Hello beekeepers and honey bee enthusiasts!
Wow, we did it! The Swarm the Park 12th Annual Honey Bee Festival is in the record books. This event is at the core of our mission of education. I’m sure it gives all of us a boost in pride and gratitude that we have for our fellow volunteers and club members! The day certainly could not have happened without many helping hands. Thank you again to all of our volunteers and club members! I hope everyone has had some time to rest and recuperate from the buzz of preparations and day-of tasks.
If you have not done so already, please fill out the quick feedback form.We would love to get your feedback about your experiences. Your candid feedback will greatly assist us as we begin planning for next year’s festival. Please take a few moments and use this link to provide feedback for us: https://forms.gle/HEhuYMrjhrzjDCXA7
RPBBA Calendar of Events for July
📅 Thursday, July 6th – RPBBA HBF recap meeting via Zoom @ 7pm https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85646333633
📅 Monday, July 10th – RPBBA Meeting @ 7pm at the Rockwood Park Nature Center
📅 Monday, July 17th – Study Group @ 7pm at the Rockwood Park Nature Center
July Meeting
This month, we are going to use our meeting as a time to recap on the Honey Bee Festival and engage with our fellow beekeepers with some lively mini-workshops.
🐝 VSBA Master Beekeeping Study Group
For those who have never checked it out, the study group is a great way for RPBBA members to further their beekeeping knowledge. Several members have used the study group and were successful in recently passing their State Apprentice exams. However there is no requirement for attendees to pursue certification. The study group is informal and is a good way to learn more about honey bees and beekeeping from veteran and new beekeepers. During the Study Group, questions from the VSBA Apprentice Study Guide are posed for the group to discuss and answer together, as well as any questions that come from the group.
The study group meets monthly on the 3rd Monday of each month. They’ll next be meeting Monday, July 17th, 7pm, at the Nature Center. The group will continue to go through the VSBA Apprentice Study Guide questions, provide answers, and discuss. Those interested to attend are encouraged to download the guide in advance and start working through the questions on their own. Add to Google Calendar
Varroa Mite Workshop
On Tuesday, July 18, 2023 from 8:30am to 12 noon, Dr. James Wilson, VA Tech Collegiate Assistant Professor, and Keith Tignor, VDACS State Apiarist, will present information on the life cycle and control of the Varroa mite. Find out how this pest is impacting honey bee populations and what beekeepers can do to minimize colony losses resulting from Varroa mite infestations. Presentations will include discussion of integrated pest management strategies to control this mite. Both presenters will be available in the Randolph Farm apiary during the afternoon to demonstrate how to inspect a hive to identify, sample for and control this pest. VSU Randolph Farm Pavilion is located at 4415 River Road, Petersburg, VA 23803
To register or view additional information visit https://www.ext.vsu.edu/events/2023/07/18-varroa.
Q: How long have you been a beekeeper and how many hives do you manage?
I got my 1st nuc last spring so just over a year now. I have 2 hives in my yard.
Q: What inspired you to become a beekeeper?
I grew up in an old farmhouse in Southside, VA and had bees living in one wall. I remember one summer it got so hot we put out pots to catch the honey dripping from the tongue and groove ceiling in my room. I guess I just always felt a certain connection with the bees! My dad began renovating the house in recent years and tried to relocate those bees to hives but they didn’t make it. I was pretty upset about losing my “home bees” and then felt inspired to take care of some of my own.
Q: What is the best thing about beekeeping for you?
I love that beekeeping is an encompassing sensory experience every time I go in the hive. The smells, sounds, and feel. The beauty and every once in a while, the taste! I’m able to go in the hive, get away and focus on just my bees and only that matters at the moment. I’m constantly amazed at all there is to learn about these little creatures and am really enjoying the journey of becoming a better beekeeper.
Q: What’s challenging about beekeeping for you?
There are so many challenges as a new beekeeper. Every time I get to a new step in the process something seems to pop up that I had no idea about! At the moment though, my biggest challenge is that I just found out I am “moderately” allergic to bees. I have to really suit up well, keep my epipen on hand and I like to have someone with me when in the hives. I have small hands and those thick gloves really make me more clumsy during inspections. I am not liking having to use them but hope that at some point I can go back to thin gloves then maybe none at all once I’ve been taking immunotherapy shots for a while. No way am I giving this hobby up if I can help it!
Q: What fun, surprising story would you like to share?
Weeks ago I was in my hive when I spotted a “spot” in a funny place. A white dot on a drone! I knew it was a paint mark but my queen wasn’t marked and that definitely wasn’t a queen. I went to the Facebook group and someone quickly got back to me that drones are used as practice for marking queens and I have a perfect example of “drone drifting” there in my hive. How cool is that!?
Also, I split a hive and then it swarmed at least 4 times after. I thought that was also pretty surprising!
Q: In what ways do you feel like you are making an impact on the environment and/or the community?
Because of my bees, I’ve really gotten into planting flowers – especially more natives this year. I hope folks see the hives and flowers in my yard and it puts a smile on their face. Maybe they’ll even be inspired to try more flowers and/or bees on their own land. I’ve had so many people find out I have bees and ask if they can go in the hives with me and learn too. I love how bees spark such wonderful conversation and the opportunity to teach and pass on what feels like sacred knowledge.
This Month in the Hive (July)
On hot and humid nights, you may see a curtain of bees cooling themselves on the exterior of the hive. Swarming is still possible, but it becomes less likely as the month advances. The Varroa parasitic mite continues to increase its population at the expense of the bees, and it will require treatment or management, soon. The bees continue to raise 3000-5000 replacement bees per week in July, and may consume a larger amount of honey and pollen than is collected if the month is dry. The stronger hive populations will peak at 50,000-60,000 worker bees.
Late June and July are harvest times for the Northern Virginia beekeeper. After supers and frames are removed for extraction, the best practice is to return the supers and frames to the hives for cleanup. The bees may manage to store 5 pounds or more of honey during July, but they will eat more than they collect if the month is dry. Continue inspections of the hive to make sure the hive is healthy. Catalpa, bee bee tree, linden, milkweed, butterfly weed, horsemint, fireweed, and globe thistle will bloom. Heartsease and smartweed bloom this month, starting in damp bottomlands. Cucumber, melons, some soybean varieties, sunflowers, some vetches, verbena, and clover will supply supplemental nectar or pollen, where cultivated. If you can find a field of alfalfa, soybean, or buckwheat in bloom, these plants are major nectar sources and produce distinctive honey flavors.
Watch for bees fanning droplets of water to cool the hive. Especially around the harvest, watch for robbing activity near the entrance. Look for a falloff in egg production, as the brood nest shrinks gradually down to about 60-75% of its peak size.
Make sure the water source for the bees is clean and accessible. Harvest honey. Return wet supers to the hives. After the supers are cleaned of honey by the bees, remove excess supers and stack them with moth-repellent PDB crystals. Watch for signs of robbing and take steps to discourage robbing if it starts. Select perfect frames of comb for honey competitions. Attend the club picnic. Learn how to filter and bottle honey for the most competitive local and state fair honey judging. Decide if, when and how you are going to treat for Varroa. Order any supplies or equipment that you need for mite treatments.
If you are going to make splits to overwinter, the first half of July is the last time to do it. You will need to be prepared to feed any split during the dry months of July and August. About half the time, you will need to feed splits in September and October as well.
[From https://buzzwordhoney.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Northern-Virginia-Honeybee-Annual-Cycle.pdf]
What’s in Bloom (according to Maymont)
Crepe Myrtle, Rose, Daylily, Annuals, Perennials, Buddleia, Rose of Sharon, Abelia
https://maymont.org/explore/gardens/whats-in-bloom/
Bee Vocabulary – “Afterswarm”
The first swarm to leave the parent colony with the mother queen is called the primary swarm. If the colony is still crowded from subsequent brood emergence when the first virgin queens emerge, another swarm may launch. This is an afterswarm and is sometimes referred to as “cast” swarms. These swarms are usually smaller and are accompanied by a virgin queen.
Final Word
Between the VSBA semi-annual conference, the Honey Bee Festival, work out in the apiary, honey extracting (the list goes on), it’s been a busy summer so far. We hope you are able to make Monday’s meeting to recap the festival and to meet some new members.
If you are not a member of RPBBA, we encourage you to join and be active. You can join on our website.
We are always looking for ways to improve communications in the club. If you have any ideas or suggestions, please let me know.
-Hollee
(p.s. Please excuse any typos)
Hollee Freeman
Communications
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Keep up with what RPBBA is doing, see Calendar of Events!
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