Dr. Ramesh Sagili is an Associate Professor in the Department of Horticulture at Oregon State University and heads up OSUs mighty Bee Lab. He is a regular guest on PolliNation and this week he comes on the show to tell us how to manage colonies for an intense honey flow (happening right now in Western Oregon with the onset of the blackberry flow). It’s also been an unusual year with colonies brooding up early in the year and this brings on the threat of varroa mites. Dr. Sagili explains why an early spring can be both a blessing and a curse and what to do about it.
On today’s episode, learn how to keep your bees healthy and productive, what is most important in maintaining your bees, and how to prevent varroa mites.
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“Close to 50% of the nectar that [honeybees] bring in around the year is from blackberries.” – Dr. Ramesh Sagili
Show Notes:
- How beekeepers can get ready for blackberry nectar season
- What the process is of getting honey into the colonies
- What honey supers and queen excluders are
- Why wax production is such an important factor and can’t be overlooked in honey production
- Why this season is the perfect time to consider dividing your colony
- What other opportunities are available for beekeepers during this season
- How to learn when to perform key maintenance with your bee boxes
- How to use your honey supers
- Why beekeepers should be concerned with mites for this season’s bees
- What treatments are available for varroa mites
- What Sagili’s lab is doing this upcoming year at Oregon State University
“Oregon is not a great place to raise queens, but I think between the window of June through August, it’s a good time raise your own queens here.” – Dr. Ramesh Sagili
Links Mentioned:
- Learn more about Oregon State University’s Honey Bee Lab and Oregon Master Beekeeper Program
- Watch how sampling for Varroa mites is done through OSU Extension
- Look at the OSU publication on the timing of making colonies and how to make them “balanced” as Dr. Sagili mentions in the episode:
- Overwintered Honey Bee Nucleus Colonies: Big Solutions in Small Packages (2015) Sagili, Breece, Torgerson and Vanderpool
- Watch a Youtube video from the University of Guelph on Supering
- Watch a Youtube video from the University of Guelph on Honey Harvesting
- Connect with Dr. Ramesh Sagili at Oregon State University