Beekeeping Course 2010
January 12, 2010 - 1st day
65 students
Beekeeping Course 2010
ANNOUNCEMENT
OF
BEGINNING BEEKEEPING COURSE - 2010
We would like to announce that starting on January 12, 2010 the Alamance County Beekeepers will start the nineteenth consecutive year of offering a Beginning Beekeeping Course. The objective of the course is to create an interest in beekeeping and provide information needed for a person to become a keeper of honey bees, a beekeeper. No prior experience is required to take the course.
This is a 24-hour course, 20 hours in the classroom and 4 hours in the field. The structured classes start, as noted above, on January 12, 2010 and will continue each Tuesday evening from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. through March 16. All class sessions will be held in the cafeteria at Hillcrest Elementary School, 1714 W. Davis Street, Burlington, NC 27215. Please note this is not the same location where the course has been held for the past several years, this is a new location.
At the completion of the classroom instructions, we will have a Field Day on Saturday, March 20. During the Field Day, we will spend 4 hours in a bee yard to gain hands-on experience in working with the bees.
For seventeen years we did not require that students register in advance but because of the long line in signing in during the last course (when we had 99 students to enroll) we have decided that in 2010, registration and payment will be required in advance. This will insure that you have a seat in the class and a handbook on the first evening of the class. The cost of the course is $27.00. This includes $5.00 building usage fee and $22.00 for a reference handbook. If you would like to take the course for a second time (and you already have a handbook), the cost will be $5.00. This $5.00 cost will also apply when a spouse or another member of the family takes the course (as you can share the one handbook). To register in advance, please send you name, address, telephone number, e-mail address along with your payment to: Don Moore, 3634 Stoney Creek Church Road, Elon, NC 27244. Please make check payable to Don Moore.
If you live in the Burlington area, you most likely won’t need directions to the Hillcrest Elementary School; however, if you are coming from out of town one simple way to get to Hillcrest is to get off I-85/I-40 at exit 145 and head toward downtown Burlington. This street is Maple Avenue. Stay on Maple Avenue through the center of Burlington and then you will cross over Church Street then Fisher Street and the next street is Davis. Maple Avenue dead-ends into Davis Street. Turn left on Davis Street and continue on this street until you come to the entrance of Hillcrest Elementary School on the left at 1714 West Davis Street. There is a stoplight at this location.
We would also like to announce that in 2010, the Alamance County Farm Bureau will again be sponsoring a Cost-Share program. This is a program where 15 people are awarded two hives each, along with a package of bees for each hive. Applications for this program will be available on the first evening of the class.
Even though you have registered in advance, we would like for you to come a little early, maybe 6:30, on the first night, January 12, so that we will have time to issue nametags and handbooks and still be ready to start our class at 7:00 pm.
If you know someone interested in taking this course, we would appreciate you sharing the above information with that person.
This course announcement will also be posted on the Alamance County Beekeepers Web Site - <www.alamancebeekeepers.com>.
Hope to see you on January 12.
BEEKEEPING COURSE 2009
Tuesday 13th 2009 - 1st day
98 students!!
Course 2009
BEEKEEPING COURSE 2007
Mr. Ken Pipes talking about feeders
Mr. Don Moore helping students to assemble a frame
Learning how to build your own beekeeping equipment
Partial view of the class
Audrey Moore & Lola Pipes - Our support staff
Outline of 2007 Beekeeping Classes
Objective: To create an interest in beekeeping and provide information needed for a person to become established as a hobbyist beekeeper.
Session Date¹ Subject Instructor
1- Jan 9 Introduction to Beekeeping Don Moore
Introduction of the Course and Participants Review Course Outline Benefits of Beekeeping Pollination (honey bees contribute $14.6 billion/yr. to US Agric.) Products of the hive (honey, wax, propolis, pollen, royal jelly and bees) History of Beekeeping References, books, publications Organizations - ACB, NCSBA, EAS
2- Jan 16 Equipment of Beekeeping Mike Ross, Don Moore
Protective gear, veil, coveralls and glovesSmokerHive tool and frame grips (if desired)Hive moving frameHive straps or staplesBasic hive componentsBee space and critical dimensionsWoodenware Bottom board, hive body, queen excluder, honey super, inner cover and lidAssembly
3- Jan 23 Equipment of Beekeeping (continued) Mike Ross, Don Moore
Frames (different designs of bottom and top bars)AssemblyFoundationPurposeVarious sizes and designsInstallation methods
4- Jan 30 Starting a Honey Bee Hive Ken Pipes
Locating the hive Considerations - Location of water, direction to face the hive, sunlight, windbreak, away from sidewalks and playgrounds Ways to start a hive Package bees, nucs, splits (dividing a colony), swarms and removals from a tree or house or buy existing colony from another beekeeper Feeding the new colony using several different type feeders Checking hives after installing bees Expanding your bees by dividing a colony or by starting a few nucs Moving a hive (necessary when buying an existing colony) Considerations - When moving short distance, when moving long distance, extra equipment needed and preparations to be made by the beekeeper
5- Feb 6 Introducing New Queen Ken Pipes
Requeen existing colony, split or swarm Finding old queen Different methods of introducing new queen Advantages of young queen - less likely to swarm, builds up faster in spring and raises brood later in the fall
6- Feb 13 Nectar Sources of North Carolina Bill Sheppard
Flowering Nectar Plants Plant Features Period of nectar flow in different areas
7- Feb 20 Bees as Social Insects Will Hicks
Other insects, bumble bees, hornets, wasps, etc. Anatomy of the honey bee Development of various caste (charts) Relationships - which ones do what Pheromones Progression of duties Different races of honey bees Means of communicating (performing a dance on the combs)
8- Feb 27 Medicating Bees Don Hopkins
Diseases European foulbrood, American foulbrood, chalkbrood, sacbrood & nosema Mites Varroa Tracheal Small Hive Beetles
9- Mar 6 Primary Management Phases Ken Pipes
Fall Management in preparation for winter After all surplus honey has been removed Treat for diseases and mites Check for honey stores (feeding may be required) Make sure colony has a good queen Use entrance reducer to keep mice out, provide both top ventilation and a windbreak for each hive Second Spring Management Preparations for honey flow Check brood to verify that colony is healthy and expanding If you treat, treat early for diseases and mites Try and control swarming during spring buildup Remove entrance reducers, install queen excluders and supers After the honey flow Removing honey Removing bees from supers by brushing, using one-way bee escape, chemical repellents and a bee blower Processing the honey - liquid, comb, chunk and section Rendering the wax (from the cappings)
10- Mar 13 Course Review Don Moore
Ten Commandments of Beekeeping 1. Use only standard beekeeping equipment 2. Be considerate of non-beekeeping neighbors 3. Requeen 4. Control disease and parasites 5. Maximize colony population before the main nectar flow 6. Super colonies according to their need 7. Take pride in honey and other hive products 8. Protect your beekeeping equipment 9. Help your bees through winter 10. Join and participate in a beekeeping association
11- Mar 17² Field Day (4 hours at an apiary in the local area) Don Hopkins,Don Moore, Ken Pipes,Mike Ross
Light smoker and inspect a hive (first by an instructor and then by one or more of the students) Check for disease, check brood pattern and find the queen Identify a drone Identify eggs, young larvae, sealed worker brood, sealed drone brood, pollen and honey Show how to: Check for Varroa mites Install a package of bees (students will help shake the bees) Start a nuc Show steps necessary in preparation for honey flow - add a queen excluder, add two or more supers, remove entrance reducer Demonstrate getting a hive ready for winter - include checking a hive for honey stores, feeding by several different methods, removing the queen excluder, providing upward ventilation and adding an entrance reducer
¹All class sessions will be held at the Agricultural Building, 209 North Graham-Hopedale Road, in Burlington. The classes will run from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. on the dates shown above. This location is two blocks north of North Church Street (US 70) and across the street from the old Western Electric Plant and the Western Charcoal Steakhouse.
²Each student should bring a veil and any other protective equipment they feel comfortable with while working bees. The smoker, hive tool and frame grips will be provided. The location and starting time will be given during the class. Please note this is a Saturday. Rain date for the Field Day will be March 24 (also a Saturday).
The telephone numbers of your local instructors are as follows:
Don Hopkins – 336-376-8250 Don Moore – 336-584-3195
Mike Ross – 336-584-8652 Ken Pipes – 336-229-5622