News & Events: Information on Meetings and other News & Events
ACBA regular meeting
June 13, 2019
* The June regular meeting of the ACBA will be a "cookout, shop tour, demonstrations and bee supplies for sale at HS Greens's Hidden Happiness Bee Farm located at 1106 Chestnut Mountain Rd, Deep Gap,NC 28618.
* Click here for a map to Hidden Happiness Bee Farm.
* Send Maggie McClelland an e-mail below and include a head count of attendees as well as the pot luck side dish you plan to bring to the cookout...
* Alternatively, you can call Maggie at 336-982-4104.
ACBA Regular Meeting
May 9, 2019
* The next regularly scheduled meeting will be held on May 9, 2019 beginning @ 7:00 PM...in support of early arrivals, there will be food as well as a Q&A session, if desired.
* Lyn Soeder is our guest speaker; her topic is bee-friendly plants. To say she's multi-talented is an understatement! We’re excited to have her talk about bee-friendly plants, and not only will she be talking about them, she’ll also be selling some! Click on the below downloadable files: first attachment for flowers, shrubs and trees, the second for tomatoes. Tomato plants are $3/each; prices vary for the rest.
IMPORTANT!!! If you’d like to order something from Lyn’s lists, you must contact HER (mathomhous@gmail.com) before noon on Thursday so she’ll know to bring your item(s) to the meeting.* Meetings are always held on the 2nd Thursday of the month at the Ashe County Agricultural Center Office (click to open a map, if needed), located at 134 Government Center Drive in Jefferson, NC.
Other important news for the meeting:
* The drawing of the raffle for a hive built by Randy Baldwin, a 7-frame or 10-frame hive (winner's choice), will be held at the conclusion of the meeting.
*HS will have swarm catchers available for purchase, and pick up a free swarm lure and the recipe print out when you arrive.
* As in prior years, the ACBA is making a host of information available to both our members and others visiting our website of many important resources. Click here to open/read/print a document that can be utilized all year to make your own beekeeping efforts successful.
* Thanks in advance for your participation in ACBA and for helping to make sure it continues to assist local beekeepers and our bees, wherever possible.
MORE NEWS!
* * * * *
Raffle tickets for the complete hive (built by Randy Baldwin) will be available thru the end of the meeting Thursday, at which time the drawing will be held! You do not need to be present to win; however, the winner will have a say in how a few parts of the hive are finished, and Randy will be on hand to discuss options. Ticket prices: $5/each, 3/$10. Many thanks to Doug Ehrhardt for once again providing us with beautiful raffle tickets!
* * * * *
If you haven’t already paid your dues, Liam will be taking those up.
ACBA membership: $10 - individual, $15 - family.
NCSBA (optional): $15/person. New dues and renewals can be made online.
* * * * *
Door prizes will be given away. If you’d like to donate something for a door prize, let Maggie know, or just bring it!
* * * * *
Our June meeting (13th) will be a cookout at Hidden Happiness Bee Farm! H.S. Greene will prepare hot dogs and hamburgers, and members will provide sides, condiments, desserts, etc. Please contact Maggie at mmcclelland@skybest.com no later than June 10 to RSVP and to sign up for an item to bring (a reminder with more info and directions will be sent out. You can also find directions on the HHBF web site). If you haven’t been to H.S.’ bee farm store, this is a great opportunity! It’s beautifully done.
Ashe County Beekeeping Association
May 9, 2019
* Lyn Soeder was our guest speaker at the May meeting of the ACBA. As part of her presentation, Lyn recommended an excellent resource for information about plants that are friendly for bees and beekeepers...check it out.
Ashe County Beekeeping Association
May 9, 2019
* RAFFLE WINNER!
* Congratulations to beekeeper and ACBA treasurer, Liam Jerkins who was the winner of the complete 10 frame hive made by Randy Baldwin at the regular meeting raffle drawing on May 9...
* Thanks to everyone who purchased a raffle ticket, or tickets, to help with funds for our ACBA!
ACBA Membership Roles
2019
- It is known that many ACBA members are no longer attending meetings, at least on a regular basis. Also, quite a few of you have lost bees, and as such, are either out of the bee business or trying to become better prepared before getting the next batch of bees.
- Another reason is that some of you who still have bees no longer drive at night, some attend bee meetings closer to home, some are working too hard, or some just don’t like meetings :)
- Whether you're interested in remaining on the ACBA mailing list for 2019 or NOT, please send an e-mail to Helen Baldwin to inform her as soon as possible so the necessary adjustments can be made.
- Emails pertain to meeting reminders, information sharing and ACBA/NCSBA announcements.
- Thank you!
Protective Measures of Beehives durring Hurricanes (Florence)
September 11, 2018
* With the track of hurricane Florence poised to make a significant impact on North Carolina, there are some important considerations for beekeepers who may be affected by the heavy rain and winds. Please further disseminate to your local network of beekeepers and share this link: https://entomology.ces.ncsu.edu/2017/09/protective-measures-of-beehives-during-hurricanes-2/
* First, make sure hive equipment is secured to resist strong winds. A simple brick on the top lid is likely to be insufficient to keep the lid from flying off in winds above 50 mph. A lidless hive can cause problems for the bees by introducing moisture and letting heat escape. Strapping the lid down with ratchet straps or securing with duct tape might be in order, particularly for outlying yards. The same is true for hive boxes, particularly if they are relatively new (i.e., the bees have not yet propolized them together sufficiently). Also consider removing unnecessary boxes (e.g., top-hive feeders) to minimize the wind profile.
* Second, be sure to have the hives on sturdy stands or level ground. Entire beehives can be blown over by strong winds, particularly when they are fairly tall with many honey supers or are otherwise top heavy. If the hives are on tall or insecure stands, you can move them onto (dry) level ground temporarily to lessen the chances that they topple. Importantly, if you’re using solid bottom boards, be sure to have your hives tilting forward so that rain water does not pool and collect on the floor of the hive.
* Third, beware of falling trees and tree limbs. These can be particularly problematic for beehives since they can completely crush all equipment and kill the entire colony. It is also hard to prevent with some sort of barrier or cover because of the sheer weight of many trees, so if you apiary is in a wooded location you may need to move the hives temporarily.
* Fourth, make sure the hives are not in low-lying areas or those prone to flooding. River banks can be useful apiary locations because of their proximity to fresh water, but in flooding conditions entire apiaries can be tragically swept away. Be sure to move any beehives in flood plains until the waters have subsided. Beehives on the ground but in recessed areas can cause water to flood the entrances and may even suffocate the bees if not given an upper entrance.
* Finally, following heavy rains like hurricanes, various local and state agencies have traditionally sprayed regions with stagnant water to control mosquito outbreaks. While important for public health, such insecticides can be extremely problematic for honey bees. If you are registered through the NCDA&CS, you will be contacted directly if your beehives are in an area schedule to be sprayed. If you are not registered, however, the state has no means to notify you and your bees may be at risk to insecticide exposure. Please consult the Agricultural Chemical manual for information and advice about how to mitigate exposure to pesticides.
ACBA Regular Meeting
August 9, 2018
* The regular meeting of the ACBA was held on August 9, 2018. The meeting outline, below, is avalable as a downloadable file.
* Jim Rash (shown right), one of our members, discussed winterizing. Before the meeting at 7:00, pizza and delicious snacks courtesy of Maggie McClelland were enjoyed by all!
* After the meeting, the following were door prizes awarded...
- Jim DeJuneas - liquid soap (donated by Tina Roberts, Orianna Naturals)
- Johnny Parsons - 2 bar soaps (donated by Tina Roberts, Orianna Naturals)
- ACBA cap - Deborah Baldridge
- ACBA t-shirt - Greg Lyons