Classes

Introduction to Beekeeping: For the Beginner  (40 people completed the course in 2009 and 30 people completed the course in 2008.)  

Congratulations to all

Queen Rearing Group Meeting

Class Date, Times, Location, and Descriptions

Title: The Howard County Beekeepers Association 2010 Short Course.

This course is open to anyone with an interest in honey bees and will guide you in starting your own colony for pollination, honey or educational experience. We encourage and welcome repeat students, there is always something new to learn. The course consists of five classroom sessions starting mid February and concludes with a field day working with live colonies in April. HCBA cooperates with the Howard County Extension Service and encourages 4-H family participation. Please see the Syllabus and specific meetings for more information.

Date: (See below)
Location: Location: Dining Hall at Howard County Fair Grounds, SR 144 Frederick Rd., West Friendship, MD

See: Inclement Weather Policy

Application Form and additional details: (MS Word, PDF), Syhllabus MS Word, PDF

For information and registration contact
Janice hcbeea@msn.com
Wayne wesaias@verizon.net
Allen Thehayeshouse4@aol.com

(Tenative Syllabus)

Wednesday February 17, 2010 7:00-9:30 pm
	Welcome to HCBA Why Keep Bees And What You Get Out Of It Apiary Site BREAK What You Need To Know To Get Started How To Start Colonies And Equipment
Tuesday February 23, 2010 7:00-9:30 pm
	Bee Biology  BREAK AHB and Best Practices Floral Sources
Tuesday March 2, 2010 7:00-9:30 pm
	Your First Colony Package And/Or Nucleus; How To Feed BREAK Honey Production And How To Extract
Tuesday March 9, 2010 7:00-9:30 pm
	(Combined General Meeting and Short Course) Pests, Predators and Diseases BREAK Registering Your Colony With The State Beekeeping Lore, Myth and Legends Swarming And Its Prevention
Tuesday March 16, 2010 7:00-9:30 pm
	Field Day Information Where’s Waldo! Break Out Sessions 1. First Year Maintenance/Bee Health 2. Feeding Bees 3. Woodenware Assembly 4. Wiring Frames And Installing Wax Foundation 5. Basic Equipment Needed
Saturday March or April ??, 2010 (Weather dependent) 10:00am-3:00pm
	Field Day, Mt. Pleasant Farm (Read chapters 5 & 6) Dressing Up Smoker Lighting How to open and inspect a colony Colony Inspection Finding the Queen Recognizing eggs & larvae Brood patterns, honey and pollen stores Installing packages – What can go wrong (Diseased bees, too windy, No Queen, Laying workers, Small Hive Beetles) Lifting hives and moving bees Bait hives

 Title: Queen Rearing Group Meeting

(For more information, contact Email: HCbeea@msn.com)

Date: First meeting of the year will be held on Wednesday, February 24, 2010  -   7:00 pm
Location: To be announced

Agenda: Queens:

Who do we order queens from; discuss the positives and negatives of the queen producers we have ordered from;

Methods of requeening and timing.(Thanks Charlie for your suggested agenda - this is a great topic)

Please email me (Janice at hcbeea@msn.com) with your RSVP.

*Many of the regular meetings will include guest speakers 
Contact Info.: HCBA President: J. Asato,  hcbeea@msn.com
  Meetings held at: The Dining hall at the Howard County Fairgrounds, West Friendship, MD  For directions