Tuesday April 16, 2024, 7PM MDT (1AM Wednesday, UTC)
First Presentation: "Dealing with Queen Problems", by Dr James Tew, The Ohio State University
Summary: This time of year we talk about pollen and swarming – both can lead to queen problems that will take our management time. What queen problems have you known? Jim in his experience has had a few, some of which he will discuss in his unique presentation style.
Bio: Dr. James E. Tew is an Emeritus Faculty member at The Ohio State University and is also retired from the Alabama Cooperative Extension System. Having kept bees for more than fifty years, Jim has taught beekeeping, researched beekeeping, written books about beekeeping and produced bee videos. Currently, he hosts a weekly beekeeping podcast, Honey Bee Obscura, and tinkers with a YouTube channel. Jim enjoys all things that relate to bees.
Second Presentation: "My Journey to California and into Varroa", by Daniel (DW) Schoenthal, Blue Green Horizons Bee Rescue, CA WAS Director
Summary: A friend called DW for bee advice saying they lost 120 hives out of 200 that they were going to send to pollination. When a swarm landed at his office building a month later, he resumed beekeeping. He soon found it was all about Varroa. Now he is “Fighting for my Ladies”.
Bio: Born and raised in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. Honey Bees were just another Livestock in the fields and Daniel (known as DW) found bees easy to be around. After college Daniel continued his Interest in observational biology, using his technical skills for both exotic & native animals, traveling to both North and South America - remote cameras in tow. After retiring in 2008, he formed BlueGreenHorizions to both do research and involve young people with the wonders of Bees.
He studied the oldest writings as well as the latest studies. He uses cameras to observe feral hives. Witnessing CCD sparked his interest in preventive mite control. As he was doing his observational research, he became aware of human issues with bees in urban areas. He has sought to bring a detailed look at the process of both catching reproductive swarms and also improving the survival and understanding of "Cutout Bee" population dynamics. By reducing the "chaos" around swarms and removals, he seeks to help people understand they have some positive options.