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Hello,

Happy New Year! I hope this finds you well! :-)

There is NO BeeGroup meeting this January. The next meeting is Monday, FEBRUARY 17th, 6.30pm, the third Monday of the month at the Olive Free Library. It is President's Day, but the Library is open.



Announcements

Interest Survey for a Complete Bee Keeping Refresher Course: In from Tom, very good beekeeping courses being scheduled now -- polling for interest. Contact Tom Sotiridy with interest, dowser@gmail.com, ASAP if you are interested. Please see paragraph at bottom of page for proposed content and class structure for seminar(s). Please respond by January 20th.
**Roger Patterson, Master Beekeeper is flying in from the UK for presentations. From Tom: "...The reason for this email is to survey the interest in classes and learning opportunities this spring. Please see full information in the paragraph at bottom of this page and Please respond by January 20th to let us know of the programs you would be interested in so that we can finalize dates and speakers." They have to identify if they have enough people interested in attending in order to make it worthwhile for Roger to fly over. Please see paragraph at bottom of page for proposed content and class structure for seminar(s).

Beltsville Lab: If your bees die, God Forbid!, please send a sample to the Beltsville Lab in Maryland. The analysis is free and they will email you the results. They check for Nosema and Mites. I sent a sample down a month ago and my hive was loaded with mites -- in December! Please share results with Rob,Tom and the BeeGroup so we can help keep tabs on what is happening in the 'hood. Thanks! CLICK HERE for details on how to submit a sample.

Available: Hudson Valley Bee Improvement - Local NUCs $225 - tom@beeimprovement.com, 10 Frame Overwintered Beemax Hives $400 - rob@bushkillventures.com

Available: 3-story Langstroth AZ Hive - display model (some cosmetic damage) $400 (reg. $465) - rob@bushkillventures.com



If you have any topics, ideas, selling bee equipment, or questions, feel free to contact us at BeeGroup@HVHiives.com.



Please whitelist beegroup@hvhives.com to ensure proper mail delivery from Hudson Valley Hives.



Happy New Year!
Rock und Roll!

The Vikings and The Beekeepers

The Vikings, tired of the routine of sacking England, attempt to torment the English even more by bringing over bees. But the voyage proves difficult as the beekeepers insist the bees may only travel East at night. Broomhilde, goddess of compromise, offers a solution: bathe, sing and have lunch. CLICK HERE to view the video.
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Honey Bee Diseases and Pests, Medhat Nasr PhD, NY Bee Wellness

Medhat Nasr PhD, Provincial Apiculturist for Alberta Canada, at the NY Bee Wellness Inc workshop, at Morrisville State College, July 8, 2017. Tom has been working with Medhat running extensive tests in Tom's apiaries. Tom says of Medhat, "He is the real deal..." You don't hear that from Tom often. CLICK HERE to listen in...

Germanic beekeeping, Icelandic Mead and the Viking Honey Trade

Title says it all. Worth listening to just for the music. And check out the names! Audio: Lilja and Maístjarnan by Magnus Þór Sigmundsson. CLICK HERE to view video...
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What Is It Like to Be a Bee?

A philosophical and neurobiological look into the apian mind. CLICK HERE to read on...

A Chinese beekeeper covered himself with about 460,000 bees to boost honey sales

She Ping, 34, covered his semi-naked body with about 460,000 bees weighing 100 pounds as a publicity stunt to sell more of his honey. Kinda looks like Rob... CLICK HERE to read on...
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Beekeeping in the Middle Ages

In this video, we will take a look at the life of the medieval beekeeper and their produce, honey and wax. And what they were used for. CLICK HERE to view video...

Resources:

For Honeybee information, videos, podcasts and workshops please visit the links below. Workshops are being updated as we speak!
HVHIVES.com
BeeImprovement.com



With Special Thanks for providing the Venue: Olive Free Library

Welsh Beekeepers Association Bee Disease Guide: It is important for all beekeepers to be familiar with the appearance of healthy worker brood, in order to recognise abnormalities which may indicate the presence of disease.

Honey Bee Healthy Recipe

NOSEMA: Treatment Procedure. Don't forget to treat for Nosema! Click Here for procedure.

HONEYBEE LIFE CYCLE - Very Important to know. This is the building block of understanding your hives.
Click Here for video...
Click here for chart and discussion.
Queen 16 Days, Worker 21 Days, Drone 24 Days...


Interest Survey for a Complete Bee Keeping Refresher Course

Please respond by January 20th
Contact ASAP: Tom Sotiridy, dowser@gmail.com.

Dear Beekeepers: Plans are underway to offer a three-day program in late May or early June. Tom Sotiridy and Roger Patterson will be the presenters.
Day 1 would be an in-class full-day Best Practices Program that would cover the basics of good management practices for all beekeepers. It would provide a standard for beginners to establish the practices necessary to be successful in the early years as well as review and remind veteran keepers of the good practices that make for sustainable beekeeping.
Day 2 will be a complete Queen Rearing Program to promote sustainable beekeeping in our Hudson Valley. Techniques and hands-on practice will provide participants with the skills to provide all the queens needed for themselves as well as enough to share or sell queens to fellow keepers.
Day 3 will be in-yard Inspection and Observation Program of participants selected yards. Roger will select hives to fully inspect and teach best practices for beekeepers to maintain and sustain their apiaries.
The cost for the three-day event will be $200. A minimum number of participants are needed to make this happen. Please reply to this email if you are interested. Assuming we have enough people to attend, the final arrangements to fly Roger Patterson over from England will be made and the date announced.
Other options would be:
One Day Bee Improvement for All. The class would be in-apiary and cover all aspects of management. This day class in the apiary is suggested for novice to intermediate beekeepers.
The cost of the one-day event in apiary will be $100.
Two Day Advanced Intensive class on the Sustainable Apiary discussing management, testing, disease recognition, hive evaluation, feeding, prevention, and queen rearing.
The cost for the two-day event will be $175.
Half-Day Field Inspections of Your Apiary is available on the days Roger is not teaching. A number of your hives will be selected for full inspections, and your apiary and management practices will be discussed. Other participants in the program may visit with Roger to learn about the assessment.
The cost to the host beekeeper for this half-day opportunity is $50. If you wish to be a participant/observer in this field assessment, the cost is $100. You will learn from the inspection the lessons you need to duplicate in your personal apiary.

Please respond by January 20th if you are interested in any of the above options so plans can be finalized for travel and accommodations. In your response, please note in which of the above options you would want to participate:
Three-Day Program Best Practices, $200.
Or
One-Day Program Bee Improvement for All, $100
Or
Two-Day Program Advanced Sustainable Apiary, $175
Or
Half-Day Field Inspection of Your Apiary, $50
Based upon the responses, final program dates and times will be established.
What: Bee Group
Where: Olive Free Library, West Shokan
When: 3rd Monday of the Month - 6:30PM

Hudson Valley Hives is a beekeeping group that meets at the Olive Free Library on a monthly basis and discuss all things beekeeping. The meeting is driven by members questions and sharing experiences with the goal of spreading timely knowledge among fellow beekeepers. It is very informal and we welcome anyone interested to participate. If you are just thinking about getting started in beekeeping, a new beekeeper, or a seasoned beekeeper, you will benefit from the group discussions. There is no membership fee. The Olive Free Library graciously provides a meeting place for our group and we encourage you to make a donation to the library if you find the BeeGroup helpful.

Have family or friends that might be interested in beekeeping? Forward this email so they can Subscribe to our Mail List.