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Greetings Hello,
We are meeting, in person, at the Olivebridge Library! Tuesday March 15th, 5:45 pm. Note this is Tuesday, not Monday.
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Sorry for the late notice, life gets in the way as does overcoming the tech of life! lol But something to read during one of our latest snow storms! Stay warm!
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Your bees MARCH forward regardless of the weather. Come one, come all! Yes, at the Library. Check out the live demo hive, still alive. I look forward to seeing everyone, both veteran and beginning beekeepers.
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Another action packed newsletter, so keep on scrollin'...
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Not Honey Bee music, but relaxing to listen to. Opens a new window. You won't Bee disappointed. Listen while you read...
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***We are STILL looking for people willing to have Bee Group meetings in their apiary this year. WHO WANTS TO HOST APRIL? This is a chance to have an experienced beekeeper look at your bees during the spring build up. ;-)
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CLASSES -- A repeat but still, an opportunity!
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Rob Overton rob@bushkillventures.com
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Please sign up quickly as this will fill in fast and space is limited. It takes years to learn about keeping bees, and the season long program moved my personal knowledge ahead by 2-3 years. Rob has been keeping bees all his life and his knowledge is deep.
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Tom Sotiridy 914 213 2303
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Apicultural Intensives for 2022
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We have 3 options for expanding your Beekeeping experience:
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1. I can teach you one on one, I decided to do this because of the current climate, some people aren’t comfortable being in close proximity with others.
2. You can attend the 4 intensives (1 or more), which are designed around the key points of our season, and the behaviors and activities of the bees. I can’t explain all that goes into these classes, but the most important is you are learning from a master beekeeper and getting into a lot of hives. You will see things you would not otherwise get to see with just a hive or three in your back yard. You will learn to evaluate and inspect colonies very quickly see what it is needed. This is a rare way to teach in America. The classes are designed upon what I consider the four major mile stones of the season Pre Honey, Honey, Post Honey, Winter Preparation. It is recommended to take all four, and if you so choose to, there is a discount. The 1 day intensives are generally 4-5 hours and are limited in size to 8. These are on Saturdays with the immediate following Sunday the rain date. The start times are 1 pm and run till 6pm. can take our season long class which goes from March 2022 to June 2023. During the season we meet 2x a month for half a day, and during the off season we remote our biology and disease classes. There is a hands on for equipment building and for honey extracting.
3. The 15th month program has 60 hours of apiary time and 20 hours of classroom time. You get 2 hives, that you make from our hives, 2 text books, my charts, and whatever discounts we get for equipment you will get at our cost. We also will have some friends drop in from time to time for guest lectures or even field time. I won’t say who just yet but they are very well known in the beekeeping community. You also have access to working with us in other apiaries and can help with our testing and other advanced processes.
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This will start in late March with our first Class “How the Bees view the Season” and how we can be more helpful if we see it through their eyes. You will receive your text book and my handouts for the early season management. Depending on temperatures we will start the 2 week cycle in Mid April.
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This is farming and nature, which is a scheduling paradox, so please plan on being slightly flexible on the dates.
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If you would like more information about purchasing Honey Bees, taking our classes, Estate Apiaries, or anything else please feel free to call. --Tom
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See links at end of newsletter.
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AND FOR THOSE OF US who lose bees this winter, send the bees to the Beltsville Lab for a free analysis. They will tell you if your bees were overrun by mites or done in by Nosema. Let's you know what you might need to manage to in the coming year. Link is in the Resources section below.
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Please grow our list, forward this newsletter to a friend. Thanks!
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Queen 16 Days, Worker 21 Days, Drone 24 Days...Capped at 9th Day...
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Pls 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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Photos of the Month...
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Please send us your photos.... :-)
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Bees in the News...
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Beehive Inspections
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In upstate New York, the year’s first inspection is often performed in March. Because we had a poor goldenrod flow in the fall of 2021, many colonies will be short on stores so an early March inspection should be done. This initial inspection will require 15-30 minutes, depending on whether the hive needs feeding.
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Fondant vs. Sugar Bricks
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Feeding honeybees is critical in mid- to late-winter since bees need plenty of fuel to raise the brood chamber to 95 degrees for optimal brood rearing. Proper colony management requires that we leave adequate honey reserves on the hives for winter; however, if there is a shortage, we must feed the bees until the spring nectar flow kicks in.
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New Show Explores How Texas' 'Bee Czar' Is Working to Save Honeybees One Hive at a Time
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The Texas man runs The American Honey Bee Protection Agency by rescuing unwanted honeybee hives from destruction and relocating them to safe locations where the insects can pollinate peacefully — and Schumacher does most of it without protective equipment.
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USDA plans programs to sustain honey bee pollinators
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An invasive pest that directly attacks pollinators indirectly threatens plant health — and U.S. agriculture. That's where USDA's Plant Protection and Quarantine program comes in.
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Honey Bee Nucs vs Packages
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A nuc (nucleus of a colony) consists of 4-5 frames of bees in a half sized Langstroth deep box which should include a laying queen, 2 frames of brood, 2 frames of honey and/or pollen and possibly a fifth frame of drawn comb. Local nucs for us are usually...
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NY Bee Wellness - Diagnostics (Repeated from Last week)
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These are a Few Videos that You May Find of Interest (I particularly like the Skep video! (Repeated from Last week))
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Resources:
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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. 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.
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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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Where: Olive Free Library, West Shokan - check details above for location
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When: Looks like 3rd Tuesday of the month for now.
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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.
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Have family or friends that might be interested in beekeeping? Forward this email so they can Subscribe to our Mail List.
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