Click the Image to Read the Governor's Proclamation!
Click the file link below for slide show of highlites from Jennifer's Wonderful Idaho Trip!
|
National Honey Bee Day - 2016
| ||
Welcome All Beekeeping EnthusiastsWelcome to the Treasure Valley Beekeepers Club of Idaho.
The Treasure Valley Beekeepers Club provides a great opportunity for everyone with an interest in bees to come & gather great resources and knowledge about the honeybee. Practical knowledge, workshops and demonstrations are provided throughout the year. At every meeting, we discuss important bee topics, along with a Q & A with experienced beekeepers. Everyone is welcome! To become a club member, come to any meeting to sign up. Dues are $10.00/yr or $15.00 for a family/yr. If you can't make our next meeting; you can download, print, fill out and mail in our registration form. The mailing address is located on the form.
Club Meetings
|
| ||
|
We recently gathered for a field day at The Honey Store in Fruitland, ID, on Saturday, April 16, 2016, for "Nuc Pick-Up Day." Lessons from the Masters began @ 9 am. Many thanks to Shilo, Nick, Josh, Debbie, Tony and Family for hosting another great outing. The BEST!
Tony & Nick Noyes (The True Masters!) offered beginning beekeeping lessons in April at The Honey Store. Thanks, Guys!
Our next regular Club meeting is scheduled for October 18 at the IOA Hall in Boise.
We meet the third Tuesday of most every month (unless we have a field trip, a Pub Swarm, etc.) at 6:30 pm, in Boise at: 
IOA Hall
401 Brazil St. (off Sunrise Rim, near Vista and I-84) Boise Please bring your own drinks. Map
Need Hive Components Fast?
Mike Morrison has a list of equipment that you can purchase locally and avoid shipping charges. Please see the following list for what he has available and his contact info:
YOUR TVBC OFFICERS
President/(Queen Bee) – Karla Kimball
Vice-President – Joyce Gebhardt Treasurer/Keeper of the Envelope – Rena Alexander Secretary/Working Drone – Ken Sonnen Past-President – Chad Dickinson Committee Positions: Volunteers (no vote necessary) Web Queen Chair – MJ Oresik Web Assistant Drone - Chad Dickinson Community Education Chair - Terry Fackrell Plans Club education - Bug Days, Western Idaho Fair, community appearances by Club members, etc. Special Projects – Carole Kanizar & Steve Sweet Foothills Learning Center Activities, National Honey Bee Day, the occasional "Drink the Kool-Aid" Sessions ;^) and the Winter Hobbyist Session.
|
What Should a Beekeeper be Doing Now?September
October is a transition month from fall to winter in our weather. Generally, the weather is relatively benign for the first two or three weeks, and then winter arrives in earnest by Halloween, or so. This is our last opportunity to feed syrup and finalize winter preparation before dormancy. • Continue to check for light hives. Heft hives (lift one side up). They should be notably heavy. If not, feed a saturated sugar solution (60% sugar; balance water by weight). Feed early enough to allow syrup to ripen. • Place a barrier between the bottom of the hive and the ground. Pallets are ideal for this. • Keep hives exposed to the sun with entrances faced away from prevailing winds. • Tilt hives so water drains away from the entrance. Ensure proper ventilation and that lids do not leak. • Add entrance reducers/mouse guards. • All superfluous items within the hive, e.g., Varroa treatments, queen excluders, and extra rims, should be removed by now. • Find and remove deadouts. Place all unused equipment in storage. • Protect frames. Moth crystals (paradichlorobenzene) are typically used for this purpose. Stack supers (or brood boxes), and put crystals on a piece of paper on top of every 5th super, or so. Then place a lid on top. Vapors kill moths and larvae, but not eggs. Freezing is an option and will kill eggs. Also, wax moth activity is suppressed if supers (and the frames within) are left open and exposed to light. • If hives are opened/lids lifted late in the active season (or past), the propolis seals have been broken. Take care to secure the lids to keep them from being blown off during winter winds. • Nutrition and Fall Feeding are important topics right now. Check out both these video clips: Apis m. and Randy Oliver. • One final note for late-September or October: If you haven't yet gotten around to getting your honey crop off, doing your mite counts and/or actively managing for mites, you should think seriously about putting in an order right away for new bees next Spring. :-) The above information was excerpted from the Oregon State Beekeepers Association webpage, found at: http://www.orsba.org/htdocs/home.php (June 2, 2012). The Treasure Valley Beekeepers Club extends a special thanks to Todd Balsiger, Forest Grove, OR for permission to post this information.
Foothills Learning Center
The TVBC has partnered with the Foothills Learning Center to provide educational opportunities about the Apis mellifera (honey bees) for the public. We have a bee yard on the grounds used for the Honey Bee Apprentice Program taught each year for new beekeepers. Please visit their website for all classes available at the Foothills Learning Center.
CONTACT US
| |||||||||
