Fall is here again, it happens every year so it shouldn't surprise me. This summer just seemed to pass so quickly and with these warmer temperatures continuing as I write this, fall still seems a ways off. The calendar however does not lie and the days are noticeably shorter. The cooler weather that surely must be coming soon means less forage and less flight time for our bees. Because of this we need to monitor the weight of our colonies and feed if needed. A simple way to check is the two finger test, if you can lift one end of a double super colony then it's time to feed.
Hopefully everyone got varroa mite levels under control in August, but even if we have, we must continue monitor them. We want healthy colonies with plenty of food going into winter, this along with winter management will help insure they survive into next spring. If you have any questions about monitoring weight, feeding or varroa mites please ask at the next meeting.
Our elections for officers is held at the November meeting and nominations at the upcoming October meeting. If you'd like to consider yourself for a position please let one of the board members know at the next meeting.
Jerry Van Heeringen
I got a text this morning (September 28th) from a friend that I keep bees on her property, and said she had a swarm in a tree. She had sent a picture and it looked pretty small but I went out and hived it anyway. It was about 2 frames worth of bees, and I’ll be able to combine them with a small colony or maybe I’ll find a queenless one in the next few weeks. Always seems mystifying why a colony would throw a swarm this time of year as its a pretty certain death wish if no beekeeper finds it.