LEWIS COUNTY BEEKEEPERS' ASSOCIATION                                                          

Many thanks to our volunteers who staffed our 2016 LCBA exhibit & loaned display items!  Our exhibit was busy the whole week long, and we received many compliments on our educational displays.  Discover Lewis County and Edna Fund shared our Facebook posts, getting the word out about our Observation Hive and People’s Choice Tasting days.  Scroll down for highlights from Fair Week!

A new feature at LCBA's exhibit this year was the "Bee the Bee Face" photo board loaned by LCBA member Tim Weible - families had fun taking bee photos all through Fair Week.

Above, LCBA's People's Choice Honey Tasting Contest gave visitors a chance to sample local Lewis & Thurston County raw honeys & vote for their favorites; below, the official Fair honey judging contest had plenty of entries despite the less than stellar honey producing year.  For more on these contests, visit our Southwest Washington Fair 2016 page on Honey Contests: click here.

Below, Community Outreach Coordinator Dan Maughan pictured with the Langstroth Hive display he loaned for our exhibit. Dan also loaned his bees for our Observation Hive & brought different queens & bees back & forth to the Fairgrounds & took care of them through the hot conditions so our visitors could enjoy & learn from them (see right column for observation hive photos): 

Below, a sample bee package, nucleus hive, & hive tools were loaned by Education Coordinator Peter Glover & Secretary Susanne Weil:

 Below, LCBA President Kevin Reichert with an antique beekeeping sign loaned by volunteer Gottfried Fritz (photo by Dan Maughan). Kevin, along with Dan, came in & coordinated the exhibit on a daily basis. Special thanks to Kevin for bringing his fan: people would’ve melted in the Floral Building without it on the hottest days of Fair Week!

Below, Kevin & Jeanne Reichert & Grant Inmon again loaned their amazing wild hive display: this year, it was in a box on the floor instead of hanging over the exhibit so that visitors could see the wild comb close up:

Above, our educational displays covered club activities, the challenges endangering honey bees, swarm & colony removal, the differences between bees & other pollinators & stinging insects, planting bee forage, & the world of honey.

Above, Sharette Giese loaned her display on honey bee biology & the nature of honey, with "gifts from the hive" ranging from royal jelly to pollen. The bucket with extracting equipment (loaned by Peter Glover & Susanne Weil), the polariscope on the right (hand-made by Mentorship Coordinator Martin Stenzig to show crystallization in bottled hone), & the hand crank extractor (loaned by Tim Weible) helped volunteers show visitors how honey is harvested.

Above, the free brochures & honey recipe cards donated by the National Honey Board were taken home by many visitors.  Below, one of our educational displays: is it a honey bee - or something else? Often, people use the word "bee" to refer to any stinging insect. In fact, honey bees die when they sting, unlike wasps or yellowjackets, so honey bees are defensive, not aggressive!

Below, the paper wasp exhibit loaned by LCBA member Tim Weible:

Above, the educational display on what is killing honey bees; below, member Steve Howard's hand-tooled, hinged, cedar top bar hive won best in class for "other bee products" and helped volunteers show visitors how this alternative to Langstroth hive box beekeeping works:

 Below, a very special Langstroth hive box set:   the "Home of the 12th Bee" Super Bowl Seahawks commemorative hive made & loaned by Tim Weible:

LCBA's Observation Hive was again a big hit at the Southwest Washington Fair this year; Discover Lewis County featured it on their Facebook page & brought even more visitors to our exhibit!

Above, the queen bee and her retinue in the observation hive. This queen has a very tight retinue, showing that her queen substance pheromone is potent & that she is a strong laying queen. Thanks to Community Outreach Coordinator Dan Maughan for loaning his bees each day!  (Photo by Richelle Jackson)

Above, LCBA volunteer Ron Black seeking the queen bee with a young visitor; below, volunteer Gordon Bellevue answers questions on our busy Sunday:

Below, volunteer Nancy Toenyan lures a fairground bee out of a ventilation port - fairground bees were attracted to the odors of queen pheromone, wax, & honey from the observation hive (photo by Dan Maughan):

Above, volunteer Steve Howard with young visitors - at left, LCBA Youth Scholar Josiah Cowin volunteered on Children's day (photo by Dan Maughan). Below, volunteer Chris Weedon helps find the queen bee:

 Above, volunteer Mary Ellen Wilson talking bees with a young visitor; below, ice chips in the screened ventilation holes helped keep the bees cool & hydrated during the heat wave:

Above, Harold Mullins & Gottfried Fritz observing the queen in her retinue; below, Nancy Toenyan takes a photo of the hive as volunteer Pamela looks on (photos by Dan Maughan):

Above, LCBA's busy exhibit (photo, Dan Maughan)

Many thanks to LCBA's terrific volunteers, who answered questions from curious visitors & shared their love & knowledge of bees:  Sue Allen, Chuck Ament, Bill Barr & Tracy Chilelli, Rick Battin, Gordon Bellevue, Ron Black, Ed Carter, Pamela Daudet, Gottfried Fritz, Judy & Gary Kalich, Mel Grigorich, Peggy Hammer, Steve Howard, Richelle Jackson, Don Marshall, Dan Maughan, Tom Mayberry, Matt Mecham, Harold Mullins, Kevin & Jeanne Reichert, Nancy Toenyan, Cody & Linnea Warren, Chris Weedon, Susanne Weil, Mary Ellen & Phil Wilson, Walt Wilson, & our Youth Scholars, Sam & Josiah.  Our volunteers’ expertise & enthusiasm help make our exhibit an exciting draw for Fair visitors!

Above, volunteers Chuck Ament, Rick Battin, & Nancy Toenyan at the observation hive; below, Tom Mayberry & Gottfried Fritz (photos, Dan Maughan):



Above, volunteer Sue Allen with children at the observation hive; below, Gary Kalich with a young visitor (photos by Ed Carter):

Above, another "bee the face of the bee"; below, left, volunteers Mary Ellen & Phil Wilson with visitors: