Archive for June, 2010

Comments on Apiary Work Party, 6/19/10

Saturday, June 26th, 2010

Tim Todd led. Four people attended. Notes below by Aaron Lum.

Hives 1, 2, 3:  Came  late, don’t know status. No activity at entrance of Hive 3.
Hive 4 (top bar hive):  Front 8-9 bars are built out to the observation window (OW). We did not open the hive but I observed looking through the OW. About 5 top bars are left towards the back; bees are building out the fifth; comb diameter about softball-sized. New TBH in shed, no metal (exterior) cover.
Hive 5:  Rotated boxes to put drawn  frames in the bottom brood box to encourage more laying.
Hives 6, 7:  Seem to be empty.
Hive 8 (swarm, wild comb): saw multiple eggs in cells of wild comb  (laying worker?). Most of the honey eaten from the uncapped & scratched honey frames installed two weeks ago. Installed 2-3 capped brood frames from Hive 2 to encourage queen making.

Hive Map

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July Picnic

Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010

Annual picnic Saturday July 17th

From 12-3 next to the club apiary behind the Graham Visitor’s Center. Bring a
potluck dish to share. The club will provide beverages and dessert. This is fun
opportunity to socialize and network with other beekeepers. There is always great
food and conversation!

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July Meeting on the Eastside

Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010

There is traditionally a picnic and no PSBA meeting at the Arboretum in July. There is, however an alternate meeting on the eastside at Meadowbrook Farm Preserve Interpretive Center located between North Bend and Snoqualmie for those interested. (See Meadowbrook Farm for directions)

Tuesday July 27th
6:00 Apiary tour (location)
7:00 Q&A Panel – Beginners’ questions welcome
8:00 Small-Cell and Foundationless Beekeeping

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Apiary Work Party: Sat June 19, 2-4 pm

Friday, June 18th, 2010

Tim Todd will host a work party at the apiary at the Arboretum from 2 to 4 pm. The apiary is south of the Graham Visitor’s Center and the greenhouses.  Just walk up the road that is East of the greenhouses. You can contact Tim at 253-941-9855.

Everyone is welcome.
Bring your bee suit and your willingness to learn more about bees.  We do have a few bee suits to loan if you don’t own one.

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June Meeting

Tuesday, June 8th, 2010

The next PSBA meeting will be on Tuesday, June 22, 6:30-9:00 pm. Meetings are at the Graham Visitors Center at the Washington Park Arboretum.

6:30-7:15 – Beginners’ instruction

7:30-9:00 – Robin Foster (Professor & Chair, Department of Psychology, University of Puget Sound): Recent research on bumblebee brain and behavior.
Most studies of social insect brains have focused on honeybees and ants, which have distinct division of labor and live in large colonies. With Susannah Hannaford at the University of Puget Sound, Robin has focused on the behavior and brains of bumblebees, whose small colonies typically include fewer than 100 workers. Worker bumblebees carry out tasks both inside the hive (e.g. brood care, nest temperature regulation, nest maintenance) and outside the hive (e.g., foraging for pollen and nectar). Robin will summarize recent findings on the brain structure of worker bumblebees in relationship to age, behavior, and experience.

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Western Washington Beekeeping Forum

Tuesday, June 8th, 2010

Ever wondered about the Forum link at the top of this website? PSBA president Nancy Beckett has asked that a reminder be posted about the Western Washington Beekeeping Forum. The Forum is THE place for regional beekeepers, regardless of their experience, to post news, ask questions, give advice, advertise equipment for sale, and get to know each other. The more people who use the Forum, the more we’ll learn about our very active beekeeping community. You’ll need to create an account to use the site, but this is a simple step.

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Comments on Apiary Work Party, 6/6/10

Monday, June 7th, 2010

8 participants. Overcast skies, but the temperature was warm
and the rain held off. Rubber boots were an advantage in the mud
around the hives.

  • Fed Hives 1, 2, and 3 with honey frames from the shed.
  • Reversed the top two of four brood boxes in Hive 5.
  • Hive 8 (swarm) was combined with Hive 2 on 5/23, but the Hive 8 bees had not descended. Added a medium with honey frames to entice the swarm bees into a box.
  • Special thanks to Corky Luster for advice.
  • Casey Paul delivered a new top bar hive, now in shed. Splitting present top bar hive (Hive 4) postponed until next work party.
  • A mystery metal shelf was found outside the shed and is now inside.

Laura Lovell & Kevin Gow

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Comments on Apiary Work Party, 5/23/10, 12-3 pm

Sunday, June 6th, 2010

14 participants (wow!). Inspected 5 original PSBA hives and 2 swarm hives:

  • No record of hive histories in log
  • Hives not numbered; created Hive Map
  • Combined weak swarm 10-7 with 10-2
  • Chucked and replaced broken equipment frames with wax moth
  • Top bar hive ready for a split (need new TBH!)
  • 10-6 (swarm hive) had laying worker; scraped those cells

Patti Loesche

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