Treasure Valley Beekeepers Club
  • Home
  • About
    • About
    • The Beeline
    • Calendar
    • Contact
    • Join
    • Education
    • Education >
      • New Beekeeper FAQ
      • Beekeeping 101
      • Beekeeper's Calendar
      • Beekeeping Classes >
        • Oregon Master Beekeeping Program
      • Foothills Learning Center
      • Videos
    • President's Message
    • TVBC Officers
  • Presentations
    • Meeting Presentations
    • Installing a Package
    • Hive Configuration and Components
    • Small Scale Queen Rearing
    • Swarm Prevention
    • Wintering
  • Resources
    • Resources
    • Library
    • Mites & Maladies >
      • Mite Busters
    • Swarms
    • Queens
    • Honey Judging
  • Jr. Bee Club
    • Jr. Bee Club
  • Club Photos
    • Club Photo Albums
    • Albums Through the Years
    • 2022
    • 2021
    • 2019
    • 2018
    • 2017
    • 2016
    • 2015
    • 2014
    • 2013
    • 2012
    • 2011
    • 2010
    • 2009
    • 2008
    • Hat Sightings
    • First Blooms

Beginnings

Bill Ahaus wrote an article about how the club got started and Jeff Bergland gathered the historical facts:
History of the TVBC
File Size: 506 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

The Honey Bus

Treasure Valley Reads project will explore “The Honey Bus: A Memoir of Loss, Courage and a Girl Saved by Bees” by Meredith May.
More information on the Treasure Valley reads website.
Picture

Beekeeping Magazines for All Levels of Beekeeping

Picture
The American Bee Journal was established in 1861 by Samuel Wagner and has been published continuously since that time, except for a brief period during the Civil War. The Journal has the honor of being the oldest English language beekeeping publication in the world. Click to subscribe: http://tinyurl.com/qfzdm52
Picture
TVBC's Jr. Bee Club is in this issue.
Picture
Published monthly, Bee Culture magazine offers articles, advice and information for every level beekeeper, from not-yet-started to the commercial operator. Every January, you will receive a FREE beekeeping calendar, unavailable from any other industry source. Click to subscribe: http://tinyurl.com/zh5xjcu
Picture
Bee Culture Magazine's new beginner’s magazine entitled BEEkeeping Your First Three Years. A quarterly, newsstand-only offering, the very first issue has articles aimed specifically at brand new, and not quite so brand new beekeepers looking for solid, factual and reliable beekeeping information from sources that they can trust. At finer newsstands everywhere.
Picture
Click on the magazine for the article titled, 'Meet Treasure Valley'. Thank you Jennifer Berry!

TED Talks by beeks that have visited the Treasure Valley

Marla Spivak - Why Bees Are Disappearing
June 2013
Picture
Marla Spivak, Boise
November 2012

Honeybees have thrived for 50 million years, each colony 40 to 50,000 individuals coordinated in amazing harmony. So why, seven years ago, did colonies start dying en masse? Marla Spivak reveals four reasons which are interacting with tragic consequences. This is not simply a problem because bees pollinate a third of the world’s crops. Could this incredible species be holding up a mirror for us?
John Miller - No Bees, No Food
March 2014

Picture
John Miller, Boise
August 2013
Commercial beekeeper John Miller has fought to help keep our world's natural pollinators alive. "The link between plants and bees is a seductive life cycle, ...
Dennis vanEngelsdorp- A Plea for Bees
July 2008
Picture
Dennis vanEngelsdorp, Boise
August 2017

Bees are dying in droves. Why? Leading apiarist Dennis vanEngelsdorp looks at the gentle, misunderstood creature's important place in nature and the mystery behind its alarming disappearance.

Hive Health

2016 Honey Bee Diseases & Pests: A companion to Beekeeping in Northern Climates
Marla Spivak & Gary Reuter

Description: Updated for 2016. This 34-page booklet contains up-to-date information on controlling diseases, parasitic mites and other pests of honey bees. For beekeepers, entomologists, and apiculture students. This is included with the Beekeeping in Northern Climates package but is available here for the most up to date information and purchase alone.
Purchase $7.50
Download PDF  Free. If you wish to donate see UM Giving page.


"Effective Use of Oxalic Acid to Suppress Varroa with Marion Ellis"

"I particularly like this method because, as you can see, there are mites lying on their backs kicking their legs and really suffering, and it really makes me feel good to see that."
At 10 minutes, 30 seconds in http://tinyurl.com/joae7tx

Published on Mar 18, 2016
With its high efficacy and low risk of contamination, many beekeepers are looking to use Oxalic Acid this year. We have brought in an expert panelist, Marion Ellis Ph.D, to better explain the use of Oxalic Acid. As an entomologist, his research into the effects of Varroa and other parasites on honey bee colonies have given beekeepers insight into better hive management.

What's Wrong With My Hive?

Great photos of frames, both healthy and diseased.


Why Did My Bees Die?

Did cold weather take out your bees in the Fall? Do you think you might be experiencing Colony Collapse Disorder here in the Valley?  Are yellow jackets decimating your hives? How could a strong healthy hive crumble and disappear virtually overnight?  Could pesticide spraying by your neighbors be the cause of a weak colony?
Click the title above for a link or follow the link below for the most probable answer for your honey bee health problems:
https://beeinformed.org/2016/03/08/why-did-my-honey-bees-die/

Varroa Mite Management

This idea was stolen, fair & square, from Randy Oliver.  Folks living outside of Boise might want to follow the methodology in the ScientificBeekeeping.com article instead of using this chart. The graph illustrates the treatment periods in color.  Light blue is the thymol application period, formic acid is pink and hop beta acids are shown on the tails of the calendar during the broodless period. In the case of thymol, the dates assume that thymol is on for 4 weeks and the supers can go on right after the product is removed, per the label.
Formic acid is bounded by temps. The color areas show the application period, and the dates assume a three week application window. The application period is only 7 days. This may be a little obtuse.  Check it out and send any questions. The intent here is that we can have a tool for the beginning beeks to use when trying to figure out when and with what to treat for that despicable, nasty varroa mite.
Varroa Treatment Windows
File Size: 963 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File


Rosenkranz on Mites, 2010

The most thorough and comprehensive review available. Download here.  This piece is heartily endorsed by the TVBC "Mite Kraut."
"This review provides a survey of the current knowledge in the main fields of Varroa research including the biology of the mite, damage to the host, host tolerance, tolerance breeding and Varroa treatment. We first present a general view on the functional morphology and on the biology of the Varroa mite with special emphasis on host–parasite interactions during reproduction of the female mite. The pathology section describes host damage at the individual and colony level including the problem of transmission of secondary infections by the mite. Knowledge of both the biology and the pathology of Varroa mites is essential for understanding possible tolerance mechanisms in the honey bee host. We comment on the few examples of natural tolerance in A. mellifera and  evaluate recent approaches to the selection of Varroa tolerant honey bees. Finally, an extensive listing and critical evaluation of chemical and biological methods of Varroa treatments is given."

Small Cell Beekeeping - Effective Varroa Control?

Click here for scientific data on small cell beekeeping.

2016 Honey Bee Diseases & Pests: A Companion to Beekeeping in Northern Climates
Spivak, M.; Reuter, G.
Description: Updated for 2016. This 34-page booklet contains up-to-date information on controlling diseases, parasitic mites and other pests of honey bees. For beekeepers, entomologists, and apiculture students. This is included with the Beekeeping in Northern Climates package but is available here for the most up to date information and purchase alone.
Purchase $7.50
Download PDF  Free. If you wish to donate see the UM Giving page.

Varroa Mite Management, Part Deux

TOOLS FOR VARROA MANAGEMENT
A GUIDE TO EFFECTIVE VARROA SAMPLING & CONTROL
Click Here!
Videos produced by the coalition to show methods of controlling Varroa: 
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_-KDhSDvivlXaHW-cfx37w

Main website with guides and information:
 ​https://honeybeehealthcoalition.org

Every honey bee colony in the continental United States and Canada either has Varroa mites today or will have them within several months. Varroa mite infestation represents one of the greatest threats to honey bee health, honey production, and pollination services. When honey bee colonies are untreated or treated ineffectively colonies can fail and beekeepers can incur major economic losses, and, ultimately, agricultural food production may be impacted. In addition, colonies with Varroa are a source of mites that can spread to other colonies, even in other apiaries, through drifting, robbing, and absconding activity of bees.
All beekeepers should remain vigilant to detect high Varroa mite levels and be prepared to take timely action in order to reduce mite loads. Effective mite control will reduce colony losses and avoid potential spread of infectious disease among colonies.
This Guide will explain practical, effective methods that beekeepers can use to measure Varroa mite infestations in their hives and select appropriate control methods. The Honey Bee Health Coalition offers this Guide free of charge and asks that you please reference the Coalition if distributing.

Idaho Beekeeping Statutes and Ordinances (under construction)

Boise City Beekeeping Ordinance
City of Boise Beekeeping Ordinances
File Size: 107 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File


Mike Cooper's Presentation on Honey Labeling, (TVBC May 2015 Meeting)

TVBC Honey Labeling
File Size: 1032 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

Cottage Food Presentation
File Size: 913 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

AMS Honey Standards
File Size: 62 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

House of Representatives - Bill No. 187
File Size: 62 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

IDOA Honey Standards
File Size: 352 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File


Jodi's Presentation

Jodi, from the Department of Agriculture made a presentation to the club in February. Below is the powerpoint slides:
Idaho Honey Bee Pests and Diseases
File Size: 22894 kb
File Type: ppt
Download File


Winterization Guide

Here is a guidebook for winterizing your bees written by:
Eliese Watson at  Apiaries and Bees for Communities in Alberta, Canada.
                                               www.backyardbees.ca
Winterizing Guide
File Size: 2093 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File


BYLAWS

TVBC By-Laws
File Size: 30 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File


Build It Yourself  (Bee Source)
Plans for Building Hives, Frames, etc.

Dawglus Cleveland's Favorite Screened Bottom Board Plans are here.
Click this link for all sorts of Build It Yourself Plans


Bee Havers
vs
Beekeepers

Beehaves vs. Beekeepers
File Size: 61 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File


Helpful Websites

http://scientificbeekeeping.com
https://beeinformed.org
https://honeybeehealthcoalition.org
Picture
"Bees" & "Beer" - There's only one letter difference.

Pay attention, It's a Dawg-Eat-Dawg World Out There and Keeping Your Bees Healthy is Your Primary Beekeeping Job.

Varroa Management (2015) - by Dr. Dewey Caron


Plants for Pollinators o the Intermountain West

NRCS Technical Note
Northwest Pollinator Plants
File Size: 1315 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File


Montana Native Plants for
Pollinator-Friendly Plantings

USDA Booklet
USDA Pollinator Friendly Plants
File Size: 2029 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File


Native Plants Attractive to Honeybees

Table of plants for this region
Native Plants for Honeybees
File Size: 64 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File


Small Hive Beetle Info

Articles on the small hive beetle:
Small Hive Beetle
File Size: 308 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

Small Hive Beetle Handbook
File Size: 1871 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

Hive Beetle Map
File Size: 41 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File


Dawglus Cleveland, Beekeeper Extraordinaire, Demonstrates Catching and Hiving a Swarm in 40 Images


Picture
Mailing Address
Treasure Valley Beekeepers Club
PO Box 5066
​Boise, Idaho 83705-0066
Join the Club
  • Home
  • About
    • About
    • The Beeline
    • Calendar
    • Contact
    • Join
    • Education
    • Education >
      • New Beekeeper FAQ
      • Beekeeping 101
      • Beekeeper's Calendar
      • Beekeeping Classes >
        • Oregon Master Beekeeping Program
      • Foothills Learning Center
      • Videos
    • President's Message
    • TVBC Officers
  • Presentations
    • Meeting Presentations
    • Installing a Package
    • Hive Configuration and Components
    • Small Scale Queen Rearing
    • Swarm Prevention
    • Wintering
  • Resources
    • Resources
    • Library
    • Mites & Maladies >
      • Mite Busters
    • Swarms
    • Queens
    • Honey Judging
  • Jr. Bee Club
    • Jr. Bee Club
  • Club Photos
    • Club Photo Albums
    • Albums Through the Years
    • 2022
    • 2021
    • 2019
    • 2018
    • 2017
    • 2016
    • 2015
    • 2014
    • 2013
    • 2012
    • 2011
    • 2010
    • 2009
    • 2008
    • Hat Sightings
    • First Blooms