Johnston County Beekeepers Association

Four Oaks is determined to put a honey bee ordinance in effect at the next meeting (June 10, 2013 @ 7:30pm). The one they presented at the last meeting was very stringent.  It would have to have all landowners within 450 ft. radius agree to allow anyone to keep bees.

As Dr. Ambrose recommended, they may go and modify Cary’s.  Sherry (town clerk) called me and said Cary’s allows from 1 to max of 3 hives per lot, based on the size of the lot.  When I Googled Cary’s honeybee ordinance, the ordinance it came up with was 2 hive to 8 hive maximum – and that’s what Charles Heatherly said Cary went with.

So, I believe they will present the 1-3 hive range at the June 10th town council meeting. It is an open forum for public comment, so anyone (even people in another town and county) may speak for or against the ordinance and for no ordinance.

So, if anyone would like to show up at the Four Oaks town meeting, they are welcome to show up and speak, or just show up.It is at 304 N. Main Street, Four Oaks, NC on June 10, 2013 @ 7:30 pm. If people would like more information, they can email me at alhildreth@embarqmail.,com

Thanks,
– Al Hildreth

June 8- Saturday 9am – 1pm

Swarm Out Session:

Queen Rearing Demo with Rick Coor of Spring Bank Bee Farm

- Hosted by Tom & Kim Underhill of Big Oak Apiary of Raleigh, of John 15:5 Farm located at 2633 Branch Road in Raleigh, NC 27610

- Rick will be here in Raleigh, demonstrating techniques of Queen Rearing, grafting, processing, and all the steps in between required to raise your own quality queens.

- Rick is a pillar of the Bee Keeping Community and has invaluable knowledge to share. Rick believes and lives by paying it forward. He makes all efforts to help, mentor and assist bee keepers of all levels to further their bee keeping education, techniques, and experiences.

-Cost: $10.00 per person – with the proceeds to be donated to Dr. Tarpy’s Bee Research Lab.

- Register by emailing Tom & Kim Underhill: 

- Cash only please

Johnston County Beekeeper’s Association Meeting Announcement 

Date: May 20, 2013

Time: 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Location: Johnston County Agricultural Center (2736 NC Highway 210, Smithfield, NC 27577)

Speaker: Amie Newsome; Commercial Horticultural Extension Agent for Johnston County

Topic: ”The Mother of All Bees”

Description: In honor of mothers every where, this months meeting will be all about the Queen Bee herself.

Special Notes: This event is free and open to the public.  We hope that you can make it.

Contact: Amie Newsome with Johnston County Cooperative Extension Service for more information at  or 919-989-5380

The Chatham County Center of North Carolina Cooperative Extension will offer a Hands-on Queen Rearing Workshop for Beekeepers from 10:00 am-3:00 pm on Saturday June 1 in the auditorium of the Agriculture Building in Pittsboro.

The workshop will be repeated on Monday June 3 so participants can choose the date that best suits them.

This is a hands-on workshop so class size is restricted to 25 participants for each session. Each step of the process will be demonstrated in the bee yard and participants will have an opportunity to practice grafting. Register early to reserve your space.

The workshops will be taught by North Carolina State University Apiculture Technician Jennifer Keller. There are many benefits to raising your own queens: you will always have one on hand when you need it, you can save money, and you can pick whatever characteristics are important to you and breed to that.

This workshop is for beekeepers who understand the basic principles of queen rearing and want an intensive hands-on experience.

Details are on Cooperative Extension’s Growing Small Farms website at http://go.ncsu.edu/gsfworkshops

The deadline for registration is May 29, but the workshop is likely to fill up so don’t wait until the last minute to register!

Equipment:

• Capture swarms
  • Have extra equipment on hand
  • Empty hives
    • Be prepared to collect your own swarms

Tasks:

• Bees swarm in May!  BE AWARE!!!!!
  • Way for honey bees to multiply
  • Does not mean you are a bad beekeeper
  • Bees swarm, it is in their nature
• Implement a swarm control strategy
  • Important steps for trying to prevent a swarm
  • Must provide room for hive to expand
• Swarms can happen throughout the spring and summer
• Beware of swarm preparation signs
  • Queen grows smaller in size
  • Slows egg laying down significantly
• Check for swarm cells
  • Continuously every week or so
  • Remove any swarm cells found

Hive:

• Honey super management
  • Honey supers should be added by May 1^st
    • Put on as many as you want
      • Good practice to have two
        • Sometimes three or four are needed
    • Check supers before you add
    • Move less full frames from the outside of honey super to the center
      • Bees fill frames from the center out
      • This will allow for more frames of honey to be filled quicker
    • Add a super when 6 – 7 frames are filled
      • 1/2 – 2/3 frames filled with honey
  • Place the new super under the partially full one
    • Place on top of hive body full of brood
    • Place partially filled super on top of the new empty super
  • Don’t wait to add supers
    • May miss some nectar flow
  • Check hive body
    • If suspect a problem look at brood laying patter of queen during honey flow