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February 2022
RBA Monthly Meeting – Ron Miksha on Honey
By Zoom, from Alberta, we will hear from Ron Miksha. His topic is classic, “Honey”! I think he can answer some of the questions we might have about honey, or ones we haven’t thought of yet. Ron Miksha keeps bees in his back yard in Calgary. He is a frequent contributor to BeesCene, American Bee Journal, and has a 20-year-old blog (badbeekeepingblog.com), which is named after his book about his commercial beekeeping days. Currently, Ron is researching bee ecology at…
Find out more »March 2022
RBA Monthly Meeting – David Evans “The Apiarist” – Rational Varroa Control
Varroa remains the greatest threat to bees and beekeeping. The mite, and the viruses it transmits, are responsible for most overwintering colony losses. To avoid these mite levels must be minimised. This presentation discusses some of the science behind why Varroa and viruses are a threat to our bees before moving on to practical beekeeping considerations including how and when to control Varroa in your hives. Many beekeepers treat at the wrong time of the season, or use the wrong treatment, for maximal effect. In…
Find out more »April 2022
RBA Monthly Meeting – Dr Nuria Morfin – BCHPA Tech Transfer Program
Dr Nouria Morfin leads BC Honey Producers Association's new multi-year Technology Transfer Program to benefit the bee industry of the province. This program will pursue and implement appropriate solutions in fields which may include Integrated Management of bee pests and diseases, advancements in queen rearing, increased success in winter survival of colonies, develop training and BMPs for British Columbia beekeepers to become more self-sufficient and profitable. Nuria comes to the Tech Transfer Program with fourteen years of experience as a…
Find out more »Bees and Beers
We're doing it! Recognizing that all may not be comfortable we're easing back into Bees & Beers. For those that like a few of us (so far Jean, Sarah and possibly Brian from the exec) are committing to taking one for the team and having a beer. Come join us. Jean has scoped it out and the venue is not overly crowded. Hopefully a kick off to restarting these and a good bee season.
Find out more »May 2022
RBA Monthly Meeting – DR. R.W. (ROB) CURRIE – Head of Entomology, University of Manitoba
Based on the suggestion of our February speaker Ron Mishka we've lined up Dr Currie from the University of Manitoba https://umanitoba.ca/faculties/afs/dept/entomology/personnel/Currie.html. He will be speaking on everyone's favourite/least favourite topic...Varroa. Just in time as we start gearing up for the season. The link will be published in the Newsletter but mark your calendars now for the May 10 meeting!
Find out more »Bees and Beers
We're keeping it at the same place to keep it simple for now. Suggestions for future venues are more than welcome. If you're up for a beer and comfortable with social events please come and join us.
Find out more »July 2022
RBA Field Day!!
A field day, July 16. Check the Newsletter or Email list for the RSVP link. There will be speakers/demos(Julia Common, Nuria Morfin and Brian Campbell), a bbq and of course sunshine. Most importantly an actual face to face meeting! That will be the most exciting. Please do RSVP to ensure we get enough supplies. But we are all so looking forward to seeing you!!
Find out more »September 2022
RBA Monthly Meeting – Brian Campbell, President RBA amongst other things
Some of you may know Brian only as our RBA president but for those who know him better he's amazingly knowledgeable on a number of topics related to not only honeybees but a wide range of pollinators. He’s both a Certified Bee Master, Certified Master Gardener and is heavily involved in pollination and pollinator conservation issues in Richmond and the Lower Mainland. Join us for a talk by Brian, your chance to ask questions, especially regarding local pollinators. We're planning…
Find out more »Bees and Beers
As with all things a hiatus over the busy summer season. Our September RBA meeting won't be in person, but for those comfortable come join us for a bees at Curve Lounge at River Rock Casino . A chance to celebrate/commiserate over the season that is (mostly) past and start planning for next season. We would like to move the venue around to make it more accessible for others we'll attempt a new location for October. If you have suggestions for…
Find out more »October 2022
RBA Monthly Meeting – Dr Garett Slater, drones in a new perspective
Garrett Slater is a PhD candidate at Purdue University and will be discussing drone fertility issues in bees. Finding a surprising percentage of drones are "duds" and may be effectively sterile (not sure yet, but more to learn about that). He also discovered potential mechanisms causing this issue. There may be a link between these poor drones and queen failures, so this is something beekeepers should begin to think about. He has 16 years of beekeeping experience, including working for…
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