We will meet this Tuesday, January 26th at 6:30 pm as usual but we have lost access to the Health Department during COVID. We will meet at the Northridge Lutheran Church at 323 Northridge Dr in Kalispell. Here is the a link to the meeting details. See you then!

Monthly Beekeeping meetings are on a break until after the New Year in 2021. We do not have a meeting place and since the bees have all gone to bed, we could all use a rest! However, please feel free to ask questions here or call Angela or Ingvar Ingvarsson with any questions or concerns. In January we will start talking about late winter/spring Preparations and planning for next year. Thank you all for another great year of beekeeping!

As many of you know, I was requested to conduct a research experiment and write a paper on it for my Master Beekeeping certification with the University of Montana. I received high marks on my paper and I thought I would share it with you all as it may effect your decisions as you decide how to winter your bees.

The National Honey Show is a world renown show in the UK that is offering free online attendance this year. It’s a great opportunity to see science, techniques, and more about beekeeping! October 22-24th.

Register Free Here

Members: I was just informed today by the county health department the meeting room is closed through December due to Covid. This month’s meeting will tonight, 9/29, will be moved to zoom at 6:30 pm. The Password for the meeting is 838422. Please install zoom on your computer or phone prior to the meeting:

Meeting Link

Don’t forget this Tuesday is the last of the month. We’ll be meeting in person at the Flathead County Health Department 6:30 – 8:30 (socialize at 6pm). We’ll also be streaming to the Flathead Valley Beekeepers Association Facebook page. Bring masks!

We’ll discuss winterizing setups and winter feeding and welcome some new members from the Beginning Beekeeping class at FVCC!

The following seminar takes place in the UK, so this would be 12:30 – 1:30 pm on September 16th for us Mountain Time zone folks. Cost is just under $4 to register.

We did not have an August meeting this year so I thought it important to list your action items for right now.

Verify you have a laying queen – We have several members discovering they lost their queen recently. We are just hitting a point where drones will be kicked out of the hives and so waiting for a virgin to mate will be very risky. If you have a strong hive you want to stay independent, you’ll want to order an emergency queen or reach out to Angela for one.

Lift your Hives – Tip up from the back. A double deep should way over 100 pounds going in to the winter. A single hive over 50 pounds. If they are underweight, start feeding them right now with 2:1 Sugar to Water ratio. Add a tablespoon per gallon of citrus juice to keep it acidic and slow down bacterial/fungal growth in the feed. Bees will not take syrup below 55 degrees so now is the time to feed, don’t wait till October!

Keep Robber Guards On – Especially if your hive is smaller in population or if you are feeding them in the hive. Bees will lose a lot of winter stores to robbers.

Address Mites – If treating for mites is part of your management strategy, there’s still time to do a mite count and see if you need to treat. Remember, all vaporizing is very dangerous and requires special vapor blocking masks. Remember to use this resource to help direct you: Honey Bee Health Varroa Tool

September Meeting – Tuesday, September 29th 6:30 at the Flathead County Health Department Floor #2. We will stream on Facebook also.

Members, As mentioned last month at our meeting, we will not be having a traditional meeting at the health department or online this Tuesday, but will instead be visiting volunteers’ apiary or apiaries. Who would like to volunteer their bee yard and give us a tour with a possible inspection? This Sat 8/29 is nice weather for visiting mid-morning and day. Let us know and I’ll organize a Parade of Hives.