The Brown County Beekeepers Association will meet on April 14 at the Western Brown High School’s Community Room located on the western side of the school across from the tennis courts.
At 6 PM members will be available to answer questions and share information on beekeeping. The educational program will begin at 7 PM, followed by the business meeting.
The educational program will be “The Natural Swarming Process” Presented by Sonja and Rob Brock of Wild Hives LLC. Honeybees live in colonies that reproduce by swarming. When colony divides itself, approximately 2/3 of the workers along with the (old) Mother queen, leave the hive as a swarm to form a new colony elsewhere. The rest of the workers and a new daughter queen stay behind and inherit the old nest. Although this process may take the colony weeks to prepare for, the swarming can happen in a matter of minutes. Learn the triggers that caused this, both inside and outside of the hive. We will discuss the different phases of a swarm to help you as a beekeeper, possibly determined when your colony might decide to look for a new home. Also learn ways to take advantage of this natural process for splitting through artificial splits.