Thursday, April 16th, 6:30pm: General Membership Meeting
The PPBA meets from 6:30 pm – 9:00 pm on the third Thursday of the months of January, April, July and October. We are looking for a permanent location for our meeting but in the meantime, please be aware that the meeting locations may change from meeting to meeting. Meetings are open to the public.
The first half hour (6:30-7:00) of the PPBA General Membership meetings is reserved for socializing and general questions. If you have (portable) equipment to sell, bring it and talk to your fellow beekeepers! We are considering setting up a more formal beekeeping swap/meet – let us know if you’re interested!
The formal portion of the meeting will start promptly at 7:00 pm and will include association business and the presentations for that meeting. Tonight we will have a panel of members explaining, discussing, and answering questions on different methods of hive splitting. Come prepared with your questions!
Tonight’s PPBA General Membership Meeting will be Thursday, January 15th, at the Gold Hills Mesa Police Station, 955 West Moreno Ave, in Colorado Springs.
Annual membership dues are $15 per family.
April Meeting Notes
If you haven’t already, please bring 2026 dues tonight! $15 in cash or check made out to PPBA.
Are you willing to mentor a new beekeeper? Are you looking for a mentor? Come at 6:30 tonight! Grab a name tag when you come in tonight, and add a colored sticker:
RED: Looking for a mentor
GREEN: Willing to bee a mentor
YELLOW: Happy to meet up with bee friends
BLUE: Not interested right now
T-shirt update: All shirts that have been previously ordered but not picked up are now available for sale to the general membership. If you have ordered and not picked up, your shirt is no longer being held, and if you did not order but would like a shirt, you can come look at the stock tonight. A misspelling was noticed on the t-shirts at the last meeting – we’ll correct this on the order placed this summer, but current shirts are still available for sale.
Bee Yard Visit #1 – June 6, 10:00am at Rob Dalzell’s
Rob Dalzell is hosting a visit at his hive yard!
We will discuss early season topics such as mite washes and oxalic acid vapor treatment.
Use the link below to register, we will decide on the Thursday before if the weather looks good enough to move forward, at which point I will send out the address to those who have registered.
Saturday, June 6
10:00 AM
Peyton, CO 1.8 miles east of Falcon Highway and Curtis intersection
2026 Meeting and Event Dates – Volunteers Needed
| April 16th | General Membership Meeting – Gold Hills Mesa Police Station |
| April 25th | Package Bee Pickup at Rocky Mountain Bee Supply |
| June 6th | Bee Yard Visit #1 at Rob Dalzell’s |
| July 16th | General Membership Meeting – Location Pending |
| July 18th ( tentative) | Bee Yard Visit #2 – Volunteer Hive Needed |
| August 8th | WMMI Farming and Ranching Super Saturday – 4 Volunteers Needed |
| August 22nd | Happy 50th Bear-th Day BCNC Limited Honey Extraction Demo – 2 Volunteers Needed |
| September 5th (tentative) | Bee Yard Visit #3 – Volunteer Hive Needed |
| September 19th (tentative) | PPBA Members Honey Extraction Party – 6 Volunteers Needed |
| October 3rd | UCCS Cool Science Carnival Day – 6 Volunteers Needed |
| October 15th | General Membership Meeting – Location Pending |
Second Quarter Hive Management
Hive management tips are from Rocky Mountain Bee Supply. More details can be found by clicking here.
April – The weather begins to improve, and the early blossoms such as dandelions begin to appear. The drones will begin to appear. The bees will begin leaving the hive in search of pollen sources as the month passes. Towards the end of the month, the entire hive will begin to return to an almost normal operation now that winter is almost over. There will be cold snaps, but the bees will do fine as they begin to expand. Their need for food will rapidly increase. Note: throughout the Rocky Mountain region, it is not uncommon to experience snow fall or a cold snap all the way thru mid-May.
Beekeeper tasks: (The end of April begins the busiest season for the beekeeper)
- Inspect all hives and take appropriate actions based upon the condition of the individual hive. Keep feeding your weaker hives; feeding helps the bees build up. You are just feeding to help the hive off to a great start. Keep the pollen patties on top, too.
- April weather can be unpredictable with cold and wet conditions which means that your bees may have limited opportunities to fly out for food. So you must continue to inspect the hive to be sure they have enough food stores. Also, inspect your hive for any abnormalities. You want to see a solid brood laying pattern from your queen. If not, consider replacing her soon!
- A majority of packages will be installed towards the end of the month. Make sure that you are familiar with the requirements for starting packages and provide sufficient care to ensure their success.
- This is a great time to equalize your hives. You may have to combine weak hives with strong ones. Even though they know better, every year some beekeepers seem to become too compassionate toward a struggling hive, and try to nurse them back to health. Although some success may be experienced, it is usually not worth it. It is costly to spend too much time on a struggling hive. It takes money and time to re-queen the hive and to continue to work it. It would be far better to combine it to another hive if it is disease and pest free, and the newly combined single hive has a much better chance of thriving. Take the chance that the new hive may be strong enough to split during the summer. After all, a weak hive is an invitation for pests and disease. Strong hives chase away pests and disease. So, your weak hive could spread disease to all your other hives.
May – The hive is expanding rapidly. The brood chambers are filling up fast and the bees will be working hard. If insufficient space has been provided, the brood chambers are becoming crowded and congested, and bees are probably preparing to swarm. The hive should be bursting with activity.
Beekeeper tasks:
- Spring mite treatments should be completed, and removed prior to adding any honey supers.
- Add a queen excluder, and place honey supers on top of the top deep.
- Implement a swarm management strategy. Keep in mind that bees swarm as a way of multiplying. There are some important steps to implement to try to prevent swarming. Keep in mind that you must provide room for your hive to expand. Put on as many supers of drawn comb as you’d like. Some experts think it is good practice to have a minimum of two drawn honey supers on all hives during the nectar season.
- Consider having extra, empty hives on hand so you’ll be able to capture a swarm. You will want to capture your own swarms or you will probably receive phone calls once your neighbors learn you are a beekeeper. It is not uncommon to receive calls each week all spring and summer.
- You will have to implement a swarm management strategy. Keep in mind that bees swarm as You will have to implement a swarm management strategy. Keep in mind that bees swarm as a way of multiplying. However, there are some important steps to implement to try to prevent swarming. Keep in mind that you must provide room for your hive to expand.
June –The bees will be working hard filling supers. They can still swarm during June, so stay vigilant. There is no need to feed the mature hives. They are gathering plenty of nectar and pollen. You may see the bees hanging out on the front of the hive at night. This is normal. On hot evenings, many bees will spend the night outside the hive, clinging to the front of the hive or they may form a beard on the ground in front of the hive. This phenomenon is called “bearding”. Don’t worry, this would be like you enjoying your cool porch on a hot evening. You can help by adding ventilation such as propping the telescoping cover up slightly, or installing a screened inner cover or slatted rack.
Beekeeper tasks:
- Continue to monitor your hive. Inspect your hive every two weeks to ensure the queen is laying well.
- The bees will need water, so be sure to keep a water source near your hives. Bird baths filled with water will help to ensure that your bees stay out of the dog’s water bowl and your neighbor’s pool. Some beekeepers maintain their feeders full of water (no syrup) to make it easier for the bees to keep cool.
- Add honey supers as needed. Keep up swarm inspections.
July – If the weather is good, the nectar flow may continue this month. As the nectar flow subsides, the bees will become more flighty, searching for nectar which is not as plentiful to find. The bees are beginning the final effort to store up for winter, searching for final nectar sources. Golden Rod and Aster plants may provide some nectar flow in the fall. On hot nights, you may see a huge curtain of bees cooling themselves on the exterior of the hive.
Beekeeper tasks:
- Continue inspections to assure the health of your colony.
- Add more honey supers if needed.
- Keep your fingers crossed in anticipation of a great honey harvest.
- Continue to check your supers! You’ll now begin removing and extracting your honey.
- Most beekeepers begin to consider the amount of mites within hives during July. Most begin to treat, based upon mite count/survey results. However, no treatments can be administered in a hive while supers are on. This could contaminate the honey with chemical residue. If possible, do not use chemicals in your hives but do treat for mites with powdered sugar. However, it is wise to wait until the last summer nectar flow is over and the honey has been harvested before treating with powdered sugar.
- If mites become a problem it will be during the summer and fall months. It is best not to disturb the bees during summer nectar flows unless there is evidence of extremely heavy mite loads
Bees in the News
Bee colonies threatened by Colorado’s warm winter
Colorado State University launches first honeybee veterinary science course
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