When do you check if a hive that has swarmed is queen-right? What about the newly hived swarm? Contributed by Dewey Caron QUESTION: Our one hive (of two last fall) swarmed on Easter Sunday. It was pretty scary for the neighbors at first as the swarm gathered in a rhododendron next […]
Contributed by Dewey Caron Mite monitoring is good bee stewardship. It lets you know precisely how the bees are doing and how successful everything you may have done for mite management so far this season has helped the bees. Monitoring means taking the pulse of the colony – are they […]
On April 16, the Medford City Council voted to approve the amendments to the Land Development Code that would provide for beekeeping within the city limits, although the 4 to 3 vote in favor necessitated a second reading of the amendments before approval. There were several SOBA members in attendance at the City […]
Contributed by Dewey Caron This has been a mild, dry winter for our bees. Let’s hope it continues [BUT we had a saying in Vermont, my birth state, ‘When March comes in like a Lamb it goes out like a Lion!’ ]. With this mild weather, I am sure most […]
Conbtributed by Dewey Caron The federal government has renewed disaster declarations for four counties in southern Oregon and all 58 California counties because of the lingering drought, which is entering its fourth year. In Oregon, Jackson, Josephine, Klamath and Lake counties were designated as disaster areas. The designation makes qualified […]
Contributed by Dewey Caron Representative Earl Blumenauer, OR 3rd district (Portland east through Cascade foothills) and MI Representative John Conyers have reintroducted Saving America’s Pollinators Act. The legislation requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to take swift action to prevent mass bee die-offs and protect the health […]
We are fortunate to have a national premier hive component manufacturer, Shastina Millwork in the Rogue Valley. Shastina specializes in custom hobbyist and commercial woodenware including boxes, frames, tops, bottoms, essentials, and clothing (basically, everything except bees), Shastina introduced the Revolution Box a few years ago – an improved hive […]
Santa Clara Valley Beekeepers Guild member Vince Endter has created some “how to” videos for making bee equipment. This one explains how to make beehive body handles with a table saw and dado blade.
Santa Clara Valley Beekeepers Guild member Vince Endter has created some “how to” videos for making bee equipment. This inner cover is made so that you can use feeder jars and not have to disturb the bees when you change the sugar solution.
Santa Clara Valley Beekeepers Guild member Vince Endter has created some “how to” videos for making bee equipment. This is a solar oven to melt beeswax out of empty honeycomb. I made this out of a scrap shipping crate. The max temperature it reached was 170°F. Beeswax melts at about […]
Santa Clara Valley Beekeepers Guild member Vince Endter has created some “how to” videos for making bee equipment. This video shows his version of a hive stand.
Mark Your Calendars! Medford Beekeeping Amendment Hearing Scheduled! Medford is considering an amendment to the Medford Land Development Code to provide provisions for beekeeping in the city limits. A copy of the proposed changes to the ordinance can be found here. The sections pertaining to beekeeping are highlighted in blue. The Medford Planning […]
