Buncombe County Beekeepers Club (BCBC) A Website by Beekeepers in Western North Carolina, for Bee Keepers everywhere!

Join us  Monday, Feb 1st, 6:30pm Meeting starts at 7pm. Western NC Apiary inspector, Lewis Cauble; Varroa Destructor  We hope everyone is ‘weathering the storm’ well. Its been a tough winter in many ways.    Everyone should be doing a ‘heft’ test on their hives to ensure they have plenty of stores. If your hives are light, consider feeding with a candy board, sugar or other supplement for your hives. Remember, bees will not break cluster to go into a hive top feeder.   The best approach is a candy board, baggie or jar feeder on top of the cluster. We will have a few examples of the various techniques setup at the next meeting. Our next meeting is Monday, Feb 1st. Gathering/mentoring time is 6:30 toRead More

Happy New year to everyone!  We sincerely hope that everyone’s bee yards are in good shape, that your ladies are happy, healthy and buzzing with activity in this most unusual winter. 2016 is shaping up to be and outstanding year for beekeepers, beekeeping in general! We are doing our best to bring more educational opportunities to our members, that include more workshops, more hands on activities, more of just about everything ‘bee’ and pollinator related! Our next two meetings are: Jan 4        It may seem too early to be thinking about equipment for Spring, but it really isn’t.  Do you have what you need?  Does anything need to be updated?  Cleaned?  Thrown away?  Are you going to purchase another nuc or package?  Do youRead More

First we want to wish everyone Happy Holidays!  We hope everyones bees are warm, snug and happy on these chilly winter days and nights. A reminder that there will be no club meeting in December. Regular club meetings will resume on Monday, January 4, 2016! Now is the time to start planning for spring, which is right around the corner! Don’t forget to stay tuned into your hives during the cold. That doesn’t necessarily mean hive inspections, especially on these chilly days. But do be watchful for activity, do an occasional ‘heft’ test to ensure there is ample resources/honey for your bees in the coming cold days, etc. We will be posting the meeting calendar for next year’s meetings and events very soon. Stay tunedRead More

Our next meeting will be our annual ‘Cooking with Honey’ contest, potluck supper and discuss any issues anyone may be seeing in their bee yards this time of year. Contest entries will be received between 5:45 and 6:15.  After you check in at the front desk, bring your entry to the contest table. Rules for contest entries are:                   Cooking with Honey Contest Recipes do not have to be original, just yummy.  A recipe card must accompany the sample. No names posted on plate. Categories are: 1.  Entrée- sample plate of a portion 2.  Dessert- sample plate of a portion, can be baked or not 3.  Other- sample of sauce, bread, snack, etc. 4.  Presentation- a delight to the beekeepers’ eye, the whole plate mustRead More

 Our fall regions testing for Journeyman and Master Beekeepers are set.  Test at each location is at 10 am. The date and locations are: Piedmont Region, October 3, 2015 at NC Cooperative Extension Ctr. Chatham County Center 65 East Chatham St. Pittsboro, NC 27312 Mountain Region, October 24,2015 at Mountain Horticultural Crops Research and Extension Center 455 Research Drive Mills River, NC 28759 Coastal Region, October 31, 2015 at  NC Cooperative Ext. Pitt County Center 403 Government Circle, Suite 2 Greenville, NC 27834 Any NCSBA member wishing to test for Journeyman or Master may attend.  There is no charge for testing. Signup not required,  but if you plan to attend email me at beefarmer1349@gmail.com . — Paul Newbold Chairman, Master Beekeeper Committee beefarmer1349@gmail.com 252-264-0245 HRead More

Natural Beekeeping Author Ross Conrad to speak in Burnsville November 9th   The Toe Cane Beekeepers Association present a special evening with author and beekeeper Ross Conrad on November 9, 2015 from 6:00 to 9:00 pm at the Burnsville Town Center. Admission is FREE.  Conrad will be speaking on overwintering and spring management of bees and the evolution of the beekeeper. There will be refreshments and time for discussion as well. Conrad is a former president of the Vermont Beekeepers Association, a regular contributor to Bee Culture–The Magazine of American Beekeeping, and author of Natural Beekeeping: Organic Approaches to Modern Apiculture. Ross has given bee-related presentations and led organic beekeeping workshops and classes throughout North America for many years. His beekeeping business, Dancing Bee Gardens, suppliesRead More

We hope everyone is ‘weathering’ the beginning of fall this year! We have great diversity in our Buncombe County Beekeepers Chapter in people, hive styles, attitudes, technique, and so forth. We also have a wide variety of beekeepers and where they actually do the keeping. We all know of bee “farmers” out there whose hives are many and in various locations, but we also know about those in city limits who work their beekeeping magic in small apiaries in their back yards. And that’s who we’re going to feature at our October bee meeting, October 5th. We have Charles Meyers and his lovely wife coming to discuss the challenges and rewards of Urban Beekeeping. It’s also that time of year to begin membership renewals forRead More

its September! Fair, Fall Feedings, winter preparations are well under way! First and foremost, this month’s normal meeting date falls on Labor Day. Because it is a holiday, we will not have a meeting in September. It’s also Western North’s State Fair time! Many of us will be busy with setting up the Honey and Beekeeping display at the fair, as well as staffing the booth to help educate the public on Bees, pollinators and beekeeping in general. It’s also a great way to introduce your products for sale to the public as well. Its almost (officially) fall!  Everyone should have their mite assessments done, feeding as needed should be underway. It’s a wonderful time of year to start slowing down and enjoying the seasonalRead More

WNC State Fair – Volunteers needed! We had the opportunity to meet and greet Lewis Cauble, our new Western NC Apiary Inspector. Anyone interested in volunteering to work a timeslot at the Beekeeping exhibit at the WNC state fair can contact Lewis at Lewis.Cauble@ncagr.gov, or call him at 828.230.4544 Remember, if you are working toward your NC Master Beekeeping certificate, these hours count for the community service credits toward your MBP Certification! We will also be needing assistance to setup the booth display for the fair. If you are interested in helping with the setup this year, please contact me  (Scott Davis) at honey@fancybearfarms.com  

From our friends at the NCSU Buncombe County Extension Office… The next Buncombe County Friends of Ag Breakfast, happening August 18th at 7am, will host Phyllis Styles speaking about pollinators and the important work of BeeCity. If you have clients or club members that may be interested in attending, please help circulate the attached flyer.  Thanks!!   august-2015-friends-of-ag-breakfast-flyer.pdf