- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
You're in good hands!
The E.L. Niño Bee Lab at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Research Facility, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, has announced its list of courses it will teach next year, starting March 11 and continuing through June 11.
The courses, taught by Extension apiculturist Elina Niño of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology and her colleagues, will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Laidlaw facility on Bee Biology Road, UC Davis, west of the central campus. Registration is now underway.
The schedule:
- Planning Ahead for Your First Hives (25 spots per session)
March 11, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
March 18, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Participants can sign up for one of two short courses: the first on Saturday, March 11 and the second on Saturday, March 18. The cost is $95. The all-day course will include lectures and hands-on exercises. "This course is perfect for those who have little or no beekeeping experience and would like to obtain more knowledge and practical skills to move on to the next step of owning and caring for their own honey bee colonies," Niño said. - Working Your Colonies (25 spots per session)
March 12, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
March 19, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Two separate short courses will be offered: the first on Sunday, March 12, and the second on Sunday, March 19. The cost is $150. The all-day courses are for novice beekeepers who already have a colony or have taken the previous course and want to develop their beekeeping skills further. Participants will learn how to inspect their colony and how to troubleshoot, as well as glean information on products of the hive. The afternoon will be spent entirely in the apiary with hands-on activities and demonstrations. - Queen Rearing Techniques Short Course (16 spots per session)
April 14-15, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
April 22-23, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The Niño lab will be offering two separate two-day courses: the first course on Saturday and Sunday, April 14-15, and the second on Saturday and Sunday, April 22-23. The cost is $375. Each course will include lectures on queen biology and rearing, as well as extensive hands-on exercises. This course is designed for those who have some beekeeping experience and would like to move on to the next step of rearing their own queens and bee breeding. - Varroa Management Strategies (25 spots per session)
May 13, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
May 27, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Two separate courses will be offered: the first on Saturday, May 13, and the second on Saturday, May 27. The cost is $175. Course description: Current beekeeping challenges call for all beekeepers to have a solid understanding of varroa mite biology and management approaches. Participants will dive deeper into understanding varroa biology and discussing pros and cons of ways to monitor, mitigate and manage this pest. - Bee Breeding (25 spots per session)
June 11, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
This is a one-day course, to be held Sunday, June 11. The cost is $75. Course description: This course complements the queen-rearing techniques course. Participants will learn the intricacies of honey bee genetics along with honey bee races and breeder lines. "We will also have an in-depth discussion of various breeding schemes," Niño said.
To register, sign up here. For more information, contact Bernardo Niño at elninobeelab@gmail.com or (530)-380-BUZZ (2899). The Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/elninolab.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Part of the proceeds will benefit the UC Davis Honey and Pollination Center and the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility at UC Davis.
Amina Harris, director of the Honey and Pollination Center and co-owner of Z Specialty Food, will be leading a guided honey tasting at noon each day.
Harris, who co-owns the business with husband Ishai Zeldner and son Josh Zeldner, says the event will include “so many honeys—about 30. New varietals include Arizona Cactus Blossom, California Purple Vetch, Toyon, Hawaiian Wildflower, Raspberry, and Midwestern Basswood."
In addition, the event will showcase mead (honey wine), honey beer, honey fruit spreads, honey in the straw, chocolate nut spreads, olive oil and other foods. There also will be children's activities, tours, giveways, and live music by the Jonny Gold Trio of Davis.
Harris will be offering the Honey Aroma and Flavor Wheel for sale, with proceeds benefitting the Honey and Pollination Center and the Laidlaw facility.
Z Specialty Food is home to Moon Shine Trading Company, Island of the Moon Apiaries, and Cowboy Caviar. Moon Shine Trading packs more than 20 varietal honeys and other gourmet foods.
Some of the rare honeys that are quite popular are coriander and pomegranate, said Ishai Zeldner, the company's founder. This year Z Specialty Food partnered with Woodland's Blue Note Brewing Company to develop a pomegranate honey called "Local Buzz." It, too, will be available for tasting at the open house.
More information on the public event is available on the website, http://www.zspecialtyfood.com, or call (530) 668-0660. The email is tasty@zspecialtyfood.com.
Z Specialty Food will be among the sponsors at the 40th annual Western Apicultural Society (WAS) conference, set Sept. 5-8, 2017 at Davis. Conference participants will tour the Woodland business. WAS was founded by UC Davis bee specialists headquartered at the Laidlaw facility.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
It's just been announced that the Western Apicultural Society (WAS), founded 40 years ago at UC Davis, will be meeting ...drum roll...Sept. 5-8, 2017 in Davis, Calif.
That's the kind of advance notice we like.
Fortieth anniversary? Is that possible? It is. The group traces its beginnings back to 1977 and founders Norm Gary, UC Davis professor of entomology and noted bee wrangler; newly hired Extension apiculturist Eric Mussen; and Becky Westerdahl, who had just received her doctorate in biology/nematology from UC Riverside. Both Gary and Mussen are retired. (Don't mention the "R" word to them, though! Mussen continues to maintain an office in Briggs Hall, UC Davis, and Gary is a jazz musician who keeps busy playing the "B" or "Bee" flat clarinet, among other instruments.) Westerdahl went on to become an Extension nematologist, based in the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology.
Mussen will serve as the program coordinator for the 2017 event, to be held in the Activities and Recreational Center (ARC) on campus. He is already planning a program that will showcase the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility on Bee Biology Road, and the adjacent Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven, a half-acre bee friendly garden operated by the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology.
Meanwhile, WAS will be meeting in a few weeks--Oct. 13-15--in Honolulu. Two of the speakers are from UC Davis: Eric Mussen, who will discuss pesticides; and Extension apiculturist Elina Lastro Niño, an expert in queen breeding.
What's WAS all about? Mussen, a five-time president, remembers hammering out the mission with his colleagues: "WAS is a non-profit, educational, beekeeping organization founded in 1978 for the benefit and enjoyment of all beekeepers in western North America. Membership is encouraged from anywhere in the world. However, the organization is specifically designed to meet the educational needs of beekeepers from the states of Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming as well as the provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan and the Yukon." Current president is Ethel Villalobos of Hawaii. Niño serves as the second vice president.
The entire country--indeed the entire world--is worried about bee health and the declining bee population. The United States has about 2.6 million colonies, Mussen says, while the number of colonies in California is approximately half a million.
Indeed, Davis, Calif. is the place to "bee" Sept. 5-8, 2017.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
- You want to do your part to help the declining bee population.
- You want to learn about the honey bees that pollinate the food you eat, including fruits, vegetables and nuts (especially almonds!).
- You'd love some honey for your table and some wax to make candles.
- You want to learn about the queen bee, drones and worker bees--what they do and how to care for them.
- You want to join your fellow beekeeping friends.
But where do you start?
You're in luck.
The E. L. Nino lab at the University of California, Davis, is offering two back-to-back short courses: the first on Saturday, Aug. 27 on “Planning Ahead for Your First Hives” and the second on Sunday, Aug. 28 on “Working Your Colonies.”
Each will take place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility, located on Bee Biology Road, west of the central campus.
Participants may register for one or both courses, according to Extension apiculturist Elina Niño, who is coordinating and teaching the courses with Bernardo Niño and colleagues at the Laidlaw facility. The short courses will be limited to 25 people.
Here's some information about each:
Planning Ahead for Your First Hive
The course, “Planning Ahead for Your First Hives,” taught by Elina Niño, Bernardo Niño, Charley Nye and Tricia Bohls, will provide lectures and hands-on exercises. The course is described as “perfect for those who have little or no beekeeping experience and would like to obtain more knowledge and practical skills before moving on to the next step of owning and caring for their own honey bee colonies.”
Lecture modules will cover honey bee biology, beekeeping equipment, how to start your colony, and maladies of the hive. Practical modules will zero in on how to build a hive, install a package, inspect a hive and monitor for varroa mites.
Participants will have the opportunity to learn about and practice many aspects of what is necessary to get the colony started and keep it healthy and thriving. At the end of the course, participants "will be knowledgeable about installing honey bee packages, monitoring their own colonies and taking on possible challenges with maintaining a healthy colony."
The $95 registration fee covers the cost of course materials (including a hive tool), lunch and refreshments.
Working Your Colonies
For the short course, “Working Your Colonies,” instructors are Elina Niño and Bernardo Niño. The course, to include lectures and hands-on exercises, is described as “perfect or those who already have beekeeping experience and would like to obtain more knowledge and practical to move on to the next step of managing and working their own honey bee colonies.”
Lecture modules will include advanced honey bee biology, honey bee integrated pest management and products of the hive. Practical modules will cover queen wrangling, honey extraction, combining colonies, splitting colonies and monitoring for varroa mites. The $150 registration fee covers the cost of course materials, lunch, and refreshments.
For each course, participants are asked to bring a bee suit or veil if they have one (the lab has a limited number). Lodging is not provided. For more information on registering for the short courses, contact Bernardo Niño at elninobeelab@gmail.com or (530) 380-BUZZ (2899). Want to access up-to-date information? See lab's Facebook page.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
The summer edition includes Bernardo Niño's article, "Educational Apiary at UC Davis Is A-Buzz."
"After much preparation and planning, we finally established an educational apiary here at the UC Davis Bee Facility," he wrote. "The main goal of this apiary is to provide beekeepers of all levels with an opportunity to experience a variety of hive types. We have been teaching beekeeping courses for awhile now and we always get asked about hives other than Langstroth. So we have finally made the first step towards providing a comprehensive demonstration of the different ways to keep honey bees. If you were to come by the apiary right now, you would get a chance to see a Kenyan Top Bar hive, Warré hive, Langstroth hive, and even a Langstroth hive modified with Flow™ Hive frames. Next season we are excited to add the Hungarian Rotating hive, as well as plastic and polystyrene hives." Bernardo Niño also offers a quick review of what these hives are.
Other articles feature:
Africanized Bee Testing. UC Davis does not test honey bee samples to determine if they are Africanized. But Elina Niño lists some facilities that do.
Do Bees Have a Personality? "I have been asked, jokingly, of course, if I call the bees in a colony by their names. I would laugh and maybe even say a few names like 'Bee-anca' and 'Bee-atrix.' Doctoral candidate Cameron Jasper provides information.
A Few Notes About 'Our Colonies.' This year we partnered with a local beekeeper to complete the second year of our project of evaluating various biomiticides for Varroa management.
Let's Talk About American Foulbrood. Over the past few months, I heard from several beekeepers that they've been finding American Foulbrood (AFB) in their hives.
Is Honey 'Bee Vomit'? Extension apiculturist (emeritus) Eric Mussen is a guest columnist. The answer? "In a word, 'No.' Honey is neither bee vomit nor bee barf."
Kids' Corner: Bees Recognize Human Faces. Do you have a hard time remembering names of people you meet? I do, too--I'm MUCH better at remembering faces. And guess what--bees can do it, too.
To stay-up-to-date with the most current news from the E. L. Niño lab, access the lab's Facebook page. You'll learn about upcoming beekeeping courses, as well as the Master Beekeeper course.
The Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility is located on Bee Biology Road, west of the central campus.
