Weekly 101 (4/5/11)

And back to our regularly scheduled programming, we have classes this week!

Two of them. Both of them tonight, actually.

For the beginners, the NYC Beekeeping Group is hosting one of their free winter course lectures tonight:

How To Build and Paint Your Hive, And Get Your Bees Into Their New Home
or
"Wooden? Where?"

The last few days have been a whirlwind getting equipment distributed so please forgive this late reminder about the class. Even if you got the hang of assembly at one of the pickup days, you may want to attend if you are getting bees for the first year, or for the second.

If you are getting a package and equipment in the Spring group order but have not picked up your equipment yet, do not fail to make arrangements with us as you need time to assemble and let paint dry before your bees arrive!

Tuesday evening we'll review & demonstrate equipment assembly, setup, and cover getting your package of bees into your hive.

We will also review what you'll need to watch for in the first few weeks after your package arrives.

If you are new this is a very good entry point as we begin the transition to hands on and field work, so please email if you want to begin learning with us and we will get you registered for the program and seated for Tuesday.
Everyone is welcome!

It's happening tonight at the Central Park Arsenal at 830 5th Ave, and it starts at 6.30. As always, RSVP with the group at their website, www.nycbeekeeping.com.

For the more adventurous or advanced beekeepers, the NYC Beekeepers Association is hosting a talk on small cell beekeeping:

Dear Bee Lovers,

Join us on April 5 for a presentation on small-cell beekeeping. NYCBA member and long-term naturalist and gardener Juliana Zinger will discuss the "natural cell" method of beekeeping as a component of organic, low-treatment techniques in mitigating the impact of Varroa mites.

Juliana is a Manhattan mom whose hives are located on Long Island’s North Shore. This spring, she will be increasing from one to three hives and will be converting to small-cell beekeeping on the two new hives. In other insect-related news, she and her family raise hundreds of praying mantises every year to support biodiversity in their garden.
See you at the meeting!

The meeting starts at 7 and is hosted at the Seafarers & International House at 123 East 15th Street. The meeting is free, membership in the Association is $20.

I can't help but mention that I am annoyed that YET AGAIN, the talks have been scheduled on the same night.

Come on guys. Can't we all just get along?

Weekly 101 (3/8/11)

Okay, so I'm pretty excited about tonights FREE Winter Beekeeping Course lecture, hosted by the NYC Beekeeping group tonight:

"There's No Place Like Comb"
Instructor: Jim Fischer

When a beekeeper looks at a hive, the beekeeper looks at combs. Combs and their condition are the best way to gauge a hive's health, robustness, past problems, and future fate.

We will take the accumulated knowledge we have gained of bee behavior and the factors that contribute to and hamper their ability to thrive, and look at high-resolution photos showing good examples of what the beekeeper should look for when looking at a hive.

To show you all these different conditions "in the field" in one season would require us to carefully inspect hundreds of hives and have unprecedented luck. These photos are the accumulated "best examples" found by the instructor in over 25 years of beekeeping.

There is true beauty in the work of bees, so while we all play armchair detective, we will also take a moment now and again to admit just how humbling beekeeping should be.

Class starts tonight, Tuesday March 8th at 6:30PM.

As always, classes are held at the Central Park Armory and RSVPs are a must. To get on the list, email Liane at NYCBeekeeping@gmail.com! I'll see you there!

Weekly 101 Update (3/1/11)

Oy. . . .

Things have been busy! Spring is a beekeeper's busiest time, when a young (wo)man's fancy turns into a box of stinging insects and delicious, delicious honey. On top of (not) writing articles for my blog, I'm in the midst of teaching my Beekeeping 101 course at the Brooklyn Brainery, assembling equipment, and prepping my apiaries for the new bees that are coming April 9th.

For those of you who have just GOTTA GET YOUR BEEKEEPING FIX RIGHT NOW, today is your lucky day.

There are TWO schweet lectures happening tonight! It's disappointing that you'll have to choose between the two because they both sound very interesting, but such is life. You can't go wrong with either of them.

As usual, the NYC Beekeeping Group is hosting a session of it's FREE Winter Beekeeping Course, tonight at 6:30. Tonights lecture topic is:

"PACKAGES, SPLITS, NUCS, AND STUPID BEEKEEPER TRICKS"

Last time, "making a split", was mentioned as one way to deal with a hive showing clear signs of swarm preperation. Beekeepers makes splits, nucs, and even shake bees into packages to make two colonies from one.

We will walk through the process of making various types of splits, and discuss which are most appropriate for an urban beekeeper.

Since splits and nucs are small colonies, and need extra care and attention, what we learn here will also be applicable to captured swarms, colonies that have not expaned as much as the beekeeper might like due to poor weather, and colonies weakend by Nosema or other illness.

The "stupid beekeeper tricks" will be a quick review of the myths and myth-conceptions that might mislead you into making a split that is doomed. As usual, many preconceived notions and pronoucements found in books and on the internet will be trashed and thrashed without mercy. Our focus is the welfare of the bees.

This is the talk that I'm going to. Knowing when to make splits and how to prevent swarming is absolutely key to keeping bees in an urban environment, and I feel like I'm a little rusty.

The NYC Beekeeping Association is ALSO hosting a lecture tonight:

Mike Palmers: Colony Management for Honey Production: A beekeeping management plan for a year in the apiary with focus on honey production and successful wintering.

Mike Palmer began keeping bees in 1974 with two packages of Italians from Georgia. In 1982, with 250 colonies of his own, he took a job managing the 500 colonies of bees belonging to Chazy Orchards in New York State. In 1986, he bought their apiary and added apple pollination to my business plan. For 15 years Mike managed 800-900 colonies in the Champlain valley of Vermont and New York for pollination and honey production. In 1998, he began raising his own bees and queens. Eventually, no longer having to buy replacement stock, he was able to give up apple pollination and concentrate on honey and queen production. He now winters 750 production colonies, 400 nucleus colonies, produces some 1200 queens and averages about 40 tons of honey per year.

Mike lives with his wife and Blue Tick hounds in the northern Champlain valley of Vermont. They have two grown daughters, one working at The Juilliard School in NYC, and the other pursuing her Masters degree at C.W. Post on Long Island.

This sounds like a really interesting lecture, especially if you are interested in maximizing your honey crop! The NYC Beekeeping Association hosts a lecture like this on the first Tuesday of every month, and they are ALWAYS interesting. The talk is happening tonight from 7:00 - 9:00PM at the Seafarers & International House, 123 East 15th Street.

As always, remember to check the Calendar page for any and all upcoming beekeeping events in NYC!

Weekly 101 Update (2/9/11)

I just got wind of a special event being hosted by the NYC Beekeeping Meetup Group:

Dr. Tom Seeley - "Honeybee Democracy: How Bees Choose a Home"

Honey bees make decisions collectively—and democratically. Every year, faced with the life-or-death problem of choosing and traveling to a new home, honey bees stake everything on a process that includes collective fact-finding, vigorous debate, and consensus building. In fact, these incredible insects have much to teach us when it comes to collective wisdom and effective group decision making. Dr. Thomas D. Seeley, a professor of animal behavior at Cornell University and a passionate beekeeper, will tell the amazing story that he and others have unravelled of house hunting and democratic debate among the honeybees.

He will describe how these bees evaluate potential nest sites, advertise their discoveries to one another, engage in open deliberation, choose a final site, and navigate together—as a swirling cloud of bees—to their new home. He will also suggest that what works well for bees can also work well for people: any decision-making group should consist of individuals with shared interests and mutual respect, a leader's influence should be minimized, debate should be relied upon, diverse solutions should be sought, and the majority will should be counted on for a dependable resolution.

We must charge a modest admission fee to defray the costs of this event. The talk is open to the public, but you can pay here online via Amazon to reserve, as seating is limited. We will also have copies of Tom Seeley's books available for purchase at the event.

The cost will be $9 and seating will be limited, so RSVP on their site here: LINKY Edit: The talk is being held on Saturday, Feb 19th from 2pm to 4pm, at The Arsenal In Central Park, New York. (Thanks, Emily.)


For those of you who have been attending the New York City Beekeeping Meetup Group FREE Winter course (you should be), there is a lecture Thursday night , 2/10/11 (tomorrow), at the Central Park Armory.

Today's topic:

38 Days ‘Till Spring!

The Spring Equinox is March 20th, and bees are at their most energetic in spring.

We will compare a feral hive in a tree with an overwintered colony in the care of a beekeeper, and then compare both with “packages” and “nucs” in newly-established hives.

The issue of why plants provide nectar and pollen will be considered and the “arms race” between plants who want to get pollinated and “pollinators”, who merely want groceries, will be revealed and illustrated with some of the more complex and devious weapons evolved by each.

As always, RSVP with the group on their website.


And for those of you who have been wondering why I've been so lazy updating my blog, don't you fret. I've been planning some fun stuff with some other folks. For instance, were you to be in Williamsburg on Saturday, February 12th, say around 12PM, near the corner of Frost & Meeker, you might run into me.

And other, local beekeepers.

And awesomeness.

Faux serious? NO! FOR SERIOUS!

Stay tuned for details.

Weekly 101 Update (2/1/11)

For those of you who have been attending the New York City Beekeeping Meetup Group FREE Winter course (you should be), there is a lecture Thursday night, 2/3/11, at the Central Park Armory.

Today's topic:

"Wooden? Where?"

In preparation for our Co-Operative equipment order, we will review choices that the beekeeper has in hiving his bees, and cover the advantages and drawbacks of each of the major woodenware equipment types, comparing each to the natural home for bees, a rotted-out tree trunk.

We will review Langstroth in the various box depths, Kenyan Top Bar and other "horizontal hives", the Warre hive type and other "foundationless frame" approaches, with an eye to how they respect "bee space", and encourage the bees to build moveable comb that can be inspected without doing damage to the comb or the bees.

We'll also go over the extensive array of complex gadgetry offered to beekeepers buy the supply house, and compare them with the very small set of simple tools we suggest beekeepers use.

Those who attended the Demo Session on November 13th may find this repeats some of what was covered in that session.

However if you did not attend that session and you are preparing to keep honeybees, this is a very useful session. This is also a good entry point for anyone who joined us recently.

As always, RSVP with the group on their website.


I have also been informed of two other classes that will be offered this Winter/Spring.

The New York City Beekeeping Association will be offering it's annual beginner's course in February and March. Here's their blurb:

TAKE A BASIC URBAN BEEKEEPING COURSE AND BE READY FOR 2011!

The NYCBA is offering a course in 2011 for the absolute beginner and novice beekeeper. This course is 12 hours long, spread out over four Sundays, PLUS an apiary visit in April.

The fee is $150.00 for the entire course. Our volunteer instructors are professional beekeepers with a collective half century of experience.

COURSE DATES:
Sundays 12:00 - 3:00 pm
February 13th, 20th, 27th
March 6th (make up date March 13th, in case of bad weather)

The visit of the York Prep rooftop apiary will take place in April, exact date tba

LOCATION:
York Prep
40 W 68th St
New York, NY 10023

I haven't attended or participated in their beginner course, so I can't offer any advice regarding the quality of the class itself, but I will say that the organization is fantastic and hosts wonderful, monthly guest lectures by some great beekeepers from all over the country. At the very least, you should attend their regular meetings! You'll definitely see me there.


On top of THAT, I have been informed (thanks, Adam) that HoneybeeLives.org will be offering their own weekend-long Intro to Organic Beekeeping course February 5&6 at the Commons in Brooklyn:

Learn about the basic requirements and responsibilities for organic beekeeping. Understand the community of a hive, the tools involved, elements of site selection, where you can obtain honeybees and equipment, and an understanding of a naturalist approach to their needs. This class introduces students to a nurturing way of beekeeping, and a philosophy of respect and love for these amazing creatures. There is a hands-on demonstration of assembling a wooden hive, and extensive class handouts to help new beekeepers.

Topics will include: hive congruency and design to benefit the colony; Honeybee health and disease management the organic way; seasonal concerns and methods; as well as imparting the value of respecting the lives and needs of your bees. Top Bar Hive beekeeping will be discussed.

I have not worked with anyone in or affiliated with this organization, so I cannot attest to it's quality. The course costs $200 dollars, and you can register by going to their website.

Weekly 101 Update

Thanks to everyone who came out to Bee Night at the Brooklyn Brainery. I really enjoyed talking with you guys, and I hope that you learned something! I'm going to try to host semi-regular talks, workshops and seminars, so hopefully I'll see y'all again soon!

Speaking of which, I'll be teaching another section of Beekeeping 101 at the Brooklyn Brainery, starting February 21st! I'm planning on keeping the class size small, 20-25 people, so sign up quick! I'm getting a whole bunch of props and goodies to share with the class, and it'll include another honey tasting! Hyperglycemia here we come!

Sign up here!

For those of you who have been attending the New York City Beekeeping Meetup Group FREE Winter course, there is a lecture tonight, 1/26/11, at the Central Park Armory.

Today's topic:

Last week we reviewed the pests, diseases, and problems of bees. This week we will cover how to keep them from overwhelming and killing your bees while still complying with different sets of practices, ranging from "USDA Certified Organic", to "Demeter-Certified" to "Biodynamic" and others.

The invasive pests and diseases of bees, mainly the varroa mite, have created an ecosystem that is filled with both unrepentant charlatans and misguided but well-intentioned people, and even a few actual beekeeping cults. The concepts of "Integrated Pest Management" and "Metrics" will be used to separate the useless from the useful ideas.

A deep and abiding respect for the welfare of all bees will be combined with a healthy suspicion of those who can't keep a notebook to reinforce the point that while we may not be "our brother's keeper", we may have to be "our neighbor's beekeeper".

As always, RSVP with the group on their website.

Classes, Talks, and Another Class!

After a week off, the NYC Beekeeping Meetup Group is coming back on January 18th with another FREE winter course lecture. This is going to be one that you don't wanna miss:

"Predators, Pests, and Diseases, Oh My!"
Prior to the 1980s, beekeepers had but one disease that could kill their
bees - Foulbrood. Most beehives thrived with little or no attention from the beekeeper.

As rampant unregulated World Trade grew during the 1980s, beekeeping changed
forever - suddenly, any neglected beehive soon became a dead beehive.

We are lucky in NYC - many diseases and pests have not been brought across
the Hudson River. But to be able to eradicate any incursion of pests and diseases, we have to
be able to identify symptoms and detect specific evidence.

This class will explain in detail the specifics behind the oft-quoted phrase
"The Price of Honey is Eternal Vigilance."

As always, check out their website to sign up for the class and RSVP for the lecture (a must!)


In my neck of the woods, I'll be hosting a screening of "Vanishing of the Bees" at Brooklyn Brainery AND giving a talk on the latest CCD research and information. Apparently, the prospect of listening to me prattle on about bees is more exciting than I anticipated, as seats sold out in a matter of days. (It might have been the honey tasting.)

Sorry I didn't get it up here earlier and give y'all first chance at seats. Mea culpa. However, they saved a few seats for me, so if you just missed it and really wanna go, shoot me an e-mail and I'll see what I can do.


Getting ahead of the ball (for once), I will be teaching another Beekeeping 101 course at the Brainery in February/Early March and will be sure to post about it as I get specifics! Keep on checking back here for details!

NYC Beekeeping Meetup Group Class tonight!

Just a quick reminder that the next installment of the NYCBMG Free Winter Course is tonight.

If you're interested in learning how to keep bees, or already know how to and would just like to brush up, the NYCBMG classes are a fantastic resource are totally worth the two hours out of your busy schedule. Plus, the price is right!

Tonights lecture topic:

"OK, I've got 70,000 stinging insects in a box - now what do I do?"

So far, we've covered the life of a typical worker bee, we've looked at bee anatomy and physiology, so the Jan 4th class will address the burning question on everyone's mind - management. We will break down the goals of the prudent beekeeper into seasonal chunks, and summarize the choices and options open to the dogma-free beekeeping practice.

Much will be made of the massive difference between managing a hive in its first year (a "package" or "nuc") versus a hive that overwintered at least one season.

RSVP's are MANDATORY, so if you're interested in attending, join up at www.nycbeekeeping.com and e-mail Liane at nycbeekeeping@gmail.com.