WVBA MINUTES
OCTOBER 23, 2023
President Rich Farrier opened the meeting at 7:09 with a welcome for visitors to the club. The first item is that the church will be unavailable for the November meeting, something they warned us about several months ago. Rich and others will be looking for an alternative venue for November. One option is the East Salem Community Center at 1850 45th Ave NE.
Jeremy passed around conference reminders. He said that so far the registrations are higher than last year. Jeremy will carry the club’s $1000 donation to the OSU bee lab to the conference. The donation will be matched with another $500 from Glory Bee in Eugene.
Joe from Woodburn has 400 pounds of donated granulated sugar to distribute. Meet him in the parking lot after the meeting.
Questions: 1. Is it too early for Oxalic vapor? Yes
- When to apply candy boards? Any time now.
- Stop liquid feed? Yes
- What to do for high mites now. Formic or maybe oxalic acid vapor 1X week for 3 weeks. But will most likely lose the colony.
Debbie had a candy board for everyone to examine in addition to her new AZ hive.
Mann Lake candy board recipe : 12 Cups sugar, 6 Tablespoons water, 1 Tablespoon cider vinegar. Mix then press into the candy board frame or a Vivaldi board.
Todd’s candy board recipe: 16 pounds sugar, 3 Cups cider vinegar, ¼ teaspoon vitamins from Agrilabs, and 2 teaspoons of citric acid.
Rich prefers using fondant which is a cooked recipe and more work than a candy board.
We discussed getting nucs through winter. Anna suggested that folks read the OSU publication, “Overwintered Honey Bee Nucleus Colonies: Big Solutions in Small Packages”.
We had a break after which we divided into groups to discuss the Hive Life Frame Photos from University of Guelph.
Raffle time.
Meeting adjourned at 9:00.
Respectfully submitted,
Anna Ashby for Elaine Timm, Secretary
Willamette Valley Beekeeper Association.
November 5, 2023