Early Summer Bee Flowers Pale Purple Coneflower (Echinacea pallida, perennial): An elegant beauty with fine, drooping petals, the pale purple coneflower is a bee favorite that also produces seeds much loved by finches. A native of grasslands and savannahs across the Eastern United States, this tough coneflower will bloom for up to three weeks from June to (more…)
Bird’s Foot Trefoil A member of the pea family, Bird’s Foot Trefoil is a classic component of wildflower seed mixes, providing both pollen and nectar during the summer months. Wild Blackberry Flowering from late spring to early summer, Wild Blackberry bushes provide a feast for honeybees. Well-pollinated, they later produce abundant blackberry crops to feed (more…)
As discussed in the latest Apprentice Beekeepers Class, a great resource for the health of bees, and in particular the latest on battling Varroa Mites is the Honey Bee Health Coalition. Another useful resource mention ed was the Penn State publication, A Field Guide to Honey Bees and Their Maladies. If you order direct there (more…)
The OBA is going to make a bulk jar order. This is for jars for packaging the honey we will sell at the Thurston County Fair and other outreach events. We are giving members the ability to add to this order, thus helping us get lower bulk pricing. This year we are ordering in bulk (more…)
21 in attendance; 20 in person, 1 online Please sign in! Updates Hive Mind Q&A – what should we be doing right now? Speaker today – Bri Price