Meeting Minutes July 22, 2019

Willamette Valley Beekeepers Association

General meeting minutes

July 22, 2019

The meeting was called to order at 7:05 by president, Rich Farrier. He reminded us that he has the contact information for somebody who has property and would like to host honey bee colonies.

The club extractor is being used. There is a list for those wishing to borrow the extractor and equipment. This benefit is only available to members. Contact Rich to get on the list.

News item 1: The state of Washington just passed a law that protects beekeepers from civil liability.

News item 2: As a thank you to Meduri Farms for donating sugar to the bee club, 2 possible bumper stickers have been designed. Jim Blando will take the proposed designs to Meduri Farms for their input. The bumper sticker says “Meduri Farms Feeds Willamette Valley Bees”.

News item 3: Sign-ups are available for staffing the ORSBA honey bee booth at the Oregon State Fair. Please sign up to help as it is fun and a valuable service to educate the public re. Honey bees.  The 4-hour shifts run 10am-2pm, 2pm-6pm, 6pm-10pm each day the fair is open August 23 through September 2nd. We are also encouraged enter honey and honey products. The link is here.

Questions:

  • What do I do about partially capped frames? If you shake the frame upside down and no nectar comes out it should be okay. Or freeze the frame to feed back to the bees later in the year.
  • Should I worry about the ton of earwigs on my inner cover? No, they aren’t bothering the bees.
  • Could I possibly have small hive beetles in my colony? No, Debbie Blando had the OSU Small Hive Beetle ID card and it is not the beetle in the colony.
  • How do I avoid cross comb? 9 frames of foundation in a 10-frame hive. Scrap out the cross comb, put in 10 frames, feed syrup.
  • Why are honey bees not on my lavender, Shasta daisy, or other flowers I planted for the bees? Bees have found another source of nectar and/or pollen that suits their needs.
  • How to stop robbing? Robbing screens in place when honey supers are removed. An active robbing scene can be calmed by covering the victim colony with a dripping wet bed sheet and running a sprinkler.

Our presentation for the evening, Winter Survival and Varroa Mites, was given by Anna Ashby.

  • Prepare for winter now.
  • Treat for Varroa-Tools for Varroa Management from Honey Bee Health Coalition
  • Varroa infestation reduces immune function
  • Varroa reduces pesticide tolerance
  • Varroa impairs pupal development
  • Varroa shortens lifespan
  • Varroa vectors viruses
  1. Sample for Varroa by August 1-acceptable number is <2%.
  2. Treat if needed
  3. Sample again in 2-3 weeks if didn’t treat OR
  4. Sample at end of treatment period
  5. Re-treat, if numbers are too high using a different treatment
  6. Continue to sample every 2-3 weeks to mid-October

 

Be persistent. This year let’s have better winter survival.

 

 

Meeting Adjourned 9:10 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Anna Ashby, WVBA Secretary

July 26, 2019