Hello, fellow beeks! We hope that you all are looking forward to the BCBC August meeting as much as we are. This meeting features Nancy Ruppert, one of our 6 very talented state apiary inspectors (and the only female, by the way). Nancy has been an NC Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services apiary inspector since August of 2010 and she covers the 17 counties along the North Carolina coastal region. A registered nurse since the 1980’s, Nancy worked almost 20 years as a family nurse practitioner before changing to what she calls a less stressful occupation. Nancy’s Montgomery county residence has been home to her own apiary for 15 years. Her particular apiary interests include hive pests and diseases, honey bee nutrition, and reducingRead More
June 6th Meeting and Field Day events!
Howdy, bee neighbors! Our monthly meeting on June 6 will feature a local allergist who will present our epi-pen training and certification. Local Beekeepers will also relate stories on epi pens and their uses in the field. The BCBC picnic and field day will be held on June 11th out at the 4-H camp in Swannanoa. This will be primarily a social event with a few mini-bee trainings thrown in. Did somebody say ice cream? NO, left that off of last week’s email blast – sorry! The Hop ice cream parlor will be supplying us with ice cream at the picnic, and all flavors are sweetened with honey! But that’s dessert – make sure you bring your lunch, a drink, and a blanket or chair. We promise to haveRead More
Annual Picnic and Field Day arrangements!
Members, here’s the agenda for our picnic/field day coming up on June 11th out in Swannanoa. Also attached are directions on how to get there and what to bring. We really think you’re going to enjoy your day out with WNC beekeepers! PICNIC/FIELD DAY AGENDA June 11, 2016 The former 4-H Camp in Swannanoa 9:30 Registration 10:30 Mite Assessment, Bottom Board Forensics, Sugar Shake method of doing mite counts Hands-on activities: Check the resident hives for mites, diagnose what’s found on the bottom boards of these hives, then apply the sugar shake method as a more accurate method of determining mite counts. Supplies to make your own Sugar Shake jar will be available to attendees – first come/first served. 11:45 Lunch BringRead More
come one come all.. let’s get ready for Spring!
This month’s meeting will be a ‘working’ meeting! We will have examples/demos of how to do splits, wax , how to render wax and products of the hive, Pheromones and their role in hives and how bees use them, and a Top bar demonstration/work station for those of us interested in top bar beekeeping. Also, if anyone has questions or would like some ‘1 on 1’ time before the regular meeting, mentoring time will be from 6:30 – 7:00pm. The BCBC Bee Yard Committee is also meeting between 6:30 and 7:00pm, prior to the meeting, if anyone is interested in joining the Bee Yard Committee, feel free to join us at 6:30pm! BCBC meets the first Monday of each month. Meetings areRead More
Saturdays event for “Hiving a Nuc’ is canceled!
Everyone, We have had ‘timing’ issues with the arrival of nucs this year. Tomorrows scheduled event of hiving a nuc/package is being postponed for now. We hope to reschedule this event after the bee yard is more refined, and we have better timing of nuc or package arrivals in early May. Thank you!
Flowers/plants/trees.. its all new to me!
Tonight’s meeting will cover local flower and plant expert visiting to discuss flowers — the kinds that bees like, and the kinds that we like. Did you know that honeybees only work certain flowers for nectar and only certain ones for pollen? We will also have a local arborist who will speak on various trees with flowers that attract bees. Mentoring time – 6:30pm – 7:00pm / Meeting starts at 7:00pm. For new beekeepers (and maybe not so new) we will also have a small example of how to see eggs in comb during the mentoring time. See you all tonight! BCBC meets the first Monday of each month. Meetings are at: Groce United Methodist Church, 954 Tunnel Rd, Asheville, NC 28805 Scott Scott Davis PresidentRead More
NCSBA Certified Beekeeper Exam scheduled for April 11, 2016 – Home Gauge training room – 5:30-8:00pm
The Beginner Certified written test has been scheduled for April 11, 2016 on a Monday evening between 5:30-8 pm at 122 Lyman Street in Asheville. You must RSVP to Janet before April 11 about what time you are coming between 5:30 and 8 PM. Bring a pencil, and plan to spend 30 minutes…20 to take the test and 10 to go over it. It consists of 45 multiple choice questions. If you would like to become NC certified here are the requirements (and in this order): Be a current NCSBA member and Buncombe County Beekeeping Chapter member. Pass a written test, through our chapter or given at one of the statewide conferences. Pass a practical test (involves manipulating a hive of bees), administered by another certifiedRead More
Workshop Updates – Build a Beeyard and “installing nucs or packages” for 3/19 rescheduled –
Everyone, We had an excellent workshop on building a bee yard /installing a bear fence this past weekend. Using our new partnership with the Lords Acre in Fairview, we have established the yard. The workshop attendees were involved in orienting the yard (north , south, east, west), components of fencing, driving fence posts, hanging insulators, stringing wire, installing grounding rods and electrical hookups. Everyone walked away with a better understanding of exactly what they should consider when placing their yard and putting it together. With the pending weather change this coming weekend, and the expectation of having early nucs not materializing, we will be combining this workshop with the workshop in April. That one appears to be on track based on deliveries for bees fromRead More
Workshop – let’s Build a Bee Yard! Joe Jenkins road – Fairview, nc 3/12/16 – 9:30am – 12:00pm
For those that are attending the workshop for ‘Let’s build a bee yard’ , on Saturday, 3/12 – 9:30am through 12:00pm. The location is the Lords Acre, located on Joe Jenkins Road in Fairview, NC. Follow hwy 74A/old charlotte highway as if you were going to lake lure to travel into Fairview. As you come into ‘downtown’ fairview, Angelo’s restaurant is on the left. Joe Jenkins road is on the right, almost directly across the road from Angelo’s. Angelo’s is approximately 7 miles from the blue ridge parkway at the 40/240 intersection. Turn right onto Joe Jenkins road. The bee yard location can be seen from hwy 74a. it is in the center of the large field, marked by a white cross onRead More
Hands-On Meeting
March 7 @ 6:30 Groce United Methodist Church BCBC meeting This is a “Hands On” meeting in stations so participants will be able to examine any of the display materials and ask questions about their uses to experienced beekeepers. The Center for Honey Bee Research’s Bee School will be finished on Sunday and we are expecting a crowd with lots of questions they need to know more about. If you have the experience, please come and answer how-to-get-started equipment questions. There will be displays of all the hive components from the bottom board (screened vs solid) to the tops, (migratory, telescoping and English garden hive tops), tools, smokers and different fuels; queen excluders and bee escapes. We will have some fencing materials on hand, plusRead More