Why be a Beekeeper?... Honey bees are key pollinators of 1/3 of our food, worth over $15 billion to our food supply, and responsible for 3.5 million acres of crops. Beekeepers practice environmental stewardship and increase the natural population of bees, which are experiencing a difficult era due to imported mite and beetle pests and diseases, CCD, pesticides, GMO crops, reduced habitat, pollution, and even climate change. Thorough pollination produces increased quantity and quality of a home garden’s fruits, vegetables and nuts, including increased seed production resulting in larger, tastier and more regularly shaped produce. Bees pollinate many of our native plants as well. A well managed hive, urban or rural, can produce 3-10 gallons of honey local natural honey with unique benefits for your family and for marketing. Crafts, cosmetics, polishes and other products can be created from honey and beeswax. Beekeeping is a fascinating, challenging, and relaxing hobby and a great family, youth group, or retired couple project that promotes environmental awareness and animal husbandry. The Pineywoods Beekeepers Association … Established in 2001, PBA is comprised of hobbyist and commercial beekeepers from several surrounding counties. Attend meetings that include educational and informative programs and speakers, panel discussions, equipment sourcing and field days. Pineywoods Beekeepers Association Bee School 2015: Our tenth basic course in beekeeping with hands-on training and sourcing of bees for your own hive ~ Network with fellow beekeepers, keep up with regional techniques, and use our free lending library of beekeeping VHS/DVD’s. Hands-on opportunity to learn basic beekeeping at our Spring Bee School. Help maintain multiple PBA educational/honey production hives in Lufkin and the permanent Win Day Observation Hive at SFASU Mast Arboretum in Nacogdoches. Participate in community events such as the 4H Beekeeping Class, SFASU ‘Bugs, Bees, Butterflies & Blossoms’ and local festivals, demonstrating our portable observation hives. Honey bee on ornamental pear blossom ~ Photo M C Kocyan Include your family at our meetings, in our Youth Program including hive and bee colony acquisition, Field Days, Summer Picnic and Christmas Dinner. Annual dues $10 for email members and $16 for postal include our newsletter, The Bee Line. Be our guest the second Thursday each month, 7pm-9pm, Angelina County Chamber of Commerce ~ see if beekeeping is for you! Henry Reynolds with a hive frame of honey ~ Photo M C Kocyan Contact for class information: [email protected] 936-632-2272 Three-day course with class instruction at AgriLife Community Room 2107 South Medford, Lufkin Next to Angelina County Farmers Market, East side of Loop 287 April 18, 2015 10:00 am – 5:00 pm April 25, 2015 10:00 am – 5:00 pm And Hands-on Hive Practice at PBA Fairview Bee Yard, Lufkin May 2, 2015 10:00 am till end of Q&A’s! Textbook included: Honey Bees and Beekeeping: A Year in the Life of an Apiary by Keith S. Delaplane, PhD Course Outline I II Why keep bees Bees and the History of Beekeeping A. What exactly is a Bee B. Bees as social insects C. Honey Bee Biology D. Races of Honey Bees E. History of Beekeeping III Getting Ready A. Beekeeping Tools and Clothing B. Standard Hive Parts and Configuration C. Building and Purchasing Equipment D. Hive Location E. Preparing Feeds and Medications F. Buying Mature Colonies IV Installing Package Bees and Swarms A. Ordering Packages B. Installing Package Bees C. Releasing the Queen D. Medicating Hives E. One Week Check F. Installing Swarms V Spring Management of New Colonies A. During the first three weeks B. Three week check C. Equalizing colonies D. Minimizing Robbing E. Nectar Flows and Supering F. Nine Frames vs. Ten Frames G. Mowing Grass H. Moving Hives I. Weather VI Honey Bee Diseases and Pests A. American and European Foulbrood B. Nosema C. Chalkbrood and Sackbrood D. Wax Moths E. Tracheal and Varroa Mites F. Small Hive Beetles G. Fire Ants H. Africanized Bees I. Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) VII Late Summer and Autumn Management A. After the Nectar Flow B. Medications and Miticides C. Retiring Poor Colonies D. Winter Preparations VIII Management in Winter A. Warm days in Winter B. Late Winter Management IX Spring Mgmt for Overwintered Colonies A. Basic Spring Management B. Importance of Queens and Re-queening C. Using Nucleus Colonies at Spring Buildup D. Preventing Swarms E. Dividing Colonies X Harvesting and Selling Honey A. How bees make Honey B. Judging Honey Quality C. Harvesting Honey Supers D. Removing Excess Water E. Extracting Honey F. Beeswax G. Comb Honey H. Selling Honey Course Demonstrations Protective Gear / Minimizing Stings Hive Components / Smoking the Hive Evaluating Frames / Pest Management Managing a Hive / Honey Harvesting Application for PBA Bee School 2015 Please print clearly: Name: _________________________________ Address: _______________________________ ______________________________________ Phone: ________________________________ Email: _________________________________ $60 Fee includes Course, Textbook, and 2015 PBA membership thru December. ($50 course fee for current PBA members.) Register to reserve a textbook and class seat. Immediate family member may sit in and audit. Bee Veil Apparel, Bee Gloves, Hive Tool, Smoker, and Hive Components purchased separately. Bee Colony purchased separately. A list of limited regional sources of bee colonies (available early May) will be supplied. Reserve colonies as early as possible. Beekeeping not recommended for persons highly allergic to bee or insect stings. Mail Check or Money Order payable to Pineywoods Beekeepers Association to: Marie C. Kocyan PBA Program Coordinator 124 John W. Wallace Road Huntington, TX 75949-2656
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