June 2025 Newsletter
June Speaker Topic: Joe Meyer – Beekeeping & Technology
Joe Meyer has been keeping bees for over 20 years, starting when he was a teenager. After a summer assisting with hive management at the University of Minnesota Bee Lab, he co-founded Four Seasons Apiaries, LLC. For the next 5 years his focus was on overwintering nucleus colonies and rearing queens from colonies managed year-round in Minnesota. With a degree in electrical engineering, Joe brings both credibility and curiosity to the intersection of beekeeping and technology. His current work explores hive sensors, AI tools, and the role of online platforms in helping beekeepers stay informed and connected.
President's Hive
The nectar is flowing and the bees are swarming! Keep a watchful eye on your bees - look for swarm cells in your colonies, and make sure they have the right amount of available space. If you have splits that you cannot use, reach out to our members during meetings or on the Facebook group. Someone is always looking for bees!
At our very warm May member event, we learned how to split hives (thank you Jessica Helgen and Gary Reuter). It was wonderful to socialize and eat pizza with everyone! On June 10th, we will be back in Borlaug Hall with guest speaker Joe Meyer, who will be giving his presentation, “The intersection of beekeeping and technology, even for those traditional beekeepers in our group.” We will also hear from our Youth Scholarship recipients. I always look forward to hearing about their experiences. Hope to see many of you there!
I have been part of a search committee for the Endowed Chair in Honey Bee Biology in the Department of Entomology. Final candidate interviews and seminars will conclude on June 4th. Final decisions about the candidates and job offer(s) could take some time. It will be up to the University to make the announcement. Stay tuned!
Here are some important things to know for this month:
June Member Meeting
Our monthly member meeting on June 10th will feature MHBA member Joe Meyer, who will speak about the intersection of beekeeping and technology, even for those traditional beekeepers in our group. We will also hear from our Youth Scholarship recipients. Please join us at 7:00 PM at the University of Minnesota St. Paul Campus in Room 335 in Borlaug Hall. Treats served! Directions to the meeting are found elsewhere in this newsletter.
Save the Date - August 12th Picnic
The annual picnic is scheduled for Tuesday, August 12th at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds. More information about the picnic is in this newsletter.
Minnesota State Fair Volunteers Needed!
Please check out the information and opportunities found later in this newsletter.
T-Shirts!
The t-shirts should be ready to go to their new homes by our June meeting. Be sure to pick up your order. We will also bring them to our July meeting and August picnic for distribution, if needed.
Pollinator Week
This year, Pollinator Week is celebrated June 16-22. Pollinator Week is an annual celebration in support of pollinator health that was initiated and is managed by Pollinator Partnership. It is a time to raise awareness for pollinators and spread the word about what we can do to protect them. For more information visit https://www.pollinator.org/pollinator-week
Members Only Facebook Page
All members are invited to join our private Facebook page. There are a few steps that you need to take in order to join. The page is a welcoming space for questions and sharing. https://www.facebook.com/groups/MNHobbyBeekeepers
Library Materials
Don’t forget to return your borrowed materials from our library!
Kate Winsor
MHBA President
Better Beekeeping Through Education
Next Meeting
Member Meeting
Tuesday, June 10th
7:00 PM
Hybrid meeting:
In-Person: Borlaug Hall, Room 335
Via Zoom: Meeting Link
5:45 PM
Hive Demo
Bee Lab Apiary
Click here for directions.
Upcoming Events
June 10
Beekeeping & Technology
Joe Meyer
July 8
Creamed & Infused Honey
Quintin Holmberg
August 12
Annual Picnic
At the fairgrounds
September 9
Best for Bees
Erica Shelly
October 13
Efficacy of Pollen Substitutes
Jamie Ellis, University of Florida
November 10
Annual Meeting & Youth Scholarship Presentations
June 2025 Management
Spring is rolling along into summer and hopefully your colonies are growing well. I have been seeing lots of orientation flights in front of our colonies. With hundreds of new bees emerging daily, hundreds of bees are aging into the forager workforce and they tend to do orientation flights when the sun is high. These flights typically happen between noon and 2 o’clock and can almost look like a colony is starting to swarm, I get fooled almost every year by this and that makes me happy.
June management highlights: You should have divided any overwintered hives by now and possibly added a second deep to your packages. Don’t forget to test for mites monthly and make sure your colonies have space to store nectar as the main nectar flow should be coming on soon.
Your overwintered and divided colonies with older queens should be in at least 3 deep boxes or 2 deep boxes with supers. Again, make sure these overwintered queens have space to lay by adding supers as needed until the main nectar flow slows (historically in July). A strong colony can fill up 2 honey supers a week during a good flow. If you are seeing nectar being stored in the brood nest, add supers and consider doing a reversal.
If your overwintered hive swarmed, you can let the remaining bees try and raise a new queen. The whole process takes about a month before a new queen begins laying, and inspections can easily disrupt the requeening process, so inspections should be kept to a minimum. If in doubt they are successfully raising a new queen, you can give them a frame with eggs and young larvae from another colony. If they are successfully raising a new queen, this will simply boost their population, but if the requeening failed, they will try and raise another queen from the young brood.
If your colony still has a laying queen but you see swarm cells, I don’t encourage knocking down the queen cells to prevent swarming. Once the colony is building swarm cells, they are already deep into the swarming process and dividing them is the best option.
Your packages are likely in their 2nd deep now and shouldn’t need syrup, as they have raised the foragers they need to start bringing in the nectar they need. The general rule is to add a box once they are 80% full in the top box, and bring up a frame with food (and no brood) up into the new box to encourage them to move up.
Test for mites even if you’ve decided to treat, then test again after treating to see if the treatment worked. Always read the label on treatments, even if you’ve used them before, as formulations and recommendations change from year to year. The Bee lab uses formic and oxalic acids, both considered organic, and will be experimenting with the newer oxalic acid strip this season.
As always, you can send questions and photos to the Bee Squad at [email protected].
Happy Beekeeping! -Jenny
Classifieds
Bees for splits, overwintered and under-wintered colonies, queen cells by arrangement, and pails of honey for sale.
Prices vary by season.
Contact Adrian - [email protected]
Did you know your membership allows you to place classified ads in the MHBA Newsletter?
Volunteer at the State Fair!
- The first opportunity is on behalf of the Minnesota State Fair. As an Interpretive Volunteer, you have a seat near an observation hive in front of the honey island. Fair goers are curious about honey bees and they ask you simple, basic questions. If this is your first year of beekeeping, we make sure you will have everything you need to be a successful interpreter! It's a great way to spread your love of honey bees. The shifts are three hours and previous volunteers say the time absolutely flys by. Sign up link will be coming soon - watch our Facebook page or check back to this issue of the newsletter.
- The second volunteer opportunity is on behalf of the Minnesota Hobby Beekeepers Association. These volunteers will demonstrate how to extract honey. The extraction demos take roughly 15 minutes and occur 4 times a day at 1pm, 2pm, 4pm, and 5pm. The rest of the day is yours to enjoy at the fair. Two volunteers are needed each day. Even if you have never extracted honey before, we teach everyone how to demonstrate this at our members picnic, Tuesday, August 12th. If you are interested in volunteering, please watch our Facebook page or check back to this issue of the newsletter for the sign up link.
- Finally, also on behalf of the State Fair, there are a variety of Bee-hind the Scenes volunteer opportunities both prior to and after the fair. Bee-hind the scenes duties may include intaking entries for the various competitions, assisting judges of honey, food, or artwork, and setting up the exhibit hall prior to the fair. For more information on these opportunities including a detailed run-down of each day, please watch our Facebook page or check back to this issue of the newsletter.
Summer Events From the MHPA
Field Day Event
Looking to increase your beekeeping skills? Join us at the first UMN Extension and MHPA Field Day on June 21st in Perham, MN.
Learn from expert beekeepers in small groups. Our instructors will cover information about queen rearing, cut comb honey production, the Demaree method of swarm prevention and population management, colony health checks and so much more!
This event is generously sponsored by Mann Lake Ltd. Registration fee includes lunch.
https://minnesotahoneyproducers.com/2025-field-day/
Summer Convention
Our summer line up of convention speakers are leaders in honey bee research and extension. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn the latest about honey bee health!
Our Keynote Speaker is Dr. Lewis J. Bartlett and is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Entomology at the University of Georgia (UGA), with a joint appointment at the Odum School of Ecology. Dr. Declan Schroeder from the University of Minnesota and Dr. Katie Lee from Minnesota Extension will also present the latest about their honey bee work
Also on the Program:
Project Apis M UMN Bee Squad Bee and Butterfly Habitat Fund Pests & Pathogens Panel Building Your bee business Bear Update MHPA Ambassador Beekeeper BBQ Banquet ($) Habitat Update Norroa Update
The meeting will start at 6:30 pm on Thursday, July 10th and end at noon on Saturday, July 12th.
https://minnesotahoneyproducers.com/mhpa-annual-meeting-and-2024-convention/
Minnesota Honey Producers Association
USDA-ARS Releases Key Findings on Spring Colony Losses
A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words
Email a photo to Gary Reuter at [email protected] before noon on the day of the member's meeting so he can project it on the screen during “Ask the Expert.” We will all learn from you what you see in your hive.
Online Resources
Please visit our website!
https://mnbeekeepers.com/
We continue to make updates and changes to our website. Recently, we reorganized the Education page.
https://mnbeekeepers.com/ed/
Stay tuned for no-cost Community-based beekeeping classes & events in the new calendar:
https://mnbeekeepers.com/events/
If you are offering a class/event, you may submit the details to have it listed on our website:
https://mnbeekeepers.com/add-a-community-event/
Join Us On Facebook
Join our members only Facebook group:
https://mnbeekeepers.com/facebook-group/
This is a place for members to ask questions, share answers, share photos and videos, and socialize online.
MHBA Board Minutes
Please check the website for the latest, approved Board meeting minutes.
More Announcements
Membership Renewal
There are three ways to renew your membership today!
- Renew your membership online with a credit card (preferred).
- Mail the membership renewal form to our treasurer at the address provided
- Renew in person by bringing your completed form and check to the next meeting.
Our Renewal Form can be found at our Become a Member page:
https://www.mnbeekeepers.com/become_member
Newsletter Submissions
The MHBA newsletter welcomes articles, photos, recipes, etc. from members. Please send them to the editor:
[email protected]
If an article is a reprint from another source, permission must be gained if required. The due date for newsletter submission is the 25th of the month for the next month's newsletter.
MHBA Board
| Position | Member |
|---|---|
| President | Kate Winsor |
| Vice President | Bill Thompson |
| Secretary | Michelle Maas |
| Treasurer | Bob Hinschberger |
| Directors | |
| Peg DeSanto | |
| Willie Gabberd | |
| Quintin Holmberg | |
| Charlie Kundinger | |
| Katie Lee, PhD. (appointed) | |
| Jessica Marshall-Kurysh | |
| Mike Paskeuric | |
| Liz Pepin | |
| Gary Reuter | |
| Karen Voy | |
| Membership | Steve Buck |
| Newsletter Editor | Quintin Holmberg |
| Technology Committee | Quintin Holmberg |
| Gary Reuter | |
| Librarian | Gail Dramen |
| Outreach | Susan Bornstein |
| Ask Buzz | JoAnne Sabin |
| Swarm Chasers | Bob Sitko |
| Hospitality | Mark & Cathy Lee |
| Banquet | Jessica Marshall-Kurysh |
Get Involved
Make this the year to get more involved in your club! To become a Community Outreach volunteer or a Swarm Chaser please complete and submit the appropriate form by visiting:
https://mnbeekeepers.com/get-involved/
NOTE: The contents of this Newsletter are the sole property of the Minnesota Hobby Beekeepers Association (MHBA). NO REPUBLICATION OR USE in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, by any other person or entity without the prior express written permission from MHBA’s Board of Directors is permitted. MHBA may be contacted at [email protected]