned at 8:52
Minutes submitted by Anna Ashby for Elaine Timm