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The topic for February will be Spring
Management and Bear Destruction photos.
The NWDBA board met last month and
planned out the calendar for the rest of the year. I'm sure Val
will be giving out details at the next meeting and all the board members
look forward to the trip to Hawaii the association is planning for us
next winter. Of course, if you believe that you better come to the
February meeting and find out what's really happening!
Dates to Remember
Feb 10: February NWDBA Meeting
Mar 9: March NWDBA Meeting
June 4-5: WSU Picnic
Oct 14-16: WSBA Fall Conference (Spokane)
March Speaker
Dr. Jamie Strange from WSU will be our guest speaker in March.
He will be speaking on several topics so please come and enjoy!
February
Meeting report
Following introductions, general
discussion involved stories of winter hive survival, bear problems and
solutions, opportunities for traveling hives, electromagnetic field
effects on bees, and radio-frequency chips to thwart bee rustlers.
There was general agreement that prices for bee packages will increase
due to Canadian border opening up and Southern California fires
destroying so many hives. Val Schick asked for suggestions for programs
for the coming year and a list was compiled. The business portion of
the meeting had Karen Johns, our new treasurer report that a new bank
account has been opened with almost $1700. A report from the fair
committee on this years theme – Land of Milk and Honey – being a great
opportunity for us generated discussion of ways to leverage our presence
at the fair. A list of volunteers was created and then the meeting was
adjourned.
Drivert Sugar
Ever wondered what drivert sugar was in the February Beekeeping
recipe? According to C&H it is "A
dry fondant sugar used in icings and pan-coated confections. Bakers
Drivert®
has been agglomerated with 8% invert sugar to keep icings moist and
provide longer shelf life with no grain or grittiness. Invert
sugar provides good humectancy".
Did you know that honey is also
humectant? Sort of rolls off your tongue doesn't it...
I guess telling folks it keeps baked goods moist is better than telling
them honey is humectant!
Now you probably want to know what an
Invert sugar is too? According to dictionary.com it is "A
mixture of equal parts of glucose and fructose resulting from the
hydrolysis of sucrose. It is found naturally in fruits and honey and
produced artificially for use in the food industry".
I guess that's why it's recommended for feeding bees...
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2004 Dues
Please bring a check to the January meeting or send dues to our
treasurer payable to NWDBA.
Karen Johns
33825 NE 60th Street
Carnation, WA 98014
| Individual Membership |
$7.50 |
| Family Membership |
$10.00 |
| WSBA
Member Credit |
($1)
individual, ($2) family |
| ABJ |
1 year $14.96, 2 year $28.46, 3 year $40.13 |
| Bee Culture |
1
year $17.00, 2 year $32.00 |
WSBA Website
The Washington State Beekeepers
Association now has a website at
http://www.wasba.org. Frank
Seiler of Seiler Apiaries has
done a very nice job with this site. Check it out!
January Beekeeping
Make or order spare hives and other equipment
required for the coming season. See that hive entrances are kept clear of dead
bees. Note the amount of bee loss in your apiary notebook. Order queens and
package bees now to avoid the last minute rush.
February Beekeeping
See that hive entrances are kept clear of
dead bees. If you have not done so already, order your package bees or queens.
Lift the hives from the front to determine an estimate of colony honey stores –
you should be lifting 45 to 50 pounds. If they are light (or near starving),
place two cups drivert sugar on the back end of the top bars above the bee
cluster, or feed 2-4 quarts syrup in a four-hole top-feeder a using two
parts sugar to one part water.
March Beekeeping
Register your hives with the Department of
Agriculture. March 1 –15, open hive and check honey stores to be sure there are
at least four combs of honey in the hive. Feed syrup if there is less than two
combs. Clean the hive bottom board. Mouse guards may be removed about mid
month. If colonies are 10 to 12 combs of bees, begin comb rotation – two or
three combs with young brood and eggs to center of bottom box and empty combs to
sides of brood (next to honey) in second box. If colony is 12 to 15 frames of
bees with four to six combs of brood, add the first honey super over a queen
excluder.
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