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Greetings Hello,
Note: The hvhives.com mail server is having issues today. Please do not reply to this email. Instead, send any replies to rob@bushkillventures.com
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The April BeeGroup meeting will be held on Tuesday, April 15th, at the Olive Free Library at 6:00 PM. I’m excited to announce that Tom Sotoridy will be speaking on Feed Timing and Bee Immunity.
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If you haven’t had the chance to hear Tom speak before, this is an opportunity you won’t want to miss. For those who are familiar with Tom, you already know the value of his insights, so no extra encouragement is needed! Tom has significantly reduced his speaking engagements, so this is truly a limited opportunity to hear him.
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As the founder of Hudson Valley Bee Improvement, many of our successful sustainable beekeepers began with stock from Tom.
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Here’s a short teaser of Tom from the award-winning short film The Keeper and the Bee, by Bill Vilkelis.
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As always, bring your questions for group discussion. Next month will be our first bee yard meeting....stay tuned!
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Queen 16 Days, Worker 21 Days, Drone 24 Days...Capped at 9th Day...
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Please check the Resources section below...
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If you have any topics, ideas, selling bee equipment, or questions, feel free to contact us at BeeGroup@HVHiives.com.
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Bees In the News...
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One in three bites of food consumed by every person in the country depends on pollinators—bees—to come to fruition. Yet, commercial beekeepers have reported that, on average, they lost 62 percent of their bee colonies from June 2024 to February 2025. That means 1.1 million colonies were lost from late summer through winter, accounting for 41 percent of the total bee colonies in the United States. Experts have no idea what is causing the loss of these fantastic creatures—who navigate using the Earth’s magnetic field and are sensitive to electromagnetic fields (EMFs)—and warn a catastrophic loss could happen again. Hmm.
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As honeybees die off again, some bee enthusiasts want to give mason bees a chance
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Honeybees, which are tasked with pollinating many of the agricultural crops in the United States, are dying off in record numbers.
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Commercial beekeepers are reporting losses this year ranging between 60 and 100%, Washington State University's Honey Bees and Pollinators Program reported in March.
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Bee losses are not new — previous years have seen losses between 40 and 50%. Researchers know that honeybees are under pressure from pesticide use, habitat loss and mite infestations, but they can't yet explain why 2025 has been such a lethal year.
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Bee Humor...
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Photos of the Month...
We are always looking for photos to share in the newsletter. Please email your photos to beegroup@hvhives.com.
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Queen and white-eyed drone from my collection. White drone from the internet.
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Resources:
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Critical Thinking Beekeeping
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Rob Overton presentation to Wake County Beekeepers
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Commercial Queens-Nosema and Low Sperm Count
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Constructive Beekeeping - Ed Clark, 1918
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SABA (Southern Adirondack Beekeepers)
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Lots of great information from this Club's website, many articles, and many lectures and seminars by various people in the worlds of beekeeping. Lot's of knowledge to be had here and worth your while.
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A SAD DAY IN THE BEE YARD...
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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. 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.
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Talks about nutrition for your bees. This will impact how your bees can fight off disease and ultimately survive.
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For Honeybee information, videos, podcasts and workshops please visit the links below. Workshops are being updated as we speak!
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Dave Cushman Beekeeping Website maintained by Roger Patterson.
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NOSEMA: Treatment Procedure. Don't forget to treat for Nosema! Click Here for procedure.
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HONEYBEE LIFE CYCLE - Very Important to know. This is the building block of understanding your hives.
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Queen 16 Days, Worker 21 Days, Drone 24 Days...
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These are a Few Videos that You May Find of Interest (I particularly like the Skep video!
NY Bee Wellness - Diagnostics
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