Presidency Message – April 2016
By: Owen Parry
The weather has been warm and beautiful. I have been seeing beekeepers doing really well. The more experienced beekeepers are working with new beekeepers and sharing their knowledge with them. Those with hives that wintered well are ready to make splits. This comes with the added benefits of either giving or selling their good queens.
This kind of participation is advantageous for both the experienced beekeepers and the newbies. With the bees that have been strong enough to make it through the colder months, the beekeeper can pull out one frame with at least one queen cell and put them in a nuclear box. This can be accomplished with frames that have eggs in the cells. A ‘nuc’ box should have five frames in it; one with eggs, larvae, and pupae, two frames, one of either side of the first frame(from the same hive or even different hives) that have drawn comb, two more frames of honey and pollen.
The frame with queen cells might also be a frame with the queen, leaving the existing hive with the opportunity to either grow a new queen or to leave the existing queen there for her to continue laying.
The experienced beekeepers have the same opportunity to help the new beekeepers by sharing their inspection technics and frames as well. This occasion works both ways for the good of both parties.
•If you are a mentor, call your ‘mentees’.
•If you are a ‘mentee’ call your mentor.
As president of the Wasatch Beekeepers Association, I am asking that more of the experienced beekeepers come forward and volunteer to be mentors.