Author: mark Traub

Hello BCBCmembers, I hope that you all can make it to tomorrows meeting as we will be having Sean Collingsworth come and speak.   Sean began raising bees at nearly age and then took it up again after his retirement.Sean is a certified bee keeper and honey producer with the N.C. Bee State Keepers Association. He recently achieved certification with the Italian Register of Experts in the Sensory Analysis of Honey. Their 75+ hives are located in and around Lake Toxaway.   The goal of the presentation is to assist the novice and experienced beekeeper in developing a better understanding of why and how bees manufacture honey. Sean will provide participants the methodology by which to assess the quality of polyfloral and unifloral honeys. ThereRead More

Good evening BCBC members,   I hope that your girls are doing well. Remember to check their stores and feed if necessary. They can go through a lot this time of year. You want them to be loaded up for winter. Also I hope that you have been checking the mite load and acting accordingly.   This is a reminder that we are not having a September meeting. For our October meeting we have Sean Colinsworth from Killer Bee Honey presenting. A Certified welsh honey judge, Sean will be coming to talk to us about honey grading and activities at Killer Bee Honey. More to follow soon!   We will be sending out information for our upcoming picnic which will be September 15th from 1Read More

Good evening BCBC members, I hope that you and the girls are al doing well and will be enjoying the break from the oppressive heat we have been having.I hope that you will all be coming to next Mondays meeting on August 5th. We will have Karen Stegall come out and talk to us about the AZ hive that is very popular and used in Slovenia. Karen is a 4 year beekeeper, North Carolina Journeyman  working toward master. She has been using the tradition AZ hive for the last 2 years. The AZ hive is used by most beekeepers in Slovenia. Here is a  link to start to get you interested. https://www.keepingbackyardbees.com/the-slovenian-beehive-arrives-in-the-us/ I hope to see you all there on Monday August 5th  2019 GroceRead More

Hello BCBC members, Hope that you and the girls are enjoying extended nectar flow in this very hot weather. Our “Bee Talk” this month will be Pitfalls and Gaffaws of being a Beekeeper. We all make mistakes…some are pitifully sad, others laughable-so come ready to share some of them, don’t be shy. We can all learn from each other’s mistakes. Also, bring any equipment that you do not quite understand; “What the heck is this for?” Some examples: bee escapes-just how do they work? How do you keep foundation from falling out? How do you mark a queen without killing her? My nails are sticking out, what happened building this frame? I don’t understand all the different kinds of foundation…what do you use? The boardRead More

Hello  BCBC members I hope that you and your old girl friends as well as your new ones are getting along fine and starting to get out. If you installed packages or nucs I hope that it is going well and it went smoothly.   Our next meeting is Monday, May 6th .    I hope that you will come out and hear Greg Rogers BCBC member as well as a Master Beekeeper and a wealth of knowledge will be our speaker.  Greg will talk about Swarms, Dividing Nucs,and treatment review.   The meeting starts at 7:00 but come early and mingle with your fellow club members and talk Bees!   Groce United Methodist Church 945 Tunnel Road Asheville, NC   Also remember to checkRead More

Hello Buncombe County Beekeepers,, Hope that all is well with you and your girls.Here is a recap of last months meeting:   Non-Chemical Treatment Options   Peter Brezney and Joseph Salvatore  presented a mite treatment concept that focused on non-chemical treatment methods. These methods included the use of splits, re-queening, and making queens from survivor stock rather than chemical interventions. The emphasis on educating beekeepers about how the process of evolution in bees and the adaptation to the mites may become more necessary over the chemical treatment was reinforced. However, emphasis was made on the necessity of the beekeeper to know what the mite count was and when to interrupt the cycle as well as choosing to chemical treat rather than lose the entire hive.Read More

Buncombe County Beekeepers Club, The next two meeting will be a part one and part two on treatments. For February we will be having Peter Brezny and Joseph Salvatore two of our own local beekeepers talk to us about chemical free treatments. What steps one would take and how to go about it. Then in March Freddy Proni will be talking chemical treatments. Hopefully this will help you toward better beekeeping with what ever path you go down. We are also going to have Dave Coward give a 15 minute talk on getting ready for spring before the main topic of discussion. Then in March Sarah Mckinney do the same on spring preparation.. Hope to see you all there and stay warm and safe .Read More

Hello Buncombe County Beekeepers Club members, I hope that you all had a wonderful start to the new year and 2019 brings peace and happiness to you ,your family and your bees. Our first meeting of the year will be on Monday evening January 7th at 6:30- 8:30. Hope to see you there. Scheduled to talk to us is a biologist from the NC State Wildlife Dept..The topic will be on Bears!!!! If you have not renewed your membership please go to the website or bring your dues with you and signup Monday. Please come early (6:30 ) to mingle and talk bees with your fellow club members, meeting will start at 7;00 Groce United Methodist Church Tunnel Road Asheville.. Mark Traub vice President BCBCRead More

Good evening, members. I hope that you all fared well through the bad weather that Florence brought our way. WNC didn’t experience too many problems, but our neighbors to the east weren’t as fortunate. David Tarpy, NC State’s extension specialist (apiculturist) has recently published an article titled “Protective Measures of Beehives during Hurricanes”. you can read the post here For our October meeting, We will be talking about last minute preparation for your bees as we head into fall. We may have a short discussion about bears as well. I have been trying to get a biologist from the NC Department of Wildlife to come and talk bears with us because bear activity is on the increase and ,as we all know, can be a nuisance to bee keepers and ourRead More

  Hello, Buncombe County Beekeepers,   I hope that you and your girls are doing well and getting ready to  go to the NCSBA  Summer Meeting this weekend at Blue Ridge Community College.   For our August meeting we are going to have our annual ice cream social. We will be supplying the ice cream with some vegan options, but we ask that you please bring your own cup/bowl and utensils. Also please bring toppings to share.   For the meeting as we near the end of our nectar flow (not counting goldenrod) we will have two of our club members, Dave Cowart and Greg Rogers, talk to us about what you should be doing to get your girls ready their winter. As these twoRead More