Dear Beekeepers,

Read on for new classes & what to do in your hive! It's a good weekend to inspect - make sure you see eggs/larvae/worker brood (evidence of a queen) and test for mites (if you haven't in 3-4 weeks).

BEE CLASSES - Online​
​These classes describe the best practices of what has worked for me and my students in the urban Bay Area. ​If you can't make one or both of the sessions live, you can still register and download the recordings to watch at your convenience.

• ​Keeping Healthy Queens: How to Spot Queen Problems & What To Do​
  Sunday, June 22nd, 6-8pm, $30
  ​Learn how to keep your queen healthy & thriving for long term hive health! We’ll cover what can go wrong with your queen, how to spot it early, and what to do! Click here to register!
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• Varroa Mites: Advanced Topics
  Sunday, June 29th, 6-8pm, $30
  ​If you’ve been testing (sugar roll) and treating with organic methods to successfully keep your hive alive overwinter, this class is for you! We’ll talk about the new robbing screen design, tips for adding to your mite game, and other new developments with mite control in the Bay Area! Click here to register!
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• ​Varroa Mite Management 2-Part Class​
  Sundays, July 13th & July 27th, 6:30pm-8pm, $45​
  Learn how to do the sugar roll test and organic mite treatments. This class focuses on what has worked for me and my mentorship students to keep our hives alive for multiple years. Click here to register!
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• ​Prepare Your Hive for Winter 2-Part Class​
  Sundays, August 3rd & 10th, 6:30pm-8pm, $45​
  Learn how to assess your hive health so your bees survive through the winter! We’ll show how to consolidate the broodnest, likely reducing the hive by 1-2 boxes. We’ll advise on how to protect your hives from robber bees, wasps, ants, and wax moths. We’ll also cover when to inspect during the winter months, what to do about varroa mites, how to store frames over the winter, and how much honey to keep in the hive. Lastly, we’ll cover how to overwinter small hives, which need special attention and feeding to survive. Click here to register!
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• ​My Bee Circle, $25/month
  The bee circle gathers on Zoom once/month (usually the 1st Tuesday of the month). I lecture on a timely topic & then answer questions about your hives. .
  ​Next Bee Circle: Tuesday, July 1st, 6pm

IN-PERSON HIVE INSPECTION MASTER CLASS - Pass on to new-ish beekeepers!​
​Sunday, July 20th, 9am - 10:30am, $25​
Learn how to use the hive tools to remove frames and boxes seamlessly, so the bees barely notice your presence. You’ll also learn how to light your smoker, keep it lit, and how to smoke. This class is in-person. We’ll be practicing with the tools, but not with the bees. This way we can focus on our technique, learning about tool handling, and movements.
​Register here! ​

WHAT TO DO IN YOUR HIVE​
June is wonderful month for bees, as there is plenty of food and the days are long and warm. Here's what to focus on:

• Small Hives (1-2 boxes of bees) - Feed Pollen
  ​A small hive is focused on growing its broodnest and its population. They don't have as high a % of foragers as a big hive does, so they can't go out and get all the food there is. It's good to help these small hives in June to boost their population, before the food supply drops in July. Feed them 1/4 pollen patty each week (or less if they don't eat it all). Make sure they have a frame of honey/nectar for food. If they need to build out wax on frames, then feed them 1:1 sugar water as well. Lastly, make sure they are protected from ants. By helping them out in these ways, you give them a better chance at growing their population to 3 boxes of bees, so you don't have to feed in July/August/September.
• Look for eggs/larvae (& queen cells!)​
  Look for eggs/larvae to verify you have a laying queen. The bees will build lots of queen cups at this time of year, but they are likely empty. Look into them and see if there are larvae. Also, look for capped queen cells. If a lot of capped queen cells, your hive liked swarmed already or is in a queen transition.
• Make a last split from a big hive​
  June is the latest month I'd recommend making a split, so it has time to grow before winter. It's better to put a mated queen or queen cell in the split, so it has a faster queen transition and can grow its population sooner.
  Take my self-study class on How to Split Your Hive Successfully for details.
• Harvest Honey​
  Big, overwintered hives likely have capped honey to harvest. June is a wonderful month to harvest. I like to leave big hives 6-10 frames of honey on the hive, but this honey can be uncapped. Remove frames of 80-100% capped honey, harvest, and put the empty frames back on the hive for the bees to refill.
• Get Your Mites Low - Prepare for OA Sponges​
  I recommend applying the OA glycerin sponges at the end of June or beginning of July. To apply you want your mite levels at 6 or below. Use June to get overwintered hives down to 6 mites or below. If they are above 6 mites, treat with Formic Pro/MiteAway. If this is your first year with bees, June is a great time to practice and learn the sugar roll test for mites. Take my Varroa Mite class to learn about that!

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HIVE CONSULTATION​
If you have a lot of questions about your hive, email me to set up a phone or Zoom hive consult. $20-$50 sliding scale & depending on how long and involved. I love answering questions about bees! I can also point you to my classes and other resources.

BAY AREA BEEKEEPING GUIDE FOR URBAN BACKYARD BEEKEEPERS​
My 80+ page online guide gives you clear guidance each month about what's important to do in the hive.
​Click here to read more about it & buy!
​If you've bought my guide in the past, go here & click login in the upper right corner. You can click Forgot Password to reset your password & gain access. I've updated the guide a lot this year, so do read!​

May you and your bees thrive! -Jennifer

Jennifer Radtke, Learn from the Bees​
​Mentorships, Education, & Advice for Urban Beekeeping in the Unique SF Bay Area Climate

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