Medina County Beekeepers Association

Current Events

• Monthly Meeting, Monday 15 Feb
  Bob Hooker, president of the Ohio State Beekeepers Association and past president of the Lorain County Beekeepers Association and the Heartland Beekeepers Association will deliver the Ohio Beekeepers "State of the Union" address, speaking about the interactions of Ohio State Beekeepers Assn with the local clubs, what is going on around the state, pending honey regulations, the state level inspection program, pesticide enforcement and other new events.
• Beginner Beekeeper classes
  MCBA will be conducting the Spring Beginner Beekeeping Class Twice this year - one session on 4 consecutive Wednesday nights, the other on 2 consecutive Saturdays. Class details are in the Calendar. Content will cover basic honey bee biology, getting started with honey bees, all the equipment you will need, fundamental management skills, harvesting your crop and preparing for winter. Students will be advised on kinds of equipment to purchase, where to get bees and how to handle problems. The instructor for these classes is Kim Flottum, Editor of Bee Culture magazine. Several members of the Medina Association will also be on hand and involved in giving demonstrations and assisting with the classes.
  Cost for the class is $50.00 for an individual, and $60 for a family of 2 or more. For that fee students receive a 1 year membership in the Medina County Beekeepers Association, a copy of Beginner’s Book and a variety of magazines and catalogs from the beekeeping industry in addition to the course material.
  Pre-registration is required so we know how to prepare, but fees can be made at the first class. There is no limit on the number of students in either class. To register for the class, or for additional information, please contact Kim Flottum at 330.722.2021 or Kim@BeeCulture.com.
• Tri-County Beekeepers' Meeting, Saturday 6 Mar
  This annual event is the largest gathering of beekeepers in the US. It's a great chance to come out and learn about beekeeping. The KeyNote Speaker will be Dewey Caron. There are workshops and sessions on a range of bee-related topics, a baked-goods and a mead contest and vendors galore.
  Contact: Sherry Ferrell at 330-263-3684 or ferrell.6@osu.edu or download the registration packet. For directions, see the beelab.osu.edu website.
• Monthly Meeting - Double-Header, Monday 15 Mar
  Dewey Caron will be doing an advanced talk on spring management - increasing numbers of brood and adult bees and detecting swarm preparations. Larry Connor will follow with making increases through packages, splits, increase essentials and a quick update on winter losses ie. how to tell if you have something serious, plus what to do with deadouts.

See the calendar for more.

President's Message

I want to encourage everybody who has signed up for our Beginner's class to attend the Feb meeting if at all possible. Our speaker is certainly one good incentive to spend an evening with us...Bob Hooker has served as President of our neighboring Lorain County Beekeepers. He is currently the President of Ohio State Beekeepers and as such, has an eye on the bigger picture of beekeeping in the Buckeye state. Everything from the pending discussion on honey regulations to state level inspection to pesticide enforcement fall under his watchful eye...Be sure and attend and learn from the top guy in Ohio Beekeeping.

But new beekeepers attending this meeting will also get a chance to meet and greet a lot of the current members of our group. There's nothing that beats getting to ask someone who has already gone through what you are about to go through and maybe offer some suggestions. Everybody does bees differently, and what I tell you in class may be different that what you hear at the meeting...and that's a good thing. So if possible, come for a couple of hours of entertainment, enlightenment and education...it'll be worth your time.

Be sure and check for food for your bees, even if the temp isn't over 50 degrees...this is the time of year that most colonies starve, and if you can get out there soon enough, you can save them. They may have honey but can't get to it...a slab of fondant right over the cluster will do wonders until the weather warms enough to help them out by moving honey....Packages this year are going for right about $75, so $10 worth of food now goes a long way in saving money...and bees.

Speaking of bees...small hive beetle is really doing its thing in the southeast again. Packages from there last year brought a bunch, and there's no reason to suspect they'll be any better this year. If you order bees from there, be aware of the problems you will be bringing into your beeyard...and honey house. California packages don't have that problem, but they cost more.

New Club shirts this year!

Work at the Fair this year and earn a club Polo Shirt

Be the best dressed beekeeper on your block in the new Medina County Beekeeper shirt. The Walnut Hill Shop is offering Medina County Beekeepers apparel with the club logo embroidered on the left chest and your name stitched on the right chest (and the American flag stitched on the left sleeve or collar if you wish). This year the association is offering its members a polo shirt with pocket in your choice of color available in time to wear proudly at the fair.

The cost of the shirt is $23 but you might be able to get it free! If you work 4 shifts at the fair, you will be reimbursed the entire cost of the shirt. If you work 3 shifts you will get 75% of the cost back, two shifts and you will be refunded half the purchase price.

Contact Mary Kanuckel (740) 828-3346 or (800) 660-9707 of THE WALNUT HILL SHOP, 17388 Frampton Road, Frazeysburg, Ohio 43288 or walnuthillsp@earthlink.net to order your shirt today.