WSU Honey Bee Field Day Agenda
July 10, 11, 2015 WSU Campus – Ensminger Pavilion and Apiaries
Registration and open for meet and greet Ensminger Pavilion 3 p.m…
Poster set-up (all associations invited to produce a poster about their club activities/bee forage and locales—see note below)
Honey exchange – all participants invited to bring 2 bottles of honey for exchange table (see note below)
Friday evening beginning around 5 p.m.: Ensminger Pavilion
Wine and cheese social in the Ensminger Livestock Pavilion
7:00 pm Plenary lecture – Pollination and Pollinator Protection – Dr. Timothy Lawrence
Saturday –
7:30 – 8:15: Good morning greetings, registration, group assignments and coffee
8:30 – 8:45: Announcements and Welcome: WSU, WSBA, PBA
8:45 – 9:45: briefly speaking – 15 minute talks –
1) A Primer in Bee Biology for the Beekeeper –Timothy Lawrence
2) Integrated Pest Management – Taking advantage of periods of mite vulnerability –Brandon Hopkins
3) Applebees in Kazakhstan – 2015 honey bee germplasm collection – Steve Sheppard
Concurrent poster session: local clubs and WSU students
10:00 a.m. – Apiary /laboratory rounds begin- (participants spend 45 minutes at each location)
10:00 – 11:00 1st Location for activity
11:00 – 12:00 2nd Location for activity
12:00 – 1:30 Lunch at Ensminger Pavilion
1:45 – 2:45 3rd Location for activity
2:45 – 3:45 4th Location for activity
4:00 – 5:00 Ensminger debriefing
1) Pests and Diseases/queen attraction:
(Diagnostic Laboratory/courtyard)
Laboratory diagnosis – Erin /Megan
Queen pheromone demonstration and
bee beards (weather permitting)
(Tim)
2) Queen rearing:
(Bee Building)
Stock selection assessment 1 (brood area, pattern, etc.)
Preparation of cell-builders (options)
Grafting demonstration/timing,
Mating yard activities
Clipping marking
(Brittany, Meg)
3) Practical Colony Manipulations – Honey Bee Behavior
(Teaching Apiary)
Stock selection assessment 2 – gentleness, freeze-killed hygienic test
gloveless beekeeping – understanding the threshold concept
subspecies (strain) diversity – demo
Swarm prevention techniques -splitting colonies
Introducing queens
What to do with weak or queenless hives
Moving hives and choosing locations
(Steve)
4) Practical identification of honey bee diseases, pests, problems
(Feed Mill)
Identifying pests/diseases/problems in the apiary
Control methods for colony health
Conventional and alternative mite treatments
(Brandon, Philip)
Note for beekeeper participants in 2015:
1) Honey Exchange Table: Bring two 1 lb jars of your honey for exchange table. Leave two of yours there and take away any two different jars of your choice left by other beekeepers
2) Posters: All local associations are invited to produce a beekeeping/local “apicultural conditions” poster for display at the field day. Can be reclaimed at the end of the field day for use in local fairs, etc. or donated for temporary display in the WSU bee lab until the next field day.
3) Lunch will be provided at noon on Saturday at the Livestock Pavilion.
4) The weather should be reasonable in Pullman in early July. However, evenings can be quite cool and some layered clothing is a good idea.
Notes and deep thoughts: