Pollen is Here in the Flathead! 4/4/25!
Great news! I saw my first bees with bright yellow pollen entering the front of the hive today, Friday A[ril 4th. That means as long as you keep your bees warm through these spring storms, the bees have an excellent chance to make it if they can forage for their own protein. Congrats to those of you that got your bees through our winter. Don’t forget to think about reducing down your hive space temporarily on our next 55 degree day. And keep feeding them spring patties till our Dandelion flow hits.
March Meeting 3/25 at 6:30pm
This month we have a special treat! Calvin and Hillary Sphuler will be hosting the March meeting Tuesday, the 25th at 6:30 pm at the Flathead County Health Department 1035 1st Ave W in Kalispell (second floor). Calvin and Hillary are experienced sideliner and queen rearers with over 75% winter success rates most years with their 20+ hives. They will be there to answer questions and pass on his tips and tricks! Please joins us Tuesday! Our April meeting will feature Christine Lambert from USDA Wildlife Services to talk to us about bear fencing.
February Important Announcements!
Happy First False Spring Everyone! Some important annoucements if you missed our monthly meeting:
- Buy your bees NOW if you haven’t. There has been a country-wide decimation of bees with commerical companies and stock may run out very fast this year.
- Volunteer’s Needed for our club’s vendor table at Free The Seeds this Saturday, March 1st, from 9-am – 2:30 pm at FVCC Arts & Technology building. Angela needs help greeting the general public who stop by the table to ask questions about beekeeping. Please stop by at any point and offer to help stand there and answer questions and talk about bees! She’s doing a talk about beekeeping at the event from 1:30 – 2:30 pm.
- It’s a good time to QUICKLY open up your hives and give the bees protein/sugar patties. Without substitue protein your bees from last year will not be able to feed their replacement brood while Montana has no pollen. Please see the March Feeding Recipe for Crabby Patties on this page . Do not do inspections yet unless the temperature is 55 degrees.
- The only 2 local (Kalispell) bee drop offs are from Great Northern Honey and Rod Smith. If you are purchasing bees within the state that require a longer drive, PLEASE text Angela at 406-871-6551 to volunteer or ask about bee car-pooling for a specific seller. We are gathering a list of drivers willing to pick up everyone’s bees at a given location for gas money to distribute back here in Kalispell. It requires some coordination and sometimes money exchange so please inquire early.
February 25th Meeting at 6:30 pm
Welcome back everyone! Our first in person meeting of the year will be Tuesday, Feb 25th at 6:30 pm at the Flathead County Health Department (second floor). We’ll be discussing ordering bees, March feeding, and hive autopsies. See you then!
Beginning & Advanced Beekeeping Class at FVCC Feb and May
The Beginning beekeeping class taught by Angela Tollerson can now be registered for at FVCC continuing education website.
February: Beginning Beekeeping
May: Advanced Beekeeping
October Meeting with Honey Tasting, Stop Feeding and Winterize this Sunday
Our last meeting of the 2024 year will be Tuesday, October 29th at 6:30 pm at the Flathead County Health Department (second floor) in Kalispell. Please bring a small jar of your honey to participate in the tasting contest. We’ll cast votes and the winner will receive a prize!
Our last nice, warm day is this Sunday, 10/20. After that temperatures drop too low for bees to safely store nectar you give them. They cannot dehyrdate and cap honey below 55 degree days so it will grow deadly bacteria in the comb and give them dysentery. Sunday is the perfect day to remove top feeders, put on your extra super box above the bees filled with insulation of your choosing with an extra layer of sugar of your choosing. See our Helpful Info page for feeding options.
If you missed our September apiary visit meeting where we talked about winterizing, you may watch this video from a few years ago here
August/September Meetings Combined to be Slovinian Apiary Potluck on Sept 8th
We will not be meeting at the Health Department August 27th nor September 24th. Instead, we will go visit the Slovinian Apiary created by our member, Lowell, in Polson, Montana on Sunday, Sept. 8th. We will also be covering basic winterizing tips and it will be a Potluck Lunch. Here are the details:
Location: Lowell’s Apiary
39085 Cimarron Lane, Polson
Date: Sunday, September 8th
Time: 11:30am (Potluck first, then tour and bee winterizing meeting)
Required: Bee Veil at least
Potluck: Bring what you want; but if you want to make sure we have all dishes covered, follow the general
rule of Last name starts with A-M: Sides or Deserts. Last Name starts with N-Z: Main Dishes
July 30th 6:30 pm Meeting
Don’t forget about our meeting Tuesday night at the Flathead County Health Department, Second floor at 6:30 pm! See you then!
June 25th Tuesday Meeting at the County Health Department
We’ll see you at 6:30 pm on the second floor Tuesday night this month! We’ll be talking about your July To-Dos and planning for our apiary visit this summer to a club member’s Scandinavian hives.
May 28th Meeting CANCELED
Due to influenza illness, Angela is unable to run the beekeeping meeting tonight, Tuesday 5/28. My apologies for the late notice. Please watch this page for news about our June meeting. If you have any beekeeping questions that were dependent on answers at tonight’s meeting, please feel free to email or call. Angela won’t be able to respond for a few days when her voice is back. Thanks for your understanding!