Dennis Marshall, Kandi Chamberlain and Richard McCormick were spotted buzzing around at Falling Creek Elementary. Students learned the role bees and other pollinators to make the food we eat.
A video of the day can be found here: https://youtu.be/Vz4T1RacYr0
The Rockwood Park Backyard Beekeepers Association (RPBBA) is holding their annual Beginning Beekeeping Course over 4 Saturdays from end of January to beginning of March.
Attendees will receive instruction on the basics of beekeeping, the various equipment including hive components and tools, diseases and pests, what to expect in the first year, how to purchase and install your bees, sources of pollen and nectar, and (weather permitting) a hands on field day in the clubâs apiary.
Class dates will be Jan 22, Feb 5, Feb 19, & Mar 5th alternating Saturdayâs with the Huguenot Beekeepers Association (HBA). Participants who are unable to make a class at RPBBA, may attend and receive the same instruction at HBA.
The course is $100 through Jan 8th and $115 thereafter.
We are limited to 40 participants; enrollment includes a 1-year membership to RPBBA.
For more information, including a sign-up form, please see our website rockwoodbeekeepers.com/beginner-beekeeping.
Michelle Clark
Communications
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Keep up with what RPBBA is doing, see Calendar of Events!
A workshop on WINTERIZING BEEHIVES will be held Tuesday, Nov 17, 2021 ⢠9:00 AM – 11:30 AM at Randolph Farm Pavilion, 4415 River Road, Petersburg, VA 23803
Topics will include opening a hive for inspection, pest identification and management, techniques to feed bees over the winter, and when and how to order honeybee nucs in preparation for the spring. Information received during the program will help attendees mitigate hive loss over the winter.
Information and registration is at https://www.ext.vsu.edu/events/2021/11/17/winterizing-beehives. For more information, contact Small Farm Outreach agent Tracy Porter at (804) 481-2566 or tporter@vsu.edu.
All attendees must bring a bee suit to wear during the hive inspection part of this workshop. No open toe shoes, wear light clothes and no perfume or cologne.
Click to download the below flyer SFOP+-+Winterizing+Beehives_Nov17.pdf
This article is not Virginia specific, but contains a lot of good information. Supplied to us by John Davis:
Interesting blog, with a free self-verification and record keeping checklist.
https://www.backfortybees.com/blog/virginias-beekeeper-limits-of-liability
Join us for our April webinar at 9AM Eastern on April 15th, 2015
Kim Flottum, author and editor of Bee Culture Magazine, will discuss what foods honey bees need, how much they need, and what beekeepers can do to make sure their bees are well fed.
It’s said that good nutrition is the strongest medicine, and the best insurance beekeepers can use to keep their bees healthy and productive. Moreover, managing nutrition correctly can make your bees even more productive with appropriate timing and diet. Find out more about honey bee nutrition – enough good food, all of the time, for every bee in the bunch.
All webinars are free, and registration is not required. Webinars run from 9:00AM to 10:00AM Eastern.
To join the webinar, follow the link below and LOG IN AS A GUEST at about 8:55 the day of the event: http://go.osu.edu/theOSUbuzz
To access via iPad, iPhone or Android device, download the Adobe Connect app.
All webinars will be recorded and archived on the Bee Lab website: Â https://u.osu.edu/beelab/courses/
Hope to “see” you this month!
Denise
Denise Ellsworth
Ohio State Extension, Department of Entomology
ellsworth.2@osu.edu
Thanks to Gene D. and Dee F. for sending this in.
Just wanted to share.  I had several swarm cells in my observation hive.  Since I can get really close without bothering them, I can record them.  The attached sound file is a virgin queen piping.  I had a few of these in there, so they were doing it off and on all day.
There are two recordings from my observation hive.  When it comes to virgin queens, they make a couple sounds. This hive had more than one, and so you can here one “quacking” and it’s what it sounds like, a quack type sound over and over.  Then, you can hear the piping sound, which has a sound that kind of ramps up, and then repeats.  It sounds like a tiny, tiny kazoo trumpet like sound.  Supposedly, the queen will quack while still in the cell, and startpiping right before and after she emerges.  There are some theories as to why they do this, but I’ll let you look those up.  ð
~Rob Wokaty
Rockwood Park Backyard Beekeepers 