BEELINES MAY. May 8th Meeting- Swarm Management

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1 NORTHWEST DISTRICT BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION BEELINES MAY 2018 Our mission: to promote interest in honey bees and beekeeping through the Northwest District of Western Washington, and, in particular, Snohomish County. May 8th Meeting- Swarm Management Join us for our next bee meeting and connect with other beekeepers. Conversations about swarms are common at this time of year. The weather is warming and the bees are busy. Our guest speaker, Ken Reid, will focus his presentation on swarms and swarm management. Take advantage of this opportunity to learn more about this topic from him and also your fellow members. Regularly scheduled meetings are held on the second Tuesday of each month at: Christ the King Lutheran Church 1305 Pine Avenue Snohomish, WA 6:00 Bee Talk A Buzz Session for NewBees and Experienced Beekeepers to interact and share questions and experiences. 7:00 Meeting Business meeting and guest speaker. Is parking a problem? Good news-our club is growing! Bad new the church parking lot is not! Our club is working on parking solutions. It is recommended that you try to come as early as possible. You can also try to carpool with a fellow member. Talk to someone at the club if you are looking for more options! Swarms? Sometimes a beehive grows so quickly that the bees literally run out of room to live. When this happens the bees become unhappy and crowded. The queen and about 60% of her workers go out and look for a new home. When that happens, the remaining bees will create a queen cups and one lucky bee will become the new queen! It is the job of the beekeeper to add boxes when space is an issue.

2 Page 2 BEELINES NORTHWEST DISTRICT BEEKEEPERS Northwest District Beekeepers Assn. May-June To-Do List for the Puget Sound Calendar vs Weather: It is important to keep in mind that decisions are more dependent on prevailing weather conditions than on specific calendar dates! 1. Check Stores: If it is a new packed hive, keep feeding until blackberries are blooming (especially if they did not begin with drawn comb). Overwintered hives, assess stores in the hive. If low stores, continue to feed until a good supply of nectar & pollen are building in the brood boxes. Note: There is a possibility of a dearth (lack of nectar availability) between the time that buttercups begin to bloom (early May) and blackberry flow (mid-june). 2. Reverse Hive Bodies/ add a 2 nd Deep: If hive has two deeps, and the cluster & brood have migrated into the top chamber (no brood in the lower chamber), reverse the deeps so that all of the brood is on the bottom. This might be performed more than once in the Spring time. When doing this, take the opportunity to clean the bottom board. If the colony is in a single deep and population is building, add a second deep above the original brood chamber. 3. First thorough Hive Inspection: Once weather is sunny, no wind and temperature well above 57 F, do a thorough hive inspection. Look for brood, brood pattern and the queen. 4. Swarm Management: a. Watch for population growth; available space for brood and stores; Honey Domes over brood on frames. Drone production and swarm cells. Know the identification of the three different queen cells! b. Stay ahead of the colony s need for additional space! c. Be educated & prepared to utilize the different hive management techniques to minimize the propensity of the swarming instinct. 5. Add Honey Supers: Before the two brood chamber are filling with brood and stores, add at least one honey super. Some beekeepers begin adding honey supers by or around May 1 each year (depending on weather and colony strength). 6. Foundation vs. Drawn Comb: If you need more drawn comb, place frames with foundation outside the frames containing brood. Be careful that the brood nest is not split. 7. Blackberry Nectar Flow: Be vigilant in watching for blackberry blossoms beginning in June (weather dependent). Blackberry is the primary nectar flow in the greater parts of the Puget Sound. As you see blackberry blossoming in your area, be certain that each colony has one or two supers on. Remove all supplemental feeding of 8 and 10 frame Hives. 8. Pests: If colonies were not treated for varroa in the spring, do occasional checks for this virulent pest. Dewey Caron, Univ. Delaware, Economic Thresholds & IPM, suggest a mite threshold of 5-10 mites on a sticky board in a 24 hour period (avg. of 3 days drop). 9. Mediocre or Failing Hives: If the over wintered colony (or new hived package) is not showing steady growth by early May, consider options (i.e.: Re-Queen, combining, splits, etc.). Part of your consideration might be to test for varroa mites before perusing options. When combining hives, use the newspaper method to help assure successful combining. 10. Newly Installed Bee Packages: Follow the guide outlined above. If the queen is not performing well, consider replacing her before your new hive dwindles. Larry Brainard, Northwest District Beekeepers Assoc. May, 2014

3 PAGE 3 BEELINES NORTHWEST DISTRICT BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION Honeybees are Giving. They feed and nurture each other. Daring. They fly and forage to bring home pollen and nectar. Responsible. They use their talents to clean the comb for the new eggs. Caring. They hover and scurry to make way for the Queen. Courageous. They take their turn at guarding the hive. Ambitious. They make wax to build the comb when it is needed. Communicators. They share information through pheromones. Faithful. They do their job, even when it is hard....maybe the world needs more HONEYBEES!

4 PAGE 4 BEELINES NORTHWEST DISTRICT BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION Thoughts by Dave On Installing Bees and Trapping Swarms Dave Pehling I was recently asked a question about installing packages in less-than-ideal weather. Installing a package can be a nerve-wracking experience for new-bees but it is definitely not rocket-science. If the whole process of a standard installation where bees are simply dumped into a hive body sounds too traumatic, you can try an interesting slow release method that I recently saw on the latest "Jim and Kim Show" webinar hosted by "Bee Culture" magazine. See for a link to the package installation webinar. I have not tried that method myself, but it looks like it is an easier, gentler way to install a package. Now, with the warming weather and increasing drone production we are starting to hear reports of early swarms so it is time to get out your swarm traps (AKA bait hives ). These can be as simple as leaving out an empty hive or nuc box with a few old brood frames or you can make dedicated wood or fiber pot traps. Dr. Tom Seeley did extensive research on what swarms look for when searching for a new home and came up with a simple wooden swarm trap one can make out of scrap wood. You can read about Dr. Seeley s findings in a publication he wrote with Roger Morse and Richard Nowgrodski at 20Bees.pdf;jsessionid=B71404BD6FE94E624EE0D729D581F7CC?sequence=2 For a simple explanation and plans for the above, see If you don t have scrap wood and want something easier anyway, there is lots of info on the web for making swarm traps out of fiber pots. Steubers, a landscaping supply store, in Snohomish, WA has a nice selection. The important thing is that your finished trap has a volume of about 42 quarts (40 liters) and there are only one or two entrances. My swarm traps consist of two large pots screwed together and a stick running through two of the holes. I seal all the other holes but one with a paper mache. I make by mashing strips of newspaper with Titebond III Ultimate Wood Glue. If there are gaps where the two pots are screwed together, I put a band of duct tape around the pots to cut out light. Don t know if that is necessary but can t hurt. If the trap is to be placed out in the weather, I sometimes spray the outside with a silicone water repellent but that is not really necessary as the trap is only out few a few months of the year. Adding an attractant to any swarm trap makes it more effective. Old brood comb placed inside works but one must watch out for wax moths! Lemongrass oil (a very little bit on a Q-tip) also makes an inexpensive bait. For the most effective swarm bait, one of the pheromone-based attractants probably is best. Swarm Commander has a following and I see that Mann Lake has their own Swarm Lure. Dadant also has their own Swarm Catch w/ Nasonov and I suspect there are several other brands on the market. So if you have bees or there is a nearby apiary it is a good idea to put up a swarm trap or two and just see what happens. You might get lucky!

5 PAGE 5 BEELINES NORTHWEST DISTRICT BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION Upcoming Dates Tuesday, May 8 - Bee Club Meeting-Swarm Management Sunday, May 20 - Beekeeper Trifecta Tuesday, June 12 - Bee Club Meeting-Honey Processing Wonderful One Acre Farm Eli Ocheltree eliochel@gmail.com Chicks - Pullets - Hens Burlap for Smoker Fuel Do you have a business, product or service that you would like to share with your fellow beekeepers? Prices are $5.00-$50.00 per issue & you have 4 different sizes to choose. You must be a member of the club. Please speak with any board member for more information. Visit our website: NWDBA.ORG Please direct comments or additions to Debbie Ade: Beelines Editor at deblyn80ty@gmail.com 2018 NWDBA BOARD MEMBERS President: Mark Salser, president@nwdba.org V-President: Jim Black, ljbjeb@msn.com Secretary: Dave Pehling, djpehling@frontier.com Treasurer: Mary Oosterhof, treasurer@nwdba.org Board Member: Joe Canfield, tjnr@comcast.net Board Member: Theresa Jorgenson, violinmom07@aol.com Board Member: Eli Ocheltree, eliochel@yahoo.com