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Dates to Remember
Mar 9: March NWDBA Meeting
Apr 13: April 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 about forgotten bee diseases so please come and enjoy!
Jamie is also speaking the day after,
March 10, at the Senior Center in Sedro-Wooley about different subjects
if you want a double header!
February
Meeting report
by John Bryant
We watched a video titled “The
Honey Bee” that is aimed at school children which was produced by the
National Honey Board. A discussion of spring hive management was led by
Val Schick. Val then previewed the planned programs for the coming
year. The business meeting consisted mainly of the Treasurers Report by
Karen Johns and a Fair Committee meeting notice for Feb 24 to commence
planning for State Fair.
Get the full
details on our website here:
http://www.nwdba.org/beelines/2004-02-minutes.htm
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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.
April Beekeeping
Put Terramycin medicated patties
over the brood rearing area, or between the two boxes if you have 12-14 frames
of bees. Continue comb rotation. Make sure there are enough honey stores or
feed your bees. Hives should have at least one full frame of pollen and several
frames of honey. If hive is light, feed the bees a 1:1 sugar syrup mixture.
Feed pollen supplement if necessary. If the colony is continuing to build up
add a honey super every three weeks until June 1 (= 3 deeps or equivalent in
westerns = 4-5 deeps of bees by June 1).
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