March 2020 Monthly News Letter

Download PDF

Next meeting: March 19, 2020

Where: Sons of Norway

224 Catlin Street

West Kelso, WA
When: 7:00 PM

If you live in Longview or the surrounding area and already keep bees, intend to do so or are simply interested in this fascinating hobby, Cowlitz Beekeepers Association is the association for you. Even if you don’t keep bees, joining us will help support our cause, our community action and awareness and education programs.

Meeting Program
Green River Honey Bee Project

Started in 2013 through a faculty excellence award. Danny Najera and Roland Vieira shared a vision to use the experience of the honeybees as a learning opportunity for Green River students. The project has transcended the classroom and has grown to become a vital part of the Bee keeping community in south King County. Research centers on monitoring and testing hypotheses regarding overwintering success, mite treatments, and in-hive monitoring of honeybees.

Dr. Daniel Najera is an Oklahoma native, who earned his bachelor’s and PhD from the University of Kansas. He has taught at several colleges and universities, including the University of Kansas, and is full time professor at Green River College in Auburn, WA. He did his graduate work on honeybee cognition. He is a frequent speaker at bee clubs, community events, and other proceedings in the PNW.

They created a 2020 beekeeping calendar which will help you know what to do and when you need to do it during the coming year. This year is focused on wildflowers in our area. This will help you learn the key wildflowers that your bees are working. In addition, we will have time specific information about when to do mite checks and treatments.

There are specific instructions for honey production, hive splitting, what to do with new nucleus colonies and overwintering colonies.

This calendar will be available to purchase for $20. Income helps further the Green River Honey Bee Project.

Handmade Proud:

Looking to buy new woodenware at reasonable prices?

• Bottom Boards

• Top Covers

• Inner Covers

• Hive Boxes and more…

Contact Jerry Herren

Ph. (360) 355-0051 Swarmchaser40@gmail.com

Cowlitz Beekeepers Association

2020 Nuc Purchase

This year we will again buy nucs from Foothills Honey Company in Colton, Oregon. These are 5 frame nucs and they come in a cardboard box that you keep.

Nucs must be ordered and paid for by March 19th, 2020

The cost is $136 per nuc to club members only.

The club treasurer will take orders and payment at our March meeting. Make checks payable to CBA. We cannot process credit or debit cards, PayPal or other electronic transactions.

If paying with cash at the meeting then please bring the exact amount.

Resale of Nucs is prohibited.

You may Mail application and check to:

Zenobia Scott

1207 9 th Ave S.

Kelso, WA 98626.

Applications will need to be received by March 18, 2020. Nucs will be delivered to us around the 2nd week of April. When we have a firm date, everyone will be notified. We will call or email you the exact day and time a few days ahead of time. The pick-up site has not been determined but will be local to Longview/Kelso. If you are not able to pick up your nucs at the appointed time and place, you must plan to have someone pick up for you. Please let us know in advance if someone besides you will be picking up your nucs. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us by sending a message to: Cowlitzbeekeepers@gmail.com

YOUR MEMBERSHIP TO CBA MUST BE CURRENT TO USE THE MAIL OPTION

Name ___________________________________________

Phone________________________

Email ____________________________________________

How many Nucs?__________X $136

Total $_________________

The Other Bees in Our Backyard – Continued from January & February newsletters

Major Bee Groups in the Pacific Northwest (I’ll cover these groups over the next few newsletters)

• Bumble Bees (Bombus) January newsletter

• Mason Bees (Osmia) February newsletter

• Sweat Bees (Lasioglossum and Halictus) February newsletter

• Mining Bees (Andrena)

• Leafcutter Bees (Megachile)

• Cuckoo Bees (Sphecodes, Nomada, Triepeolus and Coelioxys)

Mining Bees (Andrena)

Mining bees excavate nests underground, hence the common name. The genus contains both generalist and specialist pollen collectors. One native species, Andrena astragali, is a specialist pollinator of the death camas—Zigadenus species. For many native American tribes Camas root was an important part of their diet, but they could distinguish it from the death camas.

Most Andrena are solitary nesters, and they often nest in large aggregations. A few species nest communally, where two or more females share a nest but build and provision their own nest cells. All Andrena nest in the ground; they often prefer sandy soil near or under shrubs. They have been known to nest in lawns. Mining bees are solitary, with one female creating a few nests during her lifetime, which often lasts just four to eight weeks. Each nest contains approximately five cells, or chambers, in the dirt provisioned with enough pollen for a single bee larvae. The female bee lays one egg per cell, then caps the cell with mud. After an egg hatches, the larva consumes all the pollen, then metamorphoses into an adult bee. It spends the rest of the year and winter in a period of suspended development underground, waiting for the right seasonal cues (temperature and moisture), which let it know that it’s time to emerge to pollinate and reproduce.

Andrena are small to medium sized bees that range in size from 0.3 to 0.7 inches in length. They are hairy bees that are black or dull metallic blue or green. Most species are moderately hairy and have pale bands of hair on their abdomen and the abdomen is long relative to other bee groups. The females in this genus can be distinguished from other bees by the velvety patch of hair between the eyes and the antenna bases (pictured) and large scopa (brushes of hairs for holding pollen) on the upper part of their leg, seemingly in their “armpits”. Mining bees often have fuzzy orange or blond thoraxes (mid sections) and dark abdomens with light stripes. They carry their pollen dry on their hind legs, which makes them look like they are wearing chaps. Andrena have a variety of striking colorations but species are difficult to tell apart from each other.

Common species in the Pacific Northwest: Death camas bee, Andrena astragali; snowy adrena, Andrena nivalis; Andrena evoluta.

Old Cowlitz Landing Farm

534 State Route 506

Toledo, WA 98591

Featuring the Beeline Beekeeping Supplies catalog, nucs, packages and more.

Contact Gary or Ginger Rogers

Ph. (360) 219-7701

BG Bees LLC and Hive and Garden are proud to bring together three world-renowned honey bee researchers to discuss three keys to honey bee stress: pests, viruses, and nutrition. An understanding of these areas goes a long way to reducing colony losses.

• When: Saturday, September 12, 2020

• Where: Crag Rat Hut, 960 Crag Rat Hut Road, Hood River, OR 97031

Featuring: Dr. Samuel Ramsey who discovered that varroa feed on a fat body and not bee blood. Dr. Michelle Flenniken is a microbiologist investigating honey bee host-pathogen interactions. Vanessa Louise Corby-Harris studies nutritional stress in honey bees.

https://bg-bees.com/product-category/events/

BEEKEEPERS CALENDAR OF SEASONAL ACTIVITIES

March

Suggested Activities for Beekeepers in the Coastal range from Washington, Oregon and California...

Brood rearing will begin in earnest and be quite noticeable by month’s end. - The bees will begin flying this month and although there is usually adequate spring pollen sources, nectar is in short supply. Honey bees can consume up to 3 pounds of food per day, so feed as needed. Keep the hive entrances clear. Brush away any dead bees to ensure adequate ventilation and egress.

On a calm and warm (about 55 degrees) day when the bees are actively flying, open the hive to check the status of the colony. - Check that the hive is queen right - are there eggs in the brood chamber? Do you need to combine weak colonies? - Keep in mind, with cooler temperatures and limited or no nectar, the bees might be more aggressive. Keep your visit short.
Feed pollen substitutes for rapid hive growth if desired. If feeding has begun, continue. Otherwise check hive weight/honey stores often and feed if necessary. Remember cold windy March weather can keep bees from getting out and starvation can hit quickly. Spring Sugar Syrup is a 1:1 ratio.

Thanks to Roy Schafsmaa, Barbara Skreen, Kathy Scott, and the CBA for donating items for door prizes at the February meeting.

On March 4th at 12:00 pm CST, The Bee & Butterfly Habitat Fund will be providing a webinar entitled: Pollinators: The glue that connects sustainability issues. This webinar will cover a variety of thoughts about how pollinators and their habitat and health needs. More information and registration: https://www.cccneb.edu/slps

Out in the Bee Yard

Bill Holmes

Our club library lent me a copy of L.L. Langstroth’s Hive And Honey Bee from 1860. Langstroth’s hive design and this publication completely changed beekeeping. Although others are responsible for identifying bee space, he was the one who used that distance to build a hive with removable frames. Before that, comb was not removable without cutting it loose from the walls. He was soon doing things we take for granted now but were unheard of before. He could manage swarms, do splits to multiply colonies, strengthen weak colonies, and to colonies who had lost their queen he could introduce the means for them to produce another. If he suspected anything wrong with a hive he could quickly diagnose and remedy. He made beekeeping profitable. He could do all this and not disturb the bees. By just working slowly, calmly they would go about their jobs and leave their stingers retracted. The book’s introduction states “Even a delicate lady need not fear to undertake the task of cultivating this fascinating branch of rural economy”. I have just barely started into this book but it’s very interesting so far. Our library is a great resource and has many publications. Check with John Holmes and see if there’s something for you.

Today the island had but a light breeze and 59 degrees at 2:00 so I lit the smoker, put on the veil, and headed over to the boxes with that first inspection of the year excitement. My mission is to just see if the queen is laying and make sure nothing looks off. I also only check the top box at this visit since I want this check to be only minimally disturbing. The results were pretty good with one exception. Eight of my 9 had eggs, larvae, and caps, along with lots of bees. The other had plenty of bees on the frames along with honey but the queen was not laying in the top. I could see bees on the lower frames so I am going to assume she’s working down below, and I’ll save that check for another day. We have a few flowering plums that are blooming and are seeing a lot of activity. The red flower picture is a quince, and the white flower is a plum. The frame with bees, brood, and honey also has drone brood which surprised me.

One of the rights of spring management has always been the hive reversal where you swap positions of the 2 deeps. I’ve done it routinely as early as February 15, but then gradually kept moving out until settling on the end of March. Technically you should not do it until night time temps are above 40 and daytime temperatures are over 50. Reversing is a swarm prevention tool. But like any beekeeping tool you need to use it correctly, not because that’s what others are doing. If you don’t know why bees swarm and don’t know the conditions that signal swarm initiation, then your hives will swarm and reversing wont change that and could make things worse. I will wait until the 1st of April to make a reversing decision on each hive. I will be looking to see if the bottom deep is essentially empty of bees and stores. Then, in the top deep, I’ll be looking at the brood frames. If they have a solid honey crown above the brood then I’ll leave it alone and let them figure out there’s room down below. But, if they have brood nearly to the top of the frame, I’ll go ahead and put the empty deep on top and move the brood below. 6 Cowlitz Beekeepers Association Newsletter March 2020

March is a critical month for survival. Hives can go from thriving to starvation in a week or less. Be on top of that. You can start feeding 1:1 syrup with a little honey-b-healthy when day time temps are above 50 but check inside fairly often to make sure you haven’t created a humid mold farm. A little ventilation is important. Check your hives weight and look for honey frames when you go for honey bee communion.

I treated all hives a couple weeks ago with oxalic acid vapor. I know you’re supposed to know your pre treatment mite load and then your post treatment level. I also know that there should have been capped brood, though at that time I had not pulled any frames in 2020. Capped brood reduces the effectiveness of OA. But my feeling is that if you can kill some mites and do no harm, then why not. I have not seen any research that using OA as labeled has adverse consequences. The morning I treated it was 37 degrees and 2 hives had bees flying. Not many just 1 or 2 at a time but still. If those hives can work in cooler temperatures, produce honey, resist mites, and love me when I stop in, then I’ll have to start breeding queens. Bill ________________________________________________________________________________________

March 6: Grand opening for new WSU honey bee research facility

OTHELLO, Wash. – Washington State University will celebrate the grand opening of its new Honey Bee & Pollinator Research, Extension, and Education Facility on March 6 with a ribbon cutting and tours of the facility.

WHAT: Tours and grand opening celebration

WHEN: Friday, March 6, 3 p.m. social gathering, 3:30 p.m. ribbon cutting, followed by self-guided tours.

WHERE: 1485 W. Cunningham Rd, Othello, WA 99344

WHO: Dean André-Denis Wright, WSU honey bee scientists Steve Sheppard and Brandon Hopkins, other WSU officials, and several Washington beekeepers and industry supporters.

WHY: This is the official opening for WSU’s new pollinator facility, home to research supporting state and national beekeepers that helps save honey bees. WSU began fundraising for this facility with a nationally publicized event in 2016, in which then-WSU Provost Dan Bernardo and others wore beards of bees.

The Buzz on Crystalized Honey

by John Holmes

Crystallization of honey is a normal process controlled by the honey’s composition and how it is stored. The main components of honey are two primary sugars, fructose and glucose, and water. The proportion of these two sugars can vary and is dependent on the nectar source. Honey from sunflowers, clovers, lavender, and dandelion crystallize quicker, while maple. sage, tupelo, and eucalyptus honey crystalize slower. Fructose ranges from 30- 44%, glucose from 25- 40%, with water being less than 20%. The balance of these two major sugars causes the crystallization of honey and the relative percentage of each determines whether it crystallizes rapidly or slowly.

Glucose is less soluble in water than fructose so it is the sugar that crystalizes. The higher the glucose and the lower the water content of honey, the faster the crystallization. Oppositely, honey with less glucose relative to water is a less saturated glucose solution and is slow to crystallize. Honey with heightened water content often crystallizes unevenly and separates into crystallized and liquid parts.

The speed of honey crystallization depends not only on its sugar composition, but also on the presence of catalysts, like seed crystals, pollen grains and pieces of beeswax in the honey. These minute particles serve as nuclei for crystallization. Raw honey (unheated and unfiltered) contains bits of wax, pollen and propolis, and crystallizes faster. Honey that has been processed (heated and filtered) will remain in its liquid form longer. Honey prepared for commercial market is usually heated and filtered. Heating and filtration of the honey dissolve any sugar crystals and remove foreign particles that might be present in it. Therefore, the crystallization is hindered.

Crystallized honey tends to set a lighter/paler color than when liquid. This is due to the fact that glucose sugar tends to separate out and that glucose crystals are naturally pure white. Honeys also vary in the size of the crystals formed. Some form fine crystals (star thistle) and others large, gritty ones (meadowfoam).

The storage temperature also has a big effect. Honey crystallization is most rapid around 50 – 59 F. At temperature below 50 F the crystallization is slowed down. Low temperature increases the viscosity of honey (honey is thicker when cool), and this retards the formation and diffusion of crystals. Honey resists crystallization best at higher temperatures, the optimum is 70 -80 F. When the temperature is 104 F the crystals dissolve. Temperature above 104 F will damage the properties of raw honey.

Here is some of my honey recovered from a lost colony (perhaps elevated water content) and stored in my unheated garage.

OLDEST CURE:

HONEY from Bee Culture February 2020

With winter months come runny noses, scratchy throats and headaches. Maybe not a cure to all but honey can be used to relieve and prevent many of our little – and sometimes big – aches and illnesses.

Alternative cough syrup

There are many remedies made from honey to ease the raspy throat, especially for children. A very popular remedy is paring up the honey with another healthy ingredient: lemons! Putting a few lemon slices into a cup of honey not only helps with the throat but with other symptoms of the common cold as well.

Toothaches

Cloves are known for their numbing properties so chewing on them when you get a toothache makes sense. But adding honey into the mix makes for a mixture that might prevent infections, which could make the toothaches worse. The traditional remedy recommends adding a few cloves onto a few tablespoons of honey and let it rest in it.

Lowers cholesterol levels

Honey itself does not have any cholesterol and with the vitamins and microelements, it lowers the “bad” cholesterol levels in the blood. Several pieces of research suggest that the so-called “bad” LDL cholesterol can be lowered by 6-11% with the consumption of honey.

The classic: Helping you fall and stay asleep

The reason why people sometimes wake up in the middle of the night might be the lack of glycogen in our brain, the kidneys releasing adrenaline and cortisol making you wake up, studies suggest. As honey contains glycogen it should be consumed before you go to sleep, lowering your adrenaline low and helping you – at least – stay asleep.

Wounds

Even in ancient Egypt honey was used to seal off wounds and help them heal faster. And with its antimicrobial properties, the wound won’t get infected. This is even supported by several studies, researching alternative medicine. Some scientists even claim that it helps to heal extreme eczema and eliminated dry patches, initiating new skin growth. The best way to help with eczema is to mix the honey with equal parts of ground cinnamon and apply it to the affected areas, they suggest.

While honey has even more benefits than the ones listed here it should be noted that honey is dangerous for children under 1-year-old. But mind you, this content which includes advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for a qualified medical opinion.

Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information.