Dr. Megan Taylor Old World Honey Bee Populations: A Genetic Resource for US Honey Bee Breeding

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1 NORTHWEST DISTRICT BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION May 2016 BEELINES Our mission: to promote interest in honey bees and beekeeping through the Northwest District of Western Washington, and, in particular, Snohomish County. May 10th Meeting Dr. Megan Taylor Old World Honey Bee Populations: A Genetic Resource for US Honey Bee Breeding Megan Taylor did her undergraduate degree in biology/psychology. She found herself taking an entomology course and learned about honey bees and their fascinating behavior. She earned her MS degree at the University of Guelph (Ontario, Canada) under the advisement of Dr. Ernesto Guzman. Her Master's thesis was focused on improving techniques for the cryopreservation of honey bee germplasm, and it was during that time that Megan fell for the honey bee. She started working at Washington State University (Pullman, WA) with Dr. Walter S. Sheppard in August Her research focused on assessing the genetic diversity of Old World honey bee populations as a potential resource for U.S. bee breeding efforts. Megan was one of the recipients of the Foundation for the Preservation of Honey Bees Scholarship in Regularly scheduled meetings are held on the second Tuesday of each month at: Christ the King Lutheran Church 1305 Pine Avenue Snohomish, WA A beginner's Q&A session starts promptly at 6PM. The regular meeting begins at 7PM. All are welcome, from new-bees to experts. Please drop by and join the conversation. Share your experience and bring your questions! If you would like to become a member, mail in a completed membership form or bring one to the next meeting. We look forward to seeing you! Are you planting a garden this year? Whether you plant to harvest crops for eating, or to enjoy the beauty of flowers and trees, there are choices that can bee more bee-nificial to our pollinating friends. Use this chart to help you make good choices for the bees in your yard. ANNUALS FRUITS & HERBS VEGGIES Asters Blackberries Cilantro Calliopsis Blueberries Fennel Clover Cantaloupe Lavender Marigolds Cucumbers Mint Poppies Fruit Trees Rosemary Sunflowers Peppers Sage Zinnias Raspberries Squash Thyme Strawberries Watermelon Wild garlic

2 PAGE 2 BEELINES NORTHWEST DISTRICT BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION Proud sponsor of NWDBA NUCS for Sale Over-Wintered Survivor Bees Local and Queens Larvae should be 5 Drawn available Frames in June! Young Mated Queen CONTACT: CONTACT, Larry Larry Brainard Tel: Larrybrainard@comcast.net Presidents Buzz Mark Salser, NWDBA President Hello fellow beekeepers! It looks like we might have a great blackberry nectar flow this year if this combination of warm weather interspersed with rain continues. In past years we have sometimes had low blackberry flows because of dry hot weather where the blackberries were water-starved, and then in other years it was low because the temperatures stayed cool and the blackberries flower but don t produce nectar at those temperatures. Hopefully this year we will have a great flow. Many in the club have just finished installing new packages or they are about to do so remember to feed your packages! Also remember that soon, when you see all the buttercup blossoms out in the wet areas, that is actually an indicator in our area of a likely nectar dearth. The buttercups don t produce nectar for the bees and they coincide with a time in our local flowering pattern where there had been a lot of stuff in flower for the bees to forage on, but those plants are done and following them there is a nectar shortage until the blackberry blossoms start. Our speaker this coming meeting is Dr. Megan Taylor coming all the way from Pullman to help us understand what the WSU breeding program is doing in terms of bringing in new genetics to the American beekeeping community. As many of you know, importation of honey bees into the US has been restricted for many years because of the worry about the introduction of tracheal mites. Obviously that import ban didn t keep the tracheal mites out, but what it has done is restrict any new introductions of bee genetic diversity. As a result we have a very inbred population of honey bees here in the US. The program at WSU is a much needed solution to that problem! Please come and give the speaker a large and interested audience and at the same time learn more about your bees. Finally, due to the efforts of a couple of our club members there have been some much needed changes to the website for NWDBA. Please go visit the site and poke around a little bit. We are trying to make the website more useful for keeping our members informed about what is going on and for attracting new members. If you have any suggestions about modifications to make or have noticed things that aren t working quite right yet please me at president@nwdba.fatcow.com. We are planning in the next few months to start a companion Facebook site that we can use to push out useful information to our members without flooding people s inboxes with messages so stay tuned for that!

3 Page 3 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)

4 PAGE 4 BEELINES NORTHWEST DISTRICT BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION DO YOU JOURNAL? Journaling ~ not just a pastime for teenage girls. Keeping good records of your beehives can be an asset to your beekeeping activity whether it is a business or a hobby. Recording hive elements such as brood pattern, hive temperament, queen cells present, honey stores, or overall colony health can help you make decisions about your hives and can help you plan for the future. (It is also a requirement to have a one year journal kept if you want to advance to the journeyman level of beekeeping.) In addition a journal is a good place to record recipes, sketches, inspirational thoughts or ideas you might want to pass on to another beekeeper, family member or friend. Who knows...perhaps there is a William Shakespeare hidden inside you, waiting to be nurtured and released or instead you could become a happier, more organized and empowered beekeeper Calendars: A Fund Raising Event! Help NWDBA create a calendar for 2017 by submitting original bee themed photos to helhil@msn.com. Profits from the sales of calendars will benefit our club, and we all benefit by having fabulous photos with monthly to-do lists for our wall. Don t forget-no one else sees the world the way you do, so no one else can tell the stories you have to tell -Charles de Lint May 10th is your last opportunity to order club t-shirts this year! Please talk to Tim Ade at the Got Bees? meeting, or mail in the attached order form NWBDA Board Members Mark Salser, President president@nwdba.org Mike Kossian, V-President vice_president@nwdba.org Lori McConnell, Secretary secretary@nwdba.org Mary Rider, Treasurer treasurer@nwdba.org Tim Ade, Board Member...mbesnohomish@yahoo.com Helen Crozier, Board Member Joe Canfield, Board Member Visit Us nwdba.org

5 Bee Club T-Shirt Order Form Name Phone Adult Size Quantity Price Total Small $15.00 Medium $15.00 Large $15.00 XL $15.00 XXL $18.00 Youth Size Quantity Price Total Small $12.00 Medium $12.00 Large $12.00 Total Please fill out and bring to meeting on May 10 th or mail to: NWDBA 1429 Avenue D #182 Snohomish, WA 98290