Field day preparationsOn April 26th 2018 at 9 am, a group of club members will be meeting at Joe's place to help set up for the field day. If you can spare the time fell free to come and help.
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Small Hive Beetle in BC
September 17th:
This message from theProvincial Apiculturist
... sad news, Small Hive Beetle is in BC...
The following important message is for all Lower Mainland Beekeepers from our Provincial Inspector
On the morning of Sept 14, I did an inspection at an apiary just west of the Abbotsford airport which was found to have SHB. I would like to press upon beekeepers to look closely at their colonies.
A few tips:
· Without any smoke, carefully and slowly remove the lid and crack the innercover. Lift the innercover promptly and look immediately at the both ends of the topbars for beetles scurrying off. Then, examine the underside of the innercover for SHB.
· SHB prefer to “set up house” in the comb near the ends of the topbars where it is warm and less busy with bees that bother them.
· Examine a few frames for adult beetles and any sign on beetle brood. Beetle brood consists of slender larvae of different sizes that crawl in and out of the wax cells. In the area, the comb starts to look wet and messy.
· Take all the boxes off and examine the bottom board where beetles like to go as they are not bothered by the bees.
· If you are not sure about the identity of the beetle, place the specimen in a small plastic sleeve or container and put into the freezer for a couple of hours. Afterwards, place the specimen on a flat light-coloured surface next to a measuring tape and take a close-up photograph. Email to paul.vanwestendorp@gov.bc.ca.
Regards
Paul van Westendorp
Provincial Apiculturist
British Columbia
This message from theProvincial Apiculturist
... sad news, Small Hive Beetle is in BC...
The following important message is for all Lower Mainland Beekeepers from our Provincial Inspector
On the morning of Sept 14, I did an inspection at an apiary just west of the Abbotsford airport which was found to have SHB. I would like to press upon beekeepers to look closely at their colonies.
A few tips:
· Without any smoke, carefully and slowly remove the lid and crack the innercover. Lift the innercover promptly and look immediately at the both ends of the topbars for beetles scurrying off. Then, examine the underside of the innercover for SHB.
· SHB prefer to “set up house” in the comb near the ends of the topbars where it is warm and less busy with bees that bother them.
· Examine a few frames for adult beetles and any sign on beetle brood. Beetle brood consists of slender larvae of different sizes that crawl in and out of the wax cells. In the area, the comb starts to look wet and messy.
· Take all the boxes off and examine the bottom board where beetles like to go as they are not bothered by the bees.
· If you are not sure about the identity of the beetle, place the specimen in a small plastic sleeve or container and put into the freezer for a couple of hours. Afterwards, place the specimen on a flat light-coloured surface next to a measuring tape and take a close-up photograph. Email to paul.vanwestendorp@gov.bc.ca.
Regards
Paul van Westendorp
Provincial Apiculturist
British Columbia
August Memos For Beeks
As the summer rolls past, our bees need our attention more than ever. We all enjoy the thrill of the season's harvest and the satisfaction of knowing that the bees will winter well as a result of our care. Mite counts and treatments are due now in order to reduce disease in the winter bees. Winter stores of honey and pollen need to be in place. Healthy young queens entering winter lead to less swarming in spring buildup and better winter survival. Good clean comb well arranged in the hive makes for better wintering ability and spring buildup.
Along with these preparations we need to think about the conditions of late summer. Low availability of forage, both pollen and nectar, as well as water can lead to stressful conditions. Predators and robbers; wasps, bears and other honeybee colonies can bring a hive down to the point of collapse. So putting on your entrance reducers and ensuring that adequate water is available without interruption are immediate needs. Watching for signs of robbing and checking electric fences are constant requirements. For urban beekeepers, we need to consider our neighbours in order to keep our bees out of their water, pools, ponds and hot tubs. When we go into our hives now we must ensure that we keep visits short and focussed and take extra care to cover open hive bodies to reduce robbing by both bees and wasps.
Our bees are counting on us to give them the best chance to make it through the winter. We owe it to them to take these steps now.
Along with these preparations we need to think about the conditions of late summer. Low availability of forage, both pollen and nectar, as well as water can lead to stressful conditions. Predators and robbers; wasps, bears and other honeybee colonies can bring a hive down to the point of collapse. So putting on your entrance reducers and ensuring that adequate water is available without interruption are immediate needs. Watching for signs of robbing and checking electric fences are constant requirements. For urban beekeepers, we need to consider our neighbours in order to keep our bees out of their water, pools, ponds and hot tubs. When we go into our hives now we must ensure that we keep visits short and focussed and take extra care to cover open hive bodies to reduce robbing by both bees and wasps.
Our bees are counting on us to give them the best chance to make it through the winter. We owe it to them to take these steps now.
An example of an urban bee conflict situation
Kamloops Therapeutic Riding Association has stables at Crestline Road in Brocklehurst beside the airport and the Community Garden. A volunteer of the group has contacted the club seeking help with a bee problem. Bees are watering at one of their horse watering troughs and the horses don't like it. These may be honeybees and some wasps that were attracted to the water trough when a leak developed. The leak has been repaired and the ground now is less wet, but the bees have fixed on that trough as a preferred watering site.
If you have bees in that area please make sure that they have a constant water source and that they are using it. Bees flying from a nearby hive to the river may have found a more convenient watering spot at the horse trough, than flying all the way to the river. It is much easier to keep a hive using a designated water source than to re-direct a hive of bees to a new water source.
September Update
This issue was resolved by the repair of the water supply system. With the leaks repaired the "bee problem" improved.
The culprits were NOT honeybees, but were wasps/Yellowjackets!
The need for provision of water for our beehives, though, was brought to light by this issue, though.
Also, it demonstrates the need for public education to recognize honeybees and wasps!
If you have bees in that area please make sure that they have a constant water source and that they are using it. Bees flying from a nearby hive to the river may have found a more convenient watering spot at the horse trough, than flying all the way to the river. It is much easier to keep a hive using a designated water source than to re-direct a hive of bees to a new water source.
September Update
This issue was resolved by the repair of the water supply system. With the leaks repaired the "bee problem" improved.
The culprits were NOT honeybees, but were wasps/Yellowjackets!
The need for provision of water for our beehives, though, was brought to light by this issue, though.
Also, it demonstrates the need for public education to recognize honeybees and wasps!
