Beekeeping Network

http://www.honeybeesuite.com/  good resource.

Trying to locate some physical structures to protect beehives. Stone structures seem to work well.

http://www.beesource.com/

interesting beehive designs

I've gone through the members list and determined where many of the beekeepers listed live and grouped them by villages.  Let me know if you want to meetup with other beefolk in your area to collaborate / shadow / mentor.  

The largest group is Mount Pleasant with 18. I've merged some of the smaller groups together as well.  Email me and I will send you names of people I think who live in your area.

thanks for sharing the footage! Did they stay?

I am glad to announce that Brian Campbell will be teaching a May-August (8 session) 2012 beekeeping course on Main Street & 24th Avenue. $250

There is a morning and afternoon offering.  To register go to:

http://www.blessedbee.ca/shop/courses/8-session-urban-beekeeping-may/

Two exciting things to share. One is that North Vancouver now has it's own Village!

Also for those located in North Van, there is finally a North Shore Beekeeping Club up and running. Check out the web-site is which includes info on the club - www.beefriendly.ca

Looking for any Cedar Cottage beekeepers who would be interested in helping Cedar Cottage garden install their beehives this year.  We've received approval to proceed and are now at the planning/installation stage.  Once an area has been setup, we hope to be able to host beehives for two years, then have our own beehives. Owning our own beehives will depend on whether we have a team (4 members) who agree to be responsible for the beehives. Let me know if you're interested.  Thanks.  

Re: Comment by Cylia on February 6, 2012 at 12:53pm

also re: Celia's comment

I live in the Cedar Cottage area, and would love to help out with hives.  I don't actually have any hives myself, and might need a little guidance in managing hives... BUT, I am eager to learn and have a bit of beekeeping education under my belt.

drop me a line at jeremy.j.taylor (at) gmail.com.

Subject: GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO GET SOME BEES

Hi everyone,

I just received the note below, and wanted to be sure to share it pronto
so that all interested parties have a chance to act.

Eight hives are already spoken for, so if you want in on this, it's best
to act quickly.

I'll be driving down to pick mine up later this week, and might be able
to bring some back for others . . . not sure how many hives I can fit in
the truck.

-----------------------

I have done an inspection for a beekeeper with 32 colonies to sell. They
are lovely colonies, and as his health is failing, he has to give them
up. He will sell the bottom board, one super full of bees and laying
queen, one extra super with frames, and the inner cover and telescoping
lid for $250.

His daughter-in-law is the best contact and her number is: 604 617 2400.
The beekeeper is Ivan Melamora. He is located in Surrey, in Whalley,
just off the King George Highway and 108. Address is 13831 Brentwood
Crescent. Would you be able to let your group know about them?

The family would really appreciate any help to sell the bees.

Cheers

Jaquie

Jaquie Bunse, Apiary Inspector
BC Ministry of Agriculture
Home office:
505 - 7151 Edmonds Street
Burnaby, B.C. V3N 4N5
Office 604-521-4493
Cellular 604-240-7600
bunsebee@telus.net

Hi Everyone,

I received a call from a man named Morley the other day. He’s got a bunch of queens and packages coming in this Wednesday. The packages are 4 pound packages, at $215 each. And if you want queen in them they will be an additional $15. He will also have queens available for $18 each.

Below is all his contact info. They are bees from Western Australia, and queens from Eastern Australia, all a type of Carniolan, sorry I can’t remember the exact kind.

You will have to meet him at the airport if you want to purchase.

Feel free to let anyone you know about this, I think he’s stuck with a large number of them that he can’t get rid of.

Morley Clarke

Bus. 306-534-2014

Home 306-534-4462

Cell 306-740-8026

moesplace@sasktel.net

Hi There,

I am wondering if there are any VV beekeepers whose hives overwintered well without treatments and would be willing to sell me 5 full frames:

Two of Capped Brood

Two of mixed Honey and Pollen

And 1 of Eggs?

This is called a Walk Away Split.

I will replace your frames with new ones. Name your price.
Thanks so much,
Asia

604-773-3704
asiawarner@gmail.com

Hello beekeepers! Joe Wasp has rescued a honeybee swarm and is now looking to find it a home. If any of you would like to purchase a honeybee swarm please call 778.628.WASP (9277) ASAP. Thanks!

I have 2 Virgin Queens for sale.
$25 each

604 338 7789

Greg

Hello again beekeepers! Joe Wasp is looking to find a home for one more fine colony of honeybees. Please call 778.628.WASP (9277) ASAP if you are interested in this swarm or if you'd like to be placed on Joe Wasp's swarm list. Thanks!

The first meeting of the Kits Urban Bees Collaborative = beginning our classes with Markus Storhas of Bee in Bloom Apiary will be this coming TUESDAY - JUNE 19th, 2012 from 6-8 pm at The Billy
Bishop VFW Hall, 1407 Laburnum Street.

(Just off Cornwall Avenue, between the Kits Beach and Maple street stops of the #2 & #22 buses)

*** Please RSVP yes or no ... so we know about how many people to expect for the Tuesday meeting. ***

This first meeting will be bee theory and questions and the second
meeting will be Friday when Markus shows us one of his hives at his house.

The ongoing class, which will meet several more times over the next
two months, will be limited to a small group of folks who will be raising bees and / or helping to take care of the Kits Urban Bees Collaborative's hive.

No previous beekeeping knowledge is necessary just a commitment to follow through with the hive tending.

This fabulous opportunity has been made possible through a Greenest City Fund neighborhood small grant, administered through the Kitsilano Neighborhood House, with funds from
the Vancouver Foundation.

Look forward to BEE ing with you,

Pia Massie
(via Mary Bennett)

Re: first Kits Urban Bees Collective meeting

Do you have an event page for this which I may RSVP to? Would very much love to come.

Hi Lisa,

You can RSVP here: http://www.villagevancouver.ca/events/bee-keeping-workshop-in-kits

Cheers,
Ross

Cedar Cottage Garden will be constructing its beehive fence on Wednesday, July 4 from 630-9 pm. If you are interested in helping out or checking out what we're doing, please drop by the garden and/or join us to lend a hand. Many hands makes the work easier.

Hi everyone,
We are in need of a queen excluder and 5 smaller sized frames for one of the hives at the Purple Thistle Center. If anyone has any extra ones that aren't in use, we would much appreciate them as a donation, trade (we have some bigger sized frames) or purchase. If you have any, could you email beeez(at)purplethistle.ca to get in touch with someone in the group? Thanks!

Hi all apiarists and aspiring apiarists !

Thanks to the Greenest City Neighbourhood Small Grants I now have the funds to purchase a two frame honey extractor to be shared with other beekeepers in our neighbourhood! (including those living beyond my neighbourhood - Mount Pleasant/Little Mountain). My hope is that this will make extraction easier for you, and it will allow beekeepers to meet each other to build a stronger beekeeping community to share information/experiences/equipment - plus have fun doing it!

I am presently looking for a space to hold our “Community Honey Extraction Day(s)” for interested beekeepers. I would appreciate it if you could contact me if you have ideas for an appropriate location (ideally indoors- a room or garage) and/or you are interested in helping out (new beekeepers may need assistance). Please email me at anna@villagevancouver.ca

The middle of August is the usual start time for honey extraction and so I was planning on setting two days for extraction:
Sunday August 19th and Saturday August 25th.
If you are interested in using the community honey extractor please let me know (anna@villagevancouver.ca) and if these dates would work for you, as well as what time suits you.

If anyone has advice on what brand of extractor to purchase please let me know as soon a possible. This is the one I am considering http://www.kinghoney.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=Rotoblast+H...

Cheers, Anna

Honey extraction time is nearly here and our Village Vancouver community honey extractor has arrived thanks again to Greenest City Neighbourhood Small Grants!

Please let me know if you are interested in using the two frame extractor and if Sunday August 19th and Saturday August 25th are days that will work for you (if not, let me know what works for you). Also if you know of a location that would be appropriate for this project please let me know anna@villagevancouver.ca .
Cheers, Anna

I have scheduled a meetup to view VIFF film "More than Honey", see link:
http://www.meetup.com/MeatlessMeetup/events/82651662/

The movie is being held on Thursday, Oct. 4 at 6:20 p.m. at Empire Granville 3 (855 Granville Street) for 90 minutes. Afterwards the group is meeting at a cafe and as the hosts, Peter Finch and I, will be there to answer questions, etc. As we have no practical experience beehive keeping, wondering if any experienced beekeepers want to attend this event.

Let me know if interested. Thanks. Cylia

Richmond Beekeepers Association

info@richmondbeekeepers.ca

www.richmondbeekeepers.ca

Meetings:

Kinsmen Nature Pavillion

11851 Westminster Highway

Richmond, BC

7:30pm on the second Tuesday of each month September to through to May.

Hey All,
I have dreams of becoming a bee keeper and would love to learn the ropes of bee keeping. I'd love to lend a hand to anyone who might need some help with their hive. Feel free to reach out to me here or drop me a line at tessraff@me.com. I'm on the North Shore but can easily get to almost any area in the lower mainland. Thanks so much in advance!

North Shore Bee Club

http://beefriendly.ca/index.php/bee-club/bee-club-news?showall=1

Hi there - I would be interested in your hives. I am in Hastings/Sunrise. tx, Fiona

We belong to a community garden and we can go with an outside supplier (an individual) or try doing it as a team with existing garden members. Does anyone know where a team of beekeepers raise honeybees at a community garden? If so, please let me know where so I can contact them. Thanks.

Hi Cylia - I think Strathcona does.

I believe there are bees at the following gardens
Baraga- Burnaby
The Queen Mary Community Garden- NV
The Harmony Garden at Humul chs'n- NV
The Loutet Urban Farming Project- NV
Gerry's Garden- NV
Victory Gardens- Van
Strathcona- Van

I'm sure there are more, but those are the ones I know for sure. Check out the link for a list of Vancouver gardenshttp://vancouver.ca/people-programs/community-gardens.aspx

Cottonwood has bees.

At Still Creek Community garden we have 2 colonys that did well this year (about 35 litres of honey) Last time we looked the bees were still thriving in their hives. We also have an Oxcalic acid vaporizer for use if any garden is treating this winter. We used garden money to start the hives and then sold the honey back to the gardeners and covered our start up costs.
We plan on doing a couple splits this spring if the colonys survive and add 2 more hives to the garden.
Steve

Thanks for the info. I will contact them and let you how I make out. cylia

Needing Bees?
A member of the Richmond Beekeepers Association has 5 frame nucs available on March 1st for $180.
These are locally overwintered bees, not imports from NZ.
Email Eric crosby_e@hotmail.com for details.

If you're starting out, what is the latest in the year you want to get your bees?

It really depends on when suppliers get their shipments... I think it may be as late as June. I would suggest starting sooner rather than later if you plan to get any honey in your first year.

You might want to contact Lindsey at Urban Bee Supply or
Bob from West Coast Bee Supply. They will both be bringing in packages from New Zealand.

If you want local bees, I would suggest joining a bee club and getting on a swarm list, or ask around for a split, which you can get later in the Spring.

Eric crosby_e@hotmail.com may be able to sell you a split later in the spring too.

Hi everyone, I am part of the beekeepers' group at the Purple Thistle Centre, and we're looking for help or leads for sterilizing our equipment as we don't have experience with this. We have four supers, two bottom boards, stands, and covers, and about forty frames. Any help would be much appreciated!

Equipment can be sterilized at Iotron Industries in Coquitlam but this is usually done earlier in the year. The Richmond Beekeeping Club does a group purchase as I think they only do larger orders. You could use a blow torch to clean the inside of the boxes and bottom boards if you are sure that there was no AFB in the hives previously. Scrape and sand off the paint on the outside and repaint. Personally I would spend the money and get new frames, I don't like to clean old frames if they have comb on them.
Steve

Hello all, we are looking to buy 9 oz. of 65% formic acid from someone who has a supply and is located in the city, or to buy a larger amount from a supplier together with someone else (ideally who is able to pick it up). Any suggestions would be much appreciated!

Hi Hannah - you can e-mail me. I have about a liter of 65% Formic Acid I am not using. gofiona@gmail.com
cheers, Fiona

Hi everyone! I am a local beekeeper and recently found out about the Rally for a GE/GMO Free BC tomorrow, Wednesday Sept 18th! I was wondering if we could get a group of beekeepers together to attend with some signs (and perhaps costumes). Municipalities will be voting on whether to recommend that the provincial government legislate BC as a GE/GMO free area. It would be great if we could make some "beekeepers in support of a GE Free BC" signs to show support against the threat that genetically modified crops pose to honeybees and other pollinators. The rally (tomorrow, Wednesday Sept 18th) is from 7am-10am outside the Union of BC Municipalities Convention at the Vancouver Convention Centre (1055 Canada Place). If you'd like to join me, could you please reply or send me a message asap and we can arrange to meet up there! And please help to spread the word if you're able to! More info at https://www.facebook.com/events/186994361480098/ and the link to their petition is http://www.change.org/en-CA/petitions/vote-yes-for-a-ge-gmo-free-bc...

The Bee School for 2014 is starting soon with lots of workshops, courses and events planned for this coming season. Check out www.thebeeschool.wordpress.com for locations and dates of the Introductory 8 Session course.

I'm offering a bonus session to anyone who signs up by February 15th for the first course beginning March 8th at Homesteader's. "Waking the Bees for Spring", open to new and former students of The Bee School. Please email me to confirm.

Many of The Bee School programs are being held at the Homesteader's Emporium,
http://www.homesteadersemporium.ca/
But there are several other locations around the Lower Mainland.
Brian

Hello, does anyone in the Vancouver area have pollen patties available at the moment to buy? I'm getting some next week but was hoping to have some by this Thursday... send me an email (hmjcarpendale@hotmail.com) if so - thanks!

I've pre-ordered 90,000 for my two hives. Anyone interested in a group buy?

I'm in for 50,000, David.

:-)

HI Bee Keepers,

I have some 5 frame nuc boxes in reusable wooden boxes available for sale for $165. Please contact me at melissa@melliferabees.com if you are interested. Looks like it is going to be a great bee season!