Worcester County Beekeepers Association

NEXT MEETING - Saturday, June 1 at 1:00 PM

183 Randall Road, Berlin, MA (Home of Peter Hoffman)

From 1-4pm our presenters will do 30 minute demonstrations on a live hive on four issues that beekeepers face from July-October. Please bring hors d'oeuvres and desserts to share -- how about honey recipe desserts!

Click here for more information and directions, or see the Spring Newsletter (directions are not in the newsletter.)

MA BEE AWARE SURVEY -- deadline May 31st

Have you filled out the Massachusetts Bee Aware Honey Bee Health Survey?  Please help the bees and the beekeeping community by filling out this online survey about colony health for the 2018-19 season.  You will receive a free "BEE AWARE" sign upon survey completion!

Take the survey here

Honey as a Wound Dressing

Did you miss our February meeting? Would you like to get another look at those great slides from Drs. Allen and Jane Dennison? You can find them here.

2018 WCBA memberships expired on December 31, 2018

The WCBA bylaws were changed during 2018 so that the membership year is now the same as the calendar year. This means that 2018 memberships are officially expired as of December 31, 2018.

RENEW ON LINE

You will be taken to our membership web site to enter your information and create an online profile, if you don't already have one. WCBA does not store your credit card and we will never share your personal information with any third party.

To renew by mail please print and fill out the form found here and mail with your check.

77th Annual WCBA Bee School

Bee School is finished for the year. Congratulations, Bee School Graduates!

WCBA EXTRACTORS

WCBA has several extractors available for rent to our members. For details see here.

HONEY BEE SWARM COLLECTION AND COLONY REMOVAL

Honeybee swarms are a natural process where the bees divide their colony and half of them leave home along with their queen, to start a new hive. Before they find their new space, they may hang around in a temporary spot for a few hours. If you see a honeybee swarm, keep your distance and please don’t panic--they are normally fairly gentle. Do call a beekeeper who will come and get them.

A list of Worcester County Beekeepers who are on call to collect swarms can be found here. Most will also travel to nearby towns.

Sometimes a swarm will decide to take up permanent residence inside a structure such as in the walls of a house. If you are in need of someone to remove a colony and the associated honeycomb from a structure, please see this link.

Legislative update

MA bill H.4041 did not get a vote in the House during the session ending 7/31/18. The new legislative season is upon us and we are restarting our efforts to pass reasonable pesticide restrictions in Massachusetts. Please check the WCBA Spring 2019 newsletter for a full legislative update.

SLIDES and VIDEOS from PREVIOUS MEETINGS

Insurance For Beekeepers (April 2018) -- Wendy Ashe of A&B Insurance in Westford

Beekeeping Insurance Info

Temperature Probes for your hives (April 2018) -- Max Weagle, WCBA Director

HIVE INSPECTIONS

The MA apiary inspection service will be available soon. If you are interested in having an inspector check your hive, or any hive that died, please submit an online inspection request here:

MDAR Apiary Inspection Request Form

You can also call 617-626-1801 to request a visit from an inspector.

MA POLLINATOR PROTECTION PLAN

The MA Pollinator Protection Plan has been released and can be found at http://www.mass.gov/eea/docs/agr/farmproducts/apiary/pollinator-plan.pdf

DOES YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS NEED UPDATING?

If your membership is up to date but you are not receiving club emails (quarterly newletter & important announcements), please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  to update your email in our records.

NEXT MEETING - Saturday, June 1 at 1:00PM

183 Randall Road, Berlin, MA (Home of Peter Hoffman)

Topic 1: Dick Callahan--Evaluating your queen and requeening

Topic 2: Mary Duane--Evaluating mite levels in your hive and treating for mites

Topic 3: Dave Lewcon--Swarm prevention methods

Topic 4: Bill Crawford--Making a split the correct way

Please bring hors d'oeuvres and desserts to share -- how about honey recipe desserts!

Also bring your homemade meads for everyone to try with shot cups. Ken will taste the meads for a Best of the Day prize.

Directions to Peter Hoffman's home

From Route 140 North and South. Take Route 70 East toward Boylston Center. Continue on route 70 until you come to Route 62. Take a right on Route 62 and follow it for 5-6 miles until the STOP Sign just before the railroad tracks. Take a left at the STOP Sign and follow for ¼ mile. Take a right onto Randall Road. At the Fork Randall Road bears to the right. Follow to 183 Randall Road.

BE SURE TO SAVE THESE DATES FOR UPCOMING MEETINGS AND EVENTS

Indoor monthly meetings and many of the Special Events of the WCBA are held at the Knights of Columbus Hall, Manville Street, in Leicester, Massachusetts.

From Webster Square in Worcester: Follow Route 9 West into Leicester. Two miles from the town line turn right onto Manville Street, just after Entwhistle’s Garage. Entrance to the Knights of Columbus is 1/2 mile up on your left.
From the Spencer or Leicester area: Follow Route 9 East. Turn left onto Manville Street, just before Entwhistle’s Garage. Entrance to the Knights of Columbus is 1/2 mile up on your left.