General Meeting (February 2024)

The Capital Regional Beekeepers Association (CRBA) meets on the second Thursday of every month.

This meeting usually starts with a beginners/intermediate beekeeper corner 30 minutes before the regular club proceedings start around 7pm.

Agenda

• 6:30 – 7:00
  • Beginners’ Corner (upstairs) – Getting ready for the coming season – Don L
  • Intermediates’ Corner (downstairs) – Getting ready for the coming season – Bill F
• 7:00 – 7:45ish
  • Full meeting with Ms. Tara Galpin, our local Bee Inspector speaking on AFB
• 7:45 – 8:00ish
  • Club business
• 8:00ish – 8:45pm
  • Social Time; network with fellow beekeepers over coffee, tea, and cookies

Minutes

7:07 pm – Welcome!

Speaker: Tara Galpin, unfortunately Tara is ill and will need to rebook for a future meeting.

Extractor for Auction; $50 starting bid. Damage on one half of the lid, requires new hinges. Sold for $325.00 to Martin Kind.

Meeting with Community Hall Mgr – Bill C was advised that religious booklets are being left in the men/women washrooms. Complaints have been received by others using the hall. Bill confirmed that the club meetings are about Bees, we ask that this behaviour stop immediately. If not, it may jeopardize the clubs’ future tenure.

Sterigenics – email will be sent out February 8th with detail & instructions on how to have your equipment sent to Sterigenics. Please do not send full frames of honey – they will be removed from the shipment, as the weight is too much for anyone volunteering. Deadline for submitting forms is Feb. 18th. Volunteers required for loading & unloading the truck, 2 separate days. Please consider helping out which will help ensure the club can continue to offer this service.

Zoom Meetings (LIVE) – no longer able to provide live Zoom meeting option. Going forward, the meetings will be recorded & uploaded to Youtube for future viewing. Links to the recordings will be
available on the CRBA website.

Annual Hive Survival Survey – Shirley Richardson has volunteered to complete the survey again this year. Please expect a call over the next couple of weeks.

Swarm Line – Peter Day has announced his retirement from the swarm line team – thank you Peter for the many years of service you’ve provided to the club!! Laure Newnham has volunteered to take over as Swarm Line coordinator, and will be presenting at the March club meeting. In preparation for this season, please register your apiary address by emailing president@capitalregionbeekeepers.ca. to ensure its updated on our map.

Volunteer Opportunities

• 1st Vice President; Don Lambert, 2 year term is up
• Secretary; Victoria Schedel, 2 year term is up

BC Honey Producers Assoc – Kate Fraser, Bees Please Farms in Metchosin. Shared information on the association and highly recommends bee keepers join. Approx. $50 for a membership, and they sell insurance for approx. $100 per year. Everyone is encouraged to check their home insurance policy for rules on what is considered a home business and applicable coverage.

What we need to do in February – Larry L.

• Tops misaligned?
• Dead bees in the yard?
• Varroa treatment late January, complete a count in February
• Clean bottom boards & entrance
• Use mouse guards, make sure to clean dead bees out of the entrance regularly
• Check hive weight, may need to start feeding
• Pollen patties may be needed to stimulate brood rearing
• Check quilt boxes for moisture, be sure to dry them out
• Have frames of honey above broad nest
• Check ventilation, make sure fresh air is coming in from the bottom entrance
• Assess your equipment, make sure you are ready for the coming year
• Clean all equipment by the end of March
• Add supers to prevent swarming – 2 or 3 at least
• Take insulation around hive off when the daytime temps reach 15 C

Meeting adjourned – 8:25 pm

Coffee & cookies – 8:30 pm – 9:00 pm