October 2025 Newsletter
October Speaker: Randy Oliver - Current State of Varroa Mite Treatment
Randy started keeping bees as a hobbyist around 1966, he then went on to get university degrees in biological sciences, specializing in entomology. In 1980 he began to build a migratory beekeeping operation in California and currently runs around 1000-1500 hives with his two sons.
In 1993, the varroa mite arrived in California, and after it wiped out his operation for the second time in 1999, he decided to “hit the books” and use his scientific background to learn to fight back. Subsequently, he started writing for the American Bee Journal in 2006 and has submitted articles nearly every month since then.
His focus is to use scientific accuracy, as opposed to rule of thumb, or guess-work methods, to attain the success for intelligent beekeepers.
Reference - https://scientificbeekeeping.com/
President's Hive
Tree leaves are turning color, which signals our last hive demo at the Bee Lab on October 14th. The demonstration will focus on putting our hives “to bed” for the winter. Thank you to Gary Reuter and Jessica Helgen for imparting your knowledge throughout 2025. Your expertise is appreciated!
This is my last column as President of Minnesota Hobby Beekeepers Association. As my time as President comes to a close, I’d like to say it’s been a privilege to lead this organization with the guidance of our wonderful Board of Directors and members. Thank you to everyone who has made it a smooth flight.
I’m excited to announce that we will transition to the leadership of our new President, Jessica Marshall-Kurysh, who was elected by the Board of Directors on October 1st. Jessica offers an extraordinary set of organizational skills, personal communication skills, and exuberance. Here is a little bit about Jessica:
Jessica has been with the MHBA since 2024, joining after her first Bee Banquet. A Twin Cities native, she lives with her husband, 2-year old son, and dog in Mahtomedi. Her hives are also in Mahtomedi where her grandpa used to keep bees. She got into beekeeping after he passed away in the fall of 2020 in hopes of doing something good for the world while staying connected to him in a unique way. She says it's been a profound learning experience and enjoys the many ways the bees teach her something new each year.
Congratulations to Our Newly Elected 2026 Officers
- President - Jessica Marshall-Kurysh
- Vice President - Bill Thompson
- Secretary - Michelle Maas
- Treasurer - Bob Hinschberger
Here are some other important things to know for this month:
Board of Directors Vacancies
Elections for MHBA Board of Directors will happen at our November member meeting. We will have several open positions. You may nominate yourself. Completed forms must be submitted by 11:59 pm on October 21, 2025. Please click HERE for more information (must be logged in to our website). You will then need to click on “Board of Directors Nomination Form.”
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 & Meeting Treats
Don’t forget to return your borrowed materials from our library! Also, please consider volunteering to bring treats to our member meetings. Let our hospitality chairs Mark and Cathy Lee know if you plan to do this.
Kate Winsor
MHBA President
Better Beekeeping Through Education
Next Meeting
Randy Oliver
Tuesday, October 14th
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
October 13
Randy Oliver
November 11
Annual Meeting & Youth Scholarship Presentations
October 2025 Management
Things are winding down for the season and hopefully you are enjoying the cool nights and earlier evenings. Our bees have continued to bring in pollen from asters and goldenrod, and we’ve noticed the sour “gym sock” smell when extracting goldenrod honey in our late season extracting. September gave us a lot of warm days to finish pulling supers and feeding those that needed it.
If you still have honey supers on, you should get them off ASAP as the colony needs to cluster below during the cool nights. Our colonies need 75-100 lbs. (or about 10 full frames) of honey for winter. If your colonies are light, the window to feed them 2:1 heavy syrup is closing so don’t put it off. Even if there are warm days here and there, we don’t want to encourage them to spread their cluster out and converting syrup to winter stores takes time. If the bees take down syrup and are unable to dehydrate and seal it up, it will give off moisture during the winter and can be detrimental to the bees.
You should have your entrances reducers in and corks in all but the top box’s hole. Robbing can still be an issue, so keep your inspections brief and equipment covered. A wet sheet can come in handy to throw over any colony that is being robbed. If you are feeding, be careful not to spill or have leaky (or unlevel) buckets that can encourage robbing.
Hopefully your mites are managed, and you are planning on treating with oxalic acid when the colony is broodless and clustered. I have really grown to love that fall clean-up using the dribble method. With this warm fall, I’m guessing our colonies may go broodless a little later than normal.
If you are considering combining small or light colonies, make sure they are healthy before doing so. Reminder to never combine sick bees with healthy bees.
Jenny Warner
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?
Board of Directors Elections
We are currently looking forward to receiving nominations for Directors whose terms are expiring. Director Elections will be held on November 11th during the member meeting. Submissions are due by October 21. There are great reasons to consider volunteering as a Director on the MHBA board:
- An opportunity to be a part of running an association that you love
- Add to sweetening up your resume
- Gain and develop important leadership skills
- Donate your time, talent and skills to a worthy non prophet association
- Meet and collaborate with other wonderful beekeepers
- Vote on important topics discussed at board meetings
- Once a director you have possibilities to run for an officer position in the future
By joining the board you can help steer programming and the content of speakers for the meetings, be on one of our many significant committees: membership, technology, hospitality, newsletter, swarm catchers, library, state fair extracting, community outreach, banquet, youth scholarship, the August picnic, etc.
MHBA is full of talented, hardworking individuals, and YOU can help make the organization the best it can be! Help us make a meaningful difference by doing something that makes you feel good and by keeping this fantastic association buzzing!
A Director is a three-year term. Check out the bylaws to learn more about how the association works and if you haven’t already, fill out the Board of Directors Nomination Form here then click on the Board of Directors Nomination Form. It brings you right to it. The deadline is October 21, 2025.
MHBA Board of Directors Elections is Tuesday November 11th
Seeking Outreach Education Coordinator
Hello Beeks!
We are in search of a volunteer to serve as our MHBA Outreach Education Coordinator.
I know that many of you love talking about bees and enjoy sharing your honey bee knowledge with others. MHBA’s Outreach Education provides an opportunity for individuals in our organization to do just that. As volunteers, we serve as the “public face” of the Minnesota Hobby Beekeepers Association, presenting and speaking at events such as schools, preschools, assisted living communities, libraries, festivals and community fairs.
The volunteer Outreach Education Coordinator receives requests from the public for presentations via a form submitted on our website. Next, the coordinator sends out an email with a brief description of the date/event/request, to our list of over 35 volunteers. Volunteers pick and choose from requests and reply with their interest (via email) to the coordinator.
The Outreach Coordinator also maintains & replenishes our wealth of educational supplies. We currently have two sets of supplies to serve different parts of the metro area. There are typically 15-20 requests for our services each year. As the outgoing chair, I am happy to assist and be a resource during your first year.
Please reach out to me with your interest!
Susan Bornstein [email protected]
If you would like to be added to our Outreach Education volunteer list, login to mnbeekeepers.com and visit https://mnbeekeepers.com/get-involved/ complete and submit the “Become a Community Outreach Educator” form.
A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words
Email a photo to [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 | Jessica Marshall-Kurysh |
| Vice President | Bill Thompson |
| Secretary | Michelle Maas |
| Treasurer | Bob Hinschberger |
| Directors | |
| Ryan Alaniz | |
| Peg DeSanto | |
| Willie Gabberd | |
| Quintin Holmberg | |
| Charlie Kundinger | |
| Katie Lee, PhD. (appointed) | |
| Mike Paskeuric | |
| Liz Pepin | |
| Anne Pierce | |
| 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 |
| Youth Scholarship | Christine Shoemaker |
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]