Beekeeping Educational Programs

10th Annual Northeastern Kentucky Beekeeping School

Beginner and advanced course work available

February 23, 2019 at the Maysville Community and Technical College 1755 U.S. Highway 68, Maysville, KY 41056 www.maysville.kctcs.edu
Hosted By: Licking River Beekeepers Association
Visit Facebook for Class Schedule and Updated Information and see the flyer below.

10th Annual Northeastern Kentucky ColorFlyer

Beekeeping 2020 –
Southwestern  Ohio Girls Beekeeping  School
This is a course for advanced beekeepers
Saturday, March 9. Caesars Creek State Park Visitors Center. Registration 8:00-9:00 am. Seminar begins at 9:00-4:30. We will have 2 breaks and a pot-Luck lunch ( this has been a great success in past years ). Barb Bloetscher and Dwight Wells will be holding the Seminar. The cost is $10.00 at the door ( no credit cards please ). The only item for sale will be an informational booklet. It’s all “ The Buzz”.

BCBA Sponsors Young Beekeepers

The BCBA voted at our last meeting of 2018 to implement a hive donation program for young beekeepers interested in learning more about beekeeping and helping pollinators in the future.  Two applicants will be selected each year and those individuals will be provided the equipment necessary to become a beekeeper. Many thanks to members Dan Cotter and Jeff Ridner of Patriot Bee Farms   for donating  the hive equipment and package of bees to our club at cost.

If you are interested in being considered for this exciting opportunity, please email your contact information to  contact_us@browncountybeekeepersassociation.org  we will be happy to send you an application or download the application by clicking the link below.

BCBA Youth Hive Donation Program Application

Next Meeting October 9th Western Brown HS Mt. Orab 7PM

The guest speaker for our October 9th meeting will be Shula Woodworth, The Honeybee Nanny. Shula is originally from Suffolk, England and will discuss her journey in becoming a beekeeper as well as her practices of ‘‘Natural and Sustainable Beekeeping”. Shula makes a variety of products from, soaps and shampoo to lip balms and lotion bars. She also prepares propolis tinctures and salves to treat a variety of medical conditions. Many of these products are made from ingredients harvested from the hive. Please come and learn about how many products produced by the bees have a wide range of uses.

September 11th Meeting 7pm

The September Meeting will be held at Western Brown High School in Mt. Orab.

Our Education program will feature Hongmei Li-Byarlay, a Professor at Central State University. The presentation is: ‘‘Research In Honeybee Behavior And Genetics” http://www.centralstate.edu/academics/cse/ns01.php?num=43

One of the fundamental questions in behavioral biology is how does the molecular composition of genetics provide the basis for their special functional properties? What is the mechanism by which a behavior is accomplished? How did that mechanism come to be?

Our lab’s research aims to:
1) understand the evolutionary genetics and epigenetics, the brain, and the social behaviors of social insects such as honey bees,
2) discover new molecular mechanisms modulating social behaviors,
3) investigate the variation of the life history and physiological traits of social bees under parasitic and pathogenic stresses, and
4) develop innovative strategies for improving honey bee health.

Comparative physiology between feral bees and managed bees
We are asking the community and citizens to help on our science! What we need is to collect honey bees from wild feral colonies (often time on trees and woods) in Ohio, Kentucky, or Indiana. We would like to compare the different perspectives of physiology and genetics between feral colonies and managed colonies.
Please fill out this form to inform us about the location if you know any.
Thank you for your participating! https://goo.gl/forms/jJPqTxfDPiuSq2Lg1

Mail:

Department of Natural Sciences
Central State University
1400 Brush Row Road,
Wilberforce, OH 45384

Local Honey For Sale

Bethel-               Gary Kueffer 937-379-2048
Eastgate-           Michelle Hall 513-720-4598
Georgetown-    Tracy McHenry 937-618-1332
                           Mike Pasquale 937-378-1127
Moscow-           Mark Moody 513-535-7804
Owensville-      Shelly McClain 513-317-1289
Sardinia-           Tara Woods 937-515-3019
Williamsburg-  Henry Marshall 513-724-6221

Queens Available at the next meeting

Our August 14th speaker, Tim Arheit, operates the Honey Run Apiaries in Delphos, Ohio, which sells a variety of products. Their website is www.HoneyRunApiaries.com.

Tim informed us that he will have about 30 queens for sale that week. The breed is New World Carniolan. The cost is $30.00 each. If you would be interested in purchasing one of these for delivery at the meeting, you can contact Tim at, 419-371-1742 or sales@honeyrunapiaries.com. Tim is involved with queen breeding in several Midwest organizations.

Brown County has a new Bee Inspector!

We would like to congratulate long time Brown County Beekeepers Association member Tracy McHenry on being awarded the position as the new Bee Inspector! Apiary Inspection plays a vital role in Ohio agriculture as inspectors work to prevent the introduction and establishment of honey bee pests and diseases. There are over 100 varieties of popular fruits and vegetables that use pollination to ensure plentiful crops.

Tracy has been keeping bees for 10 years and has been involved with the Brown County Beekeepers Association as a member since 2013. She runs her own apiary on a small farm and sells the honey produced.
Tracy has attended numerous classes and workshops on the subject of beekeeping over the last ten years.
When asked why she chose to accept the position Tracy said:

“The more I work in the hive and with my fellow Beekeepers, the more I realize there’s much more to learn.
I enjoy collaborating with Beekeepers and educating the public about this fascinating insect.”

Tracy will be working with Barb Bloetscher, Ohio State Apiarist, as they work their way through hive inspections and focus on maintaining the health of honeybees in Brown County. Testing will be done for various pests and viral  issues including Varroa, Nosema and new threats intruding from Asia.

According to the USDA statistics published in March of this year:

United States honey production in 2017 from producers with five or more colonies totaled 148 million pounds, down 9 percent from 2016. There were 2.67 million colonies producing honey in 2017, down 4 percent from 2016. Yield per
colony averaged 55.3 pounds, down 5 percent from the 58.3 pounds in 2016.

Operations with Less than Five Colonies Produced 599 Thousand Pounds of Honey in 2017.

United States honey production in 2017 from producers with less than five colonies totaled 599 thousand pounds, down 22 percent from 2016. There were 20 thousand colonies from which honey was harvested in 2017, down 17 percent from 2016. The average yield was 30.0 pounds per colony in 2017, down 6 percent from the previous year.

Honey bees, otherwise known as the Angels of Agriculture, are the strongest link in the chain between food producers and consumers.

Be sure to congratulate Tracy at the next meeting and thank her for all she will be doing to ensure the health of our honeybee population in the future!