Welcome to the Lane County Beekeepers Association!

We are now fully into the start of the bee season. From now until the summer solstice (1:24 AM June 21, 2026) the bees, and us beekeepers alongside them, are in a race to build up the hives and pack in as much honey, pollen and bee bread as possible. Since our bees now live in an environment quite different than their natural one, we must help them to thrive. That means we need to ensure they have a strong queen, plenty of room to grow, and remain as healthy as they can.

I’m sure that everyone realizes that the queen is the focal point of the hive, but what many beekeepers may not know is that a queen is really only a good egg-layer for 2-3 years. After that the quantity and quality of the eggs and brood will suffer. If the bees don’t replace (supersede) the queen on their own, then you should consider replacing her. There are several ways to do that, but the easiest is to find and remove the old queen and replace her with one that you have purchased. There are other slightly more advanced methods that you can readily research online, or talk to one of the more experienced beekeepers in our club. The main idea is that the hive needs a strong, healthy queen to maintain the colony's vibrancy. If you don’t know the age of your current queen, you should carefully look at the physical condition of the queen. An old queen will look “old”. Again, there are some good guidelines online for what an “old” queen looks like. And once you get a new queen, it is helpful to mark her with the appropriate color for this year.

At this time of year, a thriving bee colony can quickly outgrow their hive. If you overwintered your hive in one or two ‘deeps’, or two or three medium brood boxes, and you have a young, healthy queen, she will rapidly fill the space with new brood. Of course, at the same time, the new forager bees will be filling the sides and tops of frames with pollen and nectar. Now is when you should be prepared to add additional brood boxes and honey supers as we transition into the nectar flow. You don’t want to suddenly realize that your hive is chock-a-block full and you don’t have any available boxes or frames to give them!

Finally . . . mites! I know that we ‘pound that drum’ a lot, but it is one of the biggest reasons that colonies die. Early spring is the time to get a jump start on knocking down the Varroa mite population. Whichever mite treatment you use, you need to do it while the population is still relatively low, and most of the mites are phoretic (on the adult bee’s bodies) or in open brood cells. It is also important to get your mite treatments in before putting on the honey supers.

Finally, the early spring brings the emergence of the dreaded Yellow Jackets. This is the time to put out Yellow Jacket queen traps. The queens emerge and begin looking for a place to make a nest. Once some of their brood hatches, they will certainly go after your bees! I have found that the reusable trap made by RESCUE! Seems to work very well, but get the 10-week supply type. Then hang it at least 20 feet from your hives, and 4-6 feet high in a sunny,nsheltered area. Remember, for every queen you trap, it will eliminate a nest that may hold up to 5,000 or more nasty insects.

As I have said before, beekeeping is often a lifelong journey, and like any good journey, it should continue to challenge and excite you along the way. Your club leadership tries very hard to provide the best information and support to both our new beekeepers and the more experienced ones. But, if you ever feel that you’re not getting what you need or want from your LCBA experience, please don’t hesitate to talk with me or any of our club officers, we genuinely want to make it better. As always, I welcome your questions, comments, and

constructive criticism. Please feel free to talk with me at meetings or social events, or reach out by message anytime.

Happy Beekeeping!   Norm

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