Dear reader,

Merry Christmas! Happy Chanukah! Happy New Year!

No meeting this month. Just wishing you the best for the holidays. Happy Holidays! :-)

BUT, the next meeting will bee on Monday, February 17th, 2020 at 6.30pm. BEE there, or BEE Square! Let's hope our bees are doing well!

ALSO...

BIG REMINDER, send a friend, come yourself and bee reminded of the basics, we all forget, come help a brother and join the discussion, bring a date. 

Intro to Beekeeping - Saturday January 11, 2020 10:00AM – 3PM, Olive Free Library. Get it on the calendar now, if you can wait that long. ;-)  CLICK HERE to find out more!

What this workshop will cover

Our goal is long term sustainability through education, and breeding improvement.  For this workshop we will focus on how to start beekeeping in a sustainable way.  Becoming self-sufficient in expanding your apiary with quality acclimatized stock is key to success.  In addition to covering the basics of honeybee biology and colony management,  we will provide insight on the best options for keeping healthy bees in the Hudson Valley region.

Topics include:

• Honeybee caste and races

• Stock selection

• Bee stings / Apitherapy

• Bees and neighbors

• Protective gear

• Hive design

• Predators and pests

• Hive placement

• Installing bees

• Signs of a healthy hive

• Diseases & Treatments

While you are reading below, listen to The HoneyBee Trio - Christmas In My Home Town

(Opens a new window on YouTube). 

Queen 16 Days, Worker 21 Days, Drone 24 Days...

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

Please whitelist our email address to ensure proper mail delivery from Hudson Valley Hives.

• 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.

PROCESSING PROPOLIS

The term propolis, (aka bee glue) originated with the Greeks who often observed a sticky resinous substance around the entrance to their hives. In Greek, “Pro” means coming before or in front of, and “Polis” is the Greek word for city or a body of citizens. Thus, propolis is what one could expect to find at the entrance to the city of the bees. Today beekeepers will often observe...

CLICK HERE to read more...

10 helpful uses for beeswax

Beeswax is a powerful natural substance that is used to improve our lives.  Books have been written about its uses and historians have discovered artifacts and sites showing the effectiveness of beeswax throughout history.

CLICK HERE to read more... 

What happens to honeybees during the winter?

Honeybees don’t hibernate. Most of them don’t die off, either. Bees, essentially, hunker down and work to keep warm in the winter, which means, with a lot of honey to slurp on through the snowy months, a beehive can make it through the cold temperatures of...

CLICK HERE to read more...

Give Bees A Chance: Ailing Honeybee Populations May Soon Get A Booster Of Healing Fungi

Paul Stamets, an advocate and specialist of mushrooms — who’s employed his pioneering fungi inventions to treat everything from contaminated environments to termite infestation — thinks he has a plan to help the winged whizzes. Teaming up with Dr. Steve Sheppard, from the Department of Entomology at Washington State University, and the Washington State Beekeepers Association, he’s helped form a research initiative called BeeFriendly that looks to reverse the devastating declines in global bee populations....

CLICK HERE to read more.

What is a honeybee?

Honeybees are flying insects, and close relatives of wasps and ants. They are found on every... 

CLICK HERE to read more...

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...

You have received this e-mail because you attended a beekeeping class at the Olive Library in the past or have signed up for our mailing list. If you do not wish to receive future correspondence,  you may unsubscribe using the link below.