Bill Catherall

August 2017 Presentation

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Andony Melathopoulos joined us again for our August meeting and gave us a great presentation on Living with Varroa.

andony_1000x1000Andony is an Assistant Professor of Pollinator Health Extension in the Department of Horticulture at Oregon State University. His work at OSU comes out of a mandate from the Oregon Legislature to create a state-wide pollinator safety and outreach program. Prior to coming to OSU he was a Postdoctoral Scholar in the Department of Biology at the University of Calgary working with Shelley Hoover and Ralph Cartar on canola pollination. He holds an Interdisciplinary PhD from Dalhousie University (2015) and a Master of Pest Management from Simon Fraser University (1999). Formerly he worked as the chief technician in Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Apiculture Research program (2000-2012).

Rebekah Golden Bio

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Introducing our newest blog contributor…

Rebekah Golden discovered herself as an unexpected bee-lover working as an undergraduate research assistant in a bumblebee pollination behavior lab at the University of Arizona. She found that through bees, she was more in touch with the environment and world around her, and it wasn’t long before she became completely mesmerized by the simplicity of the individual and how that translated into the complexity of the honeybee superorganism. Using charismatic honeybees as a gateway to the ecosystem concept, Rebekah and 2 friends started Bee & Bloom LLC in Portland OR. Together they run an educational apiary with 16 hives & an online resource shining a light on pollinators, sustainability, and natural wellness.

Zenger Farm May 2017 Report

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Donation provided by Beetanical Apiary

On Saturday, May 20, 2017, several PUB Bee School students and mentors met together to get some hands-on experience in the hives. We had only 2 hives over-winter this year. But with 1 split performed 2 weeks ago, and thanks to a generous donation of 5 nucs from Beetanical Apiary, our hive numbers are back up to 8!

The weather was perfect. The students and mentors all had a great time. The bees were (mostly) well behaved. We have 4 OMB students helping to care for the hives this year as recipients of PUB’s OMB scholarship.

The apiary we maintain at Zenger Farm is used as our club’s outdoor classroom. These hives do so much more than just pollinate the crops on the farm. They also serve to educate the general public, local school groups, Afghanistan delegates, and Iraqi youth.

Come on out and join us sometime during a work party. It takes a great deal of effort to maintain this apiary and we need all the busy little worker bees we can get! Work parties are the 1st & 3rd Sunday of the month, from 10am-noon. No need to sign-up, just show up. Work parties are open to the public and free (except for the work we ask you to do).

(Photos by Jordan Egstad.)

          

January 2017 Presentation

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andony_1000x1000At our January 2017 meeting our featured speaker was Andony Melathopoulos.

Andony is an Assistant Professor of Pollinator Health Extension in the Department of Horticulture at Oregon State University. His work at OSU comes out of a mandate from the Oregon Legislature to create a state-wide pollinator safety and outreach program. Prior to coming to OSU he was a Postdoctoral Scholar in the Department of Biology at the University of Calgary working with Shelley Hoover and Ralph Cartar on canola pollination. He holds an Interdisciplinary PhD from Dalhousie University (2015) and a Master of Pest Management from Simon Fraser University (1999). Formerly he worked as the chief technician in Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Apiculture Research program (2000-2012).

If the video on Slide 9 doesn’t play it’s linked below:


Video Link

September 2016 Meeting Presentations

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Here’s the repository of presentations given at the meeting this month. Glen’s Pollen & Nectar Report is available at the Bridgetown Bees website.

Dewey Caron gave us a presentation on what to do in the apiary in September.

Dewey mentioned the survey analysis and the “mystery” in his presentation. That analysis is available in the files section of our website. And since Dewey will not be able to attend our October meeting, he put together a document outlining 10 things we can do now to help our bees survive winter.

Our main speaker was Harry Vanderpool, president of OSBA, speaking about overwintering nucs.

Mite Keeping 101

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For our June 1st meeting Morris Ostrofsky came to present “Mite Keeping 101.”

MorrisOstrofskyNow approaching his 47th year as a beekeeper, Morris, a retired biology instructor, says he learns something new every day about bees and beekeeping.

Since 2010 Morris has participated in the development and implementation of the Oregon Master Beekeeper program. He is both a mentor and an instructor. Morris is also an active member and past President of the Lane County Beekeepers Association.

In October 2013 Morris was awarded the Washington state Master Beekeeper certification. He is the first Oregonian to receive this certification and is among only a half a dozen who currently hold this title.

Morris is an occasional contributor to Bee Culture magazine; his last article, Glass Jar Beekeeping, appeared in the May 2012 issue. His newest article, Overcoming Barriers to Beekeeping: How to Continue Doing What You Love, appeared in the May and June 2015 issues of Bee Culture.

Morris’ passion for teaching and beekeeping becomes apparent when he shares his knowledge with others. An interest in genetics and queen rearing has led to a quest to breed locally adapted, treatment free bees using the Miller Method.