Well, Toto, it’s definitely not summer anymore! Nights are colder, days are shorter, and it’s most definitely early fall. With that, there are different things we need to do.
- If you haven’t already, make sure your mites are DEAD. The hives will have been and still are producing their winter bees and, if they are damaged by mites, your hive won’t survive the winter. In recent years the clement fall weather has lasted longer, so if you’re behind on this, you still have a chance, but you have to get moving!
- Raiding is getting more likely; seriously consider using narrower entrance reducers to protect your bees.
- Time to harvest your honey, time to make sure there’s enough stores in the boxes. While the good weather has been lasting longer, that is never a guarantee. I’ve switched up to 1.5:1 syrup in my hives that need a boost; the higher concentration avoids the longer evaporation time before it can be capped. Depending on the weather, in the next few weeks up that to 2:1 syrup. And for easy calculation:
- 1:1 syrup, water volume expands by 1.625x
- 1.5:1 syrup, water volume expands by ~2x
- 2:1 syrup, water volume expands by ~2.25x
- And over the next month or so, watch for the drones being kicked out of the hives. Mating season is over, and they’re now just useless mouths to feed. Thank God that behaviour hasn’t been adopted by humans!!
Our next meeting is this Thursday, September 12th, Central Saanich Senior’s Centre, 1229 Clarke Rd, Brentwood Bay [1]. BUT: This month there will be no Beginners/Intermediate corners. The main meeting will start at 6:30.
- 6:30-7:30ish: Brood Break Method of Mite Control, Summer vs Winter Bees, Winterizing, Don L
- 7:30-7:45 : What to do this month: Larry Lindahl
- 7:45-8:00: Club Business: Bill C
- 8:00-8:30: Social time with fellow beekeepers over coffee/tea and cookies. Bring your own mug!
Outyard People
It would be greatly appreciated if you would bring a jar or two of honey to the meeting this week as a thank you to Queesto for allowing us to use their land for our outyards. A little generosity goes a long way to developing friendly, cooperative relationships!
Saanich Fair
Another successful year at the Saanich Fair!! There were over 34 honey entries this year and they were all of excellent quality, so congratulations to the winners! And the booth was a hoot. Lots of interested people, and lots and LOTS of interested kids with their faces pressed up to the demonstration hive, eagerly searching out the queen. It was a lot of fun, talking to and educating people, and seeing their fascination with the bees! A big thank you to everyone that staffed the booth, a big thanks to Don Lambert for setting up the demo hive with his own bees – and a super big thanks to Victoria Schedel and all those that helped organize our presence there. I encourage all of you to consider participating next year, as a honey entrant, as booth staff, or as an organizer. You’ll finish feeling a bit tired, but with a wide grin on your face!
Free Equipment
I have been contacted by Mike Powell, a retiring beekeeper who is wishing to GIFT a lot of equipment to club members:
- 9 bottom boards, 1 screened bottom board
- 10 top covers
- 4 syrup feeders
- 5 queen excluders
- 15 inner covers
- 1 smoker
- 1 wooden nuc box
- 3-frame stainless steel honey extractor ($150)
- Oxalic acid vaporizer + battery + 12V battery charger ($50)
- All equipment will have been inspected.
He can be reached at mdpowell@gmail.com [2].
Small Groups
This is not a coven, but instead is a small group during one of their summer meetings. Please let us know how your summer small group went. Did you meet? Did you enjoy it?
And from the internet, which can always be trusted, a group of beekeepers can be called a cluster. I much prefer a swarm if it’s bigger, but a nuc if it’s smaller…
Hope to see you this Thursday!