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

Thanks to everyone that attended. We covered a LOT of ground on feeding, assessment, treating, WNC Fair entries, WNC State Fair volunteer opportunities and other things. ———–General announcements —————— Bee CITY USA… Bee City USA is partnering with OrganicFest to present Asheville’s 14th Organicfest celebration on Sunday, August 30. The theme for this year is “Bee Organic” with a focus to share the benefits of organics for people AND pollinators! OrganicFest is from 10:00 to 6:00 at Pack Square Park in downtown Asheville. At our booth in the children’s section we will be putting wings and antennae on kids all day, and helping to lead the Pollinator Parade at 1:00.  We will also be talking about bees and other pollinators, passing out literature, and sellingRead More

Can you believe the summer is almost over?  We truly hope everyone was able to enjoy a good honey flow, that your hives are healthy, packed full of honey and pollen, and in decent shape as we start into the fall season. The approach of late summer/early fall brings us the WNC State Fair! As well as (potentially) the dreaded Dearth, Explosions in the mite population, concerns about stores, do we have enough? What do we do if we need to feed? Etc. With that in mind, our next meeting is exactly on these topics! The main presentation will be on feeding, how do we do that? What do we watch for? Following that we will have demonstrations on mite assessments, and.. once you haveRead More

Happy Summer everyone!   I truly hope that everyone’s colonies are happy, healthy and full of life and honey! The sourwood flow is in full swing, and has been for a couple of weeks now. Everywhere you go, you can see Sourwood trees in full bloom! The NC State beekeepers meeting starts Thursday in Lake Junaluska in Waynesville. Since it is so close, I truly hope everyone takes advantage of this golden opportunity to attend the sessions and benefit from it being in our back yard , so to speak. The conference agenda may be viewed here (IF you are a member of the NC State beekeepers association ) There is a group of BCBC ‘Beeks’ that will be taking the Journeyman level certification test forRead More

 You went to Bee School but want to brush up? You didn’t go to Bee School and want to learn more about your honey bees?   Buncombe County Beekeepers Chapter (BCBC is sponsoring a field day for membership and guests on June 6th, this Saturday, 10:30 til about 1:30 in a field off Lake Eden Rd. in Black Mountain. (Look for signs) Bring your own lunch and jaw a while about our NC state insect. There will be many activities in and around the honey bee hives with Jon Christie of Wild Mountain Bees. Bring protective gear! We’re going to get you up close and maybe in the hive! (Port-a-Jon available/ Bring a chair if you want to sit.)  10:30-11:30 Stations set up on; 1. SugarRead More

Make sure you’ve eaten before you come to our next meeting, June 1st, because the bee club is providing the dessert! Have you ever been to The Hop ice cream shop? Ever eaten honey IN your ice cream?  The Hop has agreed to try out a new recipe using honey (remember our “make it with honey” contest later this summer!), it’s called honey lavender Vanilla vegan, and we’ll be serving it up at our meeting, along with a tub of vanilla and a tub of chocolate. BUT, we invite you all to bring in your favorite ice cream toppings -anything you fancy! The club will provide the dishes, napkins, and spoons. While you’re eating your ice cream, we’ll learn more about the re-labeling of pesticidesRead More

Newbees and intermediates both sometimes have trouble lighting a smoker, and then keeping it lit! It definitely takes some talent and finesse to be a good smoker.  Do you know who’s a really good professional Smoker?  Our friend and Master Beekeeper Edd Buchanan from Black Mountain! He’s going to provide tips and opportunities to light YOUR smoker and there’s word that there will be a contest involved!  Bring your smoker in for a tune-up and a refresher course – and stay after while Edd reviews the Spring honey flow. There will also be  a raffle/drawing for a hive, complete with Bees, at the meeting. This is a continuation of the hive raffle that was started at the CHBR bee school this past weekend. Members will againRead More

Hi BCBC Members- Have you been studying or keeping honeybees for a year? Are you a member of our parent organization NC SBA (we can sign you up, if not)? Have you been to a Bee School? Then, YOU ARE READY! The 30 minute written Initially Certified test (multiple choice) will be given on Thursday between 1 – 5 pm on Thursday, April 16, 2015. Meet upstairs above Ag Extension (follow signs) at 94 Coxe Ave. Either park in the lot across the street or park at that second floor entrance accessed by Hilliard Ave. The Master Beekeeping Program is our state’s NC SBA stair-step program to help you gain sufficient knowledge about the honeybee to be a good beekeeper. We want you to be aRead More

Do you know how to build your own bee hive?  Curious about observation hives?  This post bee school hands-on workshop/Meeting is for you! Aprils meeting will let you visit different workstations to extend what you learned at bee school, or simply pick up a few new skills as a beekeeper.  Bring your equipment to the meeting and lets build it together! got questions on how to do a real hive inspection? Come take a hive apart and do a guided inspection! What’s up with frames? how does that work? Visit the frame workstation and get answers to your questions. Bring your fames and lets build them together! Feeding? Feeders? how do they REALLY fit on a hive and work? how do you feed in a Top BarRead More

Come to tonight’s BCBC meeting and let’s get in the mood for spring beekeeping! We’re going to pack a one-two punch using the talents of Sarah Eshan as tonight’s emcee. Brother Allen from Haywood county Beekeepers is our new regional NCSBA representative. he will give us a short update on NCSBA activities. Next is a  slideshow of some of our members’ bee yards with a bit of discussion of the pros and cons of  each in terms of location, light, wildlife, etc. Then Sarah will discuss the needful things of new beekeepers in terms of equipment.  Should be a great program with lots of information! Members will again have the opportunity to renew their membership to BCBC.  Membership applications/renewal forms are available here. —————————————————————————————————————————- Reminder, if youRead More

a HUGE thank you to Dave Cowart and Jon Christie for a very educational, enjoyable session on what to look for in our Bee Yards this time of year. They brought in demo hives, complete with a ‘Dead out’ to show what to look for, and how to learn from our deadouts. This time of year can be very troubling to manage our hives. its very easy for the Queen to start laying lots of  brood on days like we have had recently. Lots of brood results in lots of bees early in the year, which raises the possibility of starvation early or swarming earlier than usual. Everyone should be diligent on watching their hive activity and ensuring there are plenty of resources available ifRead More