Charlie began his beekeeping experience when his ‘frustrated farmer’ father brought two hives to our El Paso Texas residence. Observing them in their coming and goings nurtured the love for these girls. Most interesting was when the girls would hang on our screen door waiting to enter the house to acquire nectar and pollen from our Bougainvillea vines. They would then go back to the screen door once again wait for someone to allow their return to the hive. Just like a dog or cat would, but far more patient.
As an avid researcher, multiple articles were written propelled by involvement in the Oregon Master Beekeeper Program. Attaining his Journey Level Certification in 2018. Charlie also traveled to Nebraska for Michael Bush’s Bee Camp this spring to immerse for two weeks in apiaries and bee discussions with Michael Bush.
He is a member of four Beekeeping Clubs in the Portland Metropolitan area as well as state, regional and national bee organizations. The beginning of 2016 we had three hives which rapidly grew to fifteen along with multiple NUCS. Presentations in schools has been a great opportunity to share our joy of these lovelies. Not only do the children eagerly devour the presentations, but we have been filled with joy through our sharing.
Paul first developed his interest in bees at a young age while watching the commercial beekeepers’ hives on his aunt’s farm in Yamhill Oregon. After a long career serving in the Army and as a public employee, his love and interest in keeping and working with bees raised back to the forefront in 2008.Paul first developed his interest in bees at a young age while watching the commercial beekeepers’ hivesPaul first developed his interest in bees at a young age while watching the commercial beekeepers’ hives on his aunt’s farm in Yamhill Oregon. After a long career serving in the Army and as a public employee, his love and interest in keeping and working with bees raised back to the forefront in 2008.
An avid beekeeper and member of the Olympia Beekeepers Association, Paul enjoys teaching and sharing his love of bees. As a Montana and Washington state master beekeeper, Paul has gained experience in both Langstroth, Top-Bar and Slovenian AZ hives. He noticed how the local maritime winter weather influenced his honeybees and beehive losses. Paul’s research for solutions lead him to better understand the Slovenian bee houses and AZ hives. Discovering better honeybee health and longevity, Paul converted a storage building into a bee house and installed several AZ-type hives.
Additional Details
Paul actively shares his knowledge by giving beekeeping presentations in-person, during podcasts and Zoom classes. He has taught several beekeeping classes for the Washington State Beekeeping Association, including the apprenticeship course to inmates at Cedar Creek Prison. Paul also serves as one of the clubs’ mentors to new beekeepers. He serves on the Thurston County Fairgrounds and Event Center board.
Along with his wife Penny Longwell who is a master gardener, they co-developed the Pollinator demonstration garden at the Thurston County Fairgrounds and Event Center. They also offer pollinator classes for the local Master Gardener Interns.
References
1.Response characteristics of vibration-sensitive interneurons related to Johnston’s organ in the honeybee, Apis mellifera. Hiroyuki Ai, Jürgen Rybak, Randolf Menzel, Tsunao Itoh. First published: 06 May 2009 https://doi.org/10.1002/cne.22042
2. Transmission Of Vibration Across Honeycombs and Its Detection By Bee Leg Receptors, D. C. Sandeman, J. Tautz, M. Lindauer J Exp Biol (1996) 199 (12): 2585–2594.https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.199.12.2585
3. The vibration signal, modulatory communication and the organization of labor in honeybees, Apis mellifera.Stanley S. Schneider and Lee A. Lewis Apidologie 35 (2004) 117-131. https://doi.org/10.1051/apido:2004006
4. Relationship between Relative Hive Entrance Position and Dance Floor Location (2014). Corrigan, Chelsea E., Undergraduate Honors Theses. Paper 474. https://dc.etsu.edu/honors/474
5. The Use of the Vibration Signal and Worker Piping to Influence Queen Behavior during Swarming in Honey Bees, Apis mellifera. Pierce, A.L., Lewis, L.A. and Schneider, S.S. (2007), Ethology, 113: 267-275. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-0310.2006.01314.x
7. Sound and vibrational signals in the dance language of the honeybee, Apis mellifera. Michelsen, A., Kirchner, W.H. & Lindauer, M. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 18, 207–212 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00290824
8. Influences of queen piping and worker behaviour on the timing of emergence of honeybee queens. H.J. GrootersInsectes Sociaux, 1987, Vol. 34, No. 3, 181-193https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02224083
9. On the Importance of the Sound Emitted by Honey Bee Hives, by Alessandro Terenzi †ORCID,Stefania Cecchi *,†ORCID and Susanna Spinsante †ORCID, Dipartimento di Ingegneria dell’Informazione, Universitá Politecnica Delle Marche, 60131 Ancona, Italy Vet. Sci. 2020, 7(4), 168; https://doi.org/10.3390/vetsci7040168
It is hard to believe that the bee season is winding down and the window of opportunities to work with our bees is closing. Knowing what to look for and when to take action can be tricky, but fortunately we have great resources available to us including Dr. Dewey Caron who presented his October apairy plan and his talk on FAT WINTER BEES. His presentation is included below.
Glen Andresen kicked off our meeting with the monthly pollen and nectar report complete with some much enjoyed Oregon triva!
I also shared a recent experience that I had involving a cut out of a feral colony that had what I suspected was small hive beetle. With the help from the OSU Bee Lab, we were able to positively identify them as SHB. You can read more about small hive beetles here. If you suspect that you have a colony with SHB, you can contact the bee lab for positive identification. They are extremely responsive and helpful! The current statement on SHB in Oregon is:
“Current climatic conditions may not be ideal for SHB overwintering, pupation, or establishment in most of Oregon, but future changes in climate, such as frequent mild winters, could aid in their establishment. Early detection and control of SHB will help keep or delay this pest from successfully establishing in Oregon. Use caution when purchasing package bees, established colonies, or queens from locations where SHB is well established. Also, monitor your colonies for small hive beetles during summer and fall if you regularly transport your bees across state lines for pollination, especially to California for almond pollination.”
Thank you to all who attended – I look forward to seeing you again in November!
Thank you for everyone who braved the heat to join us this past Wednesday for our monthly membership meeting! For those of you who were unable to attend or need a recap, here are the highlights:
Glen Andresen of Bridgetown Bees gave us our monthly Pollen & Nectar Report, along with some Portland trivia! Did you know that Glen also hosts a radio show about gardening called The Dirtbag? You can listen to it on KBOO Radio.
As we turn the corner from swarm season & nectar flow to summer dearth and preparation for autumn, we also need to be considering Varroa management.
This month our featured speaker was Dr. Brandon Hopkins from WSU. He shared his research and data on using a forced brood break to enhance Varroa control. If you are treatment free, working towards treatment free, or are seeking ways to use less chemical treatments this is an excellent method! You can purchase the queen cages used in this research here (note – it is important that what ever cage is used for this method, the workers are still able to access the queen in order to spread her pheromones through the hive, otherwise you may be left with a colony trying to requeen itself). Other considerations for this method include: Does the colony have the population to support a brood break? Time of year – it is not recommended to use this method late in the summer. Before or just after the nectar flow is ideal.
PUB members reported higher levels of loss than the rest of the state (according to the results of the PNW Honeybee Survey). It is important that we be proactive in Varroa monitoring and control. If you are unsure about how to collect mite samples from your hive, please contact us to get connected with a Bee Buddy, or come to one of our apiary work parties at Zenger Farm on the 1st and 3rd Sunday of each month from 10-12. We will teach you how to collect mite samples!
Thanks to everyone that joined us for our June member meeting!
This month’s meeting featured Glen Andresen’s pollen and nectar report which can be found here. We also heard from our treasurer, Cheryl Wright who shared her experiences with the Oregon Master Beekeeping program. If you are interested in learning more about OMB, you can visit their website here. If you wish to join the program, now is the time to get on the 2019 wait list!
We also had the pleasure of listening and learning from honorary PUB member, Dr. Dewey Caron. He shared his results and insights from the PNW loss report which indicated that PUB participants had a higher loss rate than the overall Oregon loss. He provided guidance on IMP and moving towards treatment free beekeeping methods. You can view his presentation below:
Spring is here and the apiary to-do list is ready to go! We had a full house at this months meeting and are grateful for everyone who came. BeSpoke Bee Supply donated a swarm box and PUB member Steve Niles shared milkweed seeds for our raffle.
Glen Andresen kicked off our meeting with the monthly pollen and nectar report complete with some much enjoyed Oregon triva!
Dewey Caron returned from his winter travels and shared tips for what to do in the apiary this month, as well as an update on the PNW Honeybee Survey. The success of the survey is dependent on participation! You can take the survey by clicking here. We were also pleased to present Dewey with a lifetime honorary membership to Portland Urban Beekeepers!
Yellow jackets are a problematic and sometimes devastating visitor in our bee yards. Being ahead of the yellow jackets can give your bees a much needed break from these predators as bee colonies wind down brood and honey production for the season. Robert Leger gave us some valuable identification tips, as well as insight on the yellow jacket life cycle. He gave us strategies for baiting and catching queens (keeps some rocks handy!) and how to deal with the workers. Did you know that yellow jackets orient themselves to the food source? You can check out Robert’s presentation here: The Yellow Jacket-free Home
The beekeeping community has been buzzing about the new Best Practices in Residential Beekeeping guidelines. Mike Rodia shared the document with us and gave an overview of why this is so important. “The best practices guidelines would make it possible to use existing local nuisance ordinances instead of new legal restrictions for managing conflicts that arise from beekeeping in residential areas.”
Just like generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) were developed as a means to use common sense widely & recognized principles in accounting, these guidelines for residential beekeeping are put into place so that beekeepers, our neighbors, and local/state government have some basic principles to refer to that demonstrate that we are keeping our bees in nuisance free manner.
If you live in Portland, you will still need to obtain a permit for keeping bees. More information on that can be found here. If you are unsure if your city of residence requires permits or has limitations on residential beekeeping, please check your city government website.
Thank you to all who attended our March membership meeting! This time of year is full of promise as we gear up for the bee season ahead. If you have suffered bee loss over the winter, this is also a time to take a look at the previous season as a whole and consider what may have led to the demise of your colony. Rebekah Golden, our education director and partner in Bee & Bloom gave us a detailed presentation on things to look for during a postmortem hive exam. She also gave important direction on how to approach your surviving colonies to give them the best support as they move into spring. This is such an exhilarating time in the beekeepers year and we are glad to share that excitement with all of you!
For our November meeting we had a “movie night.” If you missed out, or would like to re-watch it, the video is embedded below.
This video presentation by Joe Lewis was chosen because it summarizes what I’ve been promoting within the club for the past couple of years: the use of nucleus hives as a resource.
The video gets a little preachy at the end about treating for mites. I want to be clear that I and Portland Urban Beekeepers don’t want to shame people into treating. That is a personal decision. Yes, we shouldn’t ignore Varroa mites. They are a problem, no doubt. And whether you choose to treat or practice treatment-free beekeeping is entirely up to you.
But regardless of how you keep bees or even what kind of hive you use, nucleus colonies can be one of the most important tools we have at our disposal. I encourage all beekeepers to make it a regular part of their practice.
For our October 2017 meeting, Dewey Caron gave us a great presentation on why we want and how to get FAT winter bees. In addition to the presentation below, there is also a handout.
Rebekah Golden gave us a very informative presentation on foundationless beekeeping. Most common to top-bar or Warré hives, you can even go foundationless in Langstroth hives.
Here are some helpful tips for reattaching broken or crazy comb in a Langstroth hive. Photos courtesy Susan Rudnicki.
1. Broken or cross comb removed from frame.
2. Frame placed upside-down in holding fixture.
3. Comb placed upside-down in frame against “top” bar, and inside rubber bands.
4. Zip-ties used to secure comb in place to keep it pinned against top bar.
