JOIN THE SWARM!

Are you fascinated by the world of bees and eager to connect with fellow beekeeping enthusiasts? Look no further than the Lower Eastern Shore Beekeepers Association!

Our monthly meetings provide the perfect opportunity to mingle with local beekeepers from Delmarva’s lower eastern shore. Whether you’re a seasoned pro or just starting out, all are welcome to join us and share in our passion for beekeeping.

Why Join A Beekeepers Association?

  • Network with experienced beekeepers and learn valuable tips and tricks
  • Stay updated on the latest trends and practices in beekeeping
  • Access to resources and support to help you succeed in your beekeeping journey
  • Contribute to the preservation of bee populations and the environment
  • Enjoy the camaraderie of a community united by a love for bees

Membership Dues: Only $25 a Year! This can be paid at ANY meeting, so just show up!

For just $25 annually, you can become a part of our vibrant beekeeping community and unlock a world of opportunities to grow your skills and knowledge.

Don’t miss out on the chance to be a part of something truly special. Join us at our next meeting and discover the joy of beekeeping on Delmarva’s lower eastern shore!

For meeting details and membership inquiries, please contact: Tom Babcock 443-754-0151, tbabcock0001@gmail.com Instagram: @babcocksapiary or Trish King patriciajcking@gmail.com Instagram: @6kingsfarm

“Connecting Beekeepers, Cultivating Community”

Meeting Info and Location​

MARCH: WICOMICO COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 5:40pm Wednesday March 13th-

TOPICS: Elections, Monthly Schedule Planning, Membership Dues

New Keepers – It’s your first year: Getting your hives ready!
Topics- Proper beekeeping equipment. Pre-ordering bees what the difference is between packages and nucs. Choosing location, gear, equipment.
Before bringing bees home, make sure that you are ready for them with the proper equipment.

Intermediate- SPRING MANAGMENT

  • Stimulating colonies
  • Watch food resources – avoid starvation
  • Young queens / Re-queening?
  • Making Splits
  • Rearranging boxes
  • Installing a new queen
  • Installation of a package of bees

APRIL: Thursday April 11th 10am-3pm

Topic: Package Pickup EVENT at BayBees Honey Apiary Whaleyville- Members and pre-ordered package buyers only. Members can sign up for LESBA on the day of to attend. See Events page for more info

MAY: TBD Wednesday May 8th

Topic: Spring Management and Swarms

  • Demaree Method
  • Splits
  • Adding space
  • Swarm Capture
  • Equipment needs (bee vacs, moving screens, foundation supports, bait hives)
  • Bee Removal from Structures
  • Legal concerns
  • Physical abilities and equipment needs
  • How to mark a queen (why or why not do this)

Feeding Bees: What, Why, and When

  • Sugar Syrup: ratios; wet vs. dry
  • Pollen & Substitutes
  • Additives
  • Techniques, feeder types
  • Making Splits
  • Combining Colonies

JUNE: TBD Wednesday June 12th

Topic: HONEY

  • Types marketed
  • Heating honey – How, Why or why not
  • Honey Labeling Laws – regulations and marketing
  • How to make Creamed (whipped) honey
  • How to make ‘cut comb’ honey
  • How to make ‘chunk’ honey
  • How to make honey-straws
  • Extraction – from the hives techniques
  • Extraction – in the honey house
  • Bottling : how to reduce foam, crystals, lint, filtering, cleaning up afterwards
  • Safe Storage of honey – temperature considerations and effects

Managing Honey Production

  • 70% rule
  • Checker-boarding
  • Supering – adding space, when and how
  • Determining when the moisture content allows extraction
  • How to remove honey frames from the apiary – discuss the various techniques (fumigants, brush, use of smoke, bee escapes etc.)
  • How to remove honey from frames – discuss equipment needs and varieties (de-capping knives, scrapers, de-capping tanks, pail heaters, refractometer, filters, etc.)
  • How to clean up, or store extracted frames

JULY: TBD Wednesday July 10th

Topic: Summer Management

  • Monitoring for Varroa
  • Monitoring for SHB
  • Monitoring for Wax Moths
  • Monitoring for weak colonies/combining colonies
  • Water resources

AUGUST: TBD Wednesday August 14th

Commercial Pollination
How to move hives1
Understanding crops to be pollinated
Pollination contracts between grower and beekeeper
How the big commercial pollinators do this

Pollination Trailer – Lets suit up and get into some bees at a nearby field with a pollination trailer!

SEPTEMBER: TBD Wednesday September 11th

TOPICS: Fall Management & Winter Prep

  • Reducing equipment
  • Equipment and wax storage
  • Early fall varroa management
  • Understanding winter ‘fat’ bees and vitellogenin
  • Mouse infestation prevention
  • Temperature and the dynamics of the winter-cluster

OCTOBER

Topic: Winter Management

  • Wind blocks
  • Ventilation
  • Checking food stores
  • Temperature

Diseases and Maladies: Symptoms, causes, prevention, remedies, and effects

  • Nosema
  • American Foulbrood
  • European Foulbrood
  • Deformed Wing Virus
  • Chronic Bee Paralysis
  • Black hairless syndrome
  • Sacbrood
  • Chalkbrood
  • Starvation
  • Chilled

Pests

  • Recognizing the symptoms &/or pest
  • Life cycle (developmental and reproductive needs of the pest)
  • What the causes are
  • What the effects are
  • What a beekeeper can do to reduce the incidences and/or relieve the effects of the pests

NOVEMBER

And QUEEN REARING Discussion

  • Different Methods: Doolittle, Miller, etc.
  • Raising your own
  • Understanding the math
  • Understanding mating
  • Genetics
  • Understanding artificial insemination (pros and cons)

DECEMBER

Holiday Dinner Party, Honey Tasting, & Beekeepers Gift Exchange Location TBD

Please check Facebook and this sites home page for monthly updated location information

Our Mailing Address:

Lower Eastern Shore Beekeepers Assoc.

Wicomico County Office, P.O. Box 1836 Salisbury, Maryland 21802-1836