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Beeline Newsletter

March 15, 2024

Apprentice Level Beekeeping Course starts March 23rd

Spring Apprentice Level Course - Become an apprentice beekeeper in six weeks! Saturdays 10am to Noon, March 23rd & 30th, April 6th, 13th, 20th & 27th, in-person at the Swantown Inn Grand Victorian Ballroom, Olympia, WA - WSBA curriculum, teachers are Gail Booth, OBA Education Coordinator, Nathan Allan, OBA President, and Bryan Henn, OBA Mentorship Committee Chair

Register for the Apprentice Level Course (cost $50)
Please log in on the website after clicking the link, so it knows you are a current member. The fee is $50 and you must be a current member in the Olympia Beekeepers Association to register. The fee includes receiving your certificate on successful completion of the course.

If there are multiple people in a family wanting to be certified there is an additional admin fee of $25 ($10 for the certificate, $15 for the class fee = $25). Multiple people from a family are welcome to sit in on a class (our association membership covers a household with the right for one vote), but the fee structure only covers one person being certified.

Next Meeting
Monday, April 8th, 2024, 6pm to 8pm
Get details to attend the meeting in person or online

Special guest: Dewey Caron - PhD, Professor Emeritus, and Author - will give a timely talk for beekeepers transitioning from Winter to Spring about “Dealing with non-survivors and the living”

In retirement, Dewey remains active in bee education, writing for newsletters, giving Bee Short Courses, assisting in several Master beekeeper programs, and (lucky for us!) giving presentations to local, state, and regional bee clubs. He is author of Honey Bee Biology & Beekeeping, a major textbook used in University and bee association bee courses and has a new book, The Complete Bee Handbook published by Rockridge Press in 2020. Each April, he does the Pacific Northwest honey bee survey of losses and management and a pollination economics survey of PNW beekeepers. Check out his latest blog post at The Buzz!

Meeting raffle! Please bring raffle items to donate and $1 bills to the monthly meeting.

We will be selling raffle tickets for $1 each (cash only) at the beginning of meetings and during breaks. At the end, we will draw winning tickets. Winners will select a donated item until all the donated items are claimed. Past raffle donations have included:

small bee-related gifts
honey
extra chicken eggs from the backyard flock
plants grown at home
extra fruit or vegetables from the garden
old, clean bee equipment
bee magazines

Bee creative!

Annual PNW Honey Bee Survey is now OPEN! Now in its 15th year! This annual survey covers questions on survivorship (loss) and managements for varroa mite control, and is for all members who have overwintered colonies. It should take 5 minutes to complete if you are prepared to answer questions about your apiary on; hive survivor success rates, hive types, months and types of hive treatments and management practices, and apiary location(s). The survey is open through April. If you have any questions or concerns about this survey contact info@pnwhoneybeesurvey.com.

Do you want to take better records this year? There is a note sheet available for download at http://pnwhoneybeesurvey.com/NoteSheet/. It's a great tool to both remind you of things that COULD be done and track WHEN things occur, for yourself, if not for the survey. :)

Image of the top of a corkboard with a sign that says "Bulletin Board"

How to check out a book from the OBA library: 1. Check out during meetings & weekends 8-noon 2. Put name and number on card 3. OK to keep 2-3 months 4. Return to Nathan

"Ask a WA Beekeeper" Livestream - programs are each month on the third Thursday starting at 6:30pm. Here's the link: https://www.facebook.com/AskaWABeekeeper

We're looking for speakers and topic ideas for upcoming meetings. Please send your ideas to president@olympiabeekeepers.org

Members, do you have beekeeping equipment from your home apiary to sell? Advertise it here!

Langstroth hives for sale!
Please contact secretary@olympiabeekeepers.org if you are interested in any of the following items:

Two (2) lightly used, complete, Langstroth hives fitted for 9 frames - $100 each - each includes:
- Landing platform/ramp base
- Screened bottom board
- Slatted rack
- Two (2) deeps
- One (1) super
- Inner and outer covers
- Bee escape
- Queen excluder
Two (2) bottom boards - $5 each
Top feeder with/in super box - $15
Top feeder with 2 plastic jars - $5

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Olympia Beekeepers Association · P.O. Box 732 · Olympia, WA 98507 · USA