Barry

is an accredited Bee Master and BCHPA certified instructor of Beginner's Beekeeping . He is a local beekeeper serving the Greater Victoria area on the southern end of Vancouver Island, BC Canada and has been keeping bees for more than 15 years.







May 2020

Bees are building their colony, preparing to swarm



Spring warmth is upon us. The dandelions and Arbutus are in full bloom with various fruit trees about to bloom.

SWARMS SEASON is HERE

My first swarm call of 2020 was on April 30. A swarm of honey bees start as a cloud of several thousand bees slowly moving through the air at tree top level. They eventually come down and cluster as a ball, usually on a tree branch. If you see a swarm of honey bees, please stay clear and call me directly on my swarm hotline at 250 900-5133 or by EMail. I will be happy to relocate these easily accessable clustered bees to a new home for FREE . For more information on why honey bees swarm and how to be safe around them, please visit my Swarms web page.

Bumble Bees

I can also relocate a colony of Bumble Bees. Bumble Bees are a ground nesting bee and can be found in compost bins. For assistance, please call me ditectly on my bee hotline at 250 900-5133 or by EMail

Presentations

I am available for presentations to special interest groups within the Greater Victoria area of British Columbia, Canada. My presentation highlights the development of the honey bee, their life cycle, integration with the world today and many other interesting aspects. I also supply a variety of honeys for taste testing. Please EMail me to inquire for availability to present at your group's gathering.

Field Day - Date TBA

To further your beekeeping skills or just see what keeping bees is all about join me for an hour or so on site at my apiary in Colwood on Saturday, date TBA, at 10:00 am.

The theme for Summer is 'Collecting honey' . We will look at colonies to assess their abilility to collect honey.

For bio safety , please wear long sleeves and long pants. If you have a bee veil, please bring it as well. If you do not have a veil, I will ask you to stand back a safe distance when we are handling live bees.

For bio security , no hive tools are permitted on site. Availability is limited to 20 people. Please reserve a seat for yourself by sending me an EMail. I will send you a map of the location with confirmation of your resevation.

Equipment and Supplemental Feeding



After 5 years of development and 4 years of field testing the Rain Coast Bee Hive is now available for limited sales. A supportive supplemental feeding program is proving beneficial.