|
Dates to Remember
April 12: NWDBA Meeting
May 10: NWDBA Meeting
June 17-18 WSBA WSU Field Day at WSU
July ?? WSBA WSU Field day in Puyallup
Oct 28-29: Joint
WSBA and
OSBA meeting in Oregon.
November - testing for Journeyman Level
April Meeting
At our April meeting Tim Bueler will be instructing us on
integrated pest management (IPM). Come see how IPM might change
our beekeeping calendar and learn how to keep better care of your bees!
Bob Bump
Bob Stump of Gig Harbor, WA, passed away
Thursday morning, March 31, 2005. Bob was a Master Beekeeper and was elected president of Washington State Beekeepers Association in 1999
and served in that capacity through 2003. He also served as treasurer
of the Master Beekeeper's Committee for several years.
Surviving Bob
is his wife, Tillie, and his six sons and two daughters: son
Robert, daughter Pat Hubbard (Don), son Bill (Mary Anne), daughter
Betty Logan (Bob), son David (Chris), son Tom (Jeri), son Kevin
(Heather), and son Greg. Also surviving are Tillie's two daughters,
Lucinda and Norma Jean, and son Ronald.
Funeral ceremonies will be held at 11 a.m.
Wednesday, April 6, at St. Nicholas Catholic Church in Gig Harbor,
WA. The street address is 3510 Rosedale St. NW, 98335. If you would
like to send a card or other remembrance to Bob's wife and family,
send to 5417 99th Ave. NW, Gig Harbor, WA 98335
|
|
News
* Bee losses are minimum 25% this year.
* Small hive beetles have been found in Washington.
NPR Story on
Beekeeping
North Carolina is spending $160K to encourage beekeeping! (can you
imagine Washington State investing in beekeeping ?). Due to the shortage
of beekeepers and the heavy losses this year they are giving away 500
hives to 250 people to get them started in beekeeping.
Check out the
full audio on NPR.
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).
|
