Within a hive there are three types of bees. The queen, drones, and worker bees. There is only one queen in a hive, is female, and lays eggs to produce more bees. About 15% of the hive population are drone bees which are male and their only job is to mate with a different queen. Finally about 85% of the bees are female worker bees and they do all of the work around the hive. They take care of the brood, clean and defend the hive, and gather pollen and nectar.
There are numerous factors to consider when determining where to place your hive(s) which include they physical location, bee needs, and human needs. A good starting point is to do an internet search to determine if your local community has set guidelines for maintaining hives. Allouez Wisconsin, for one, has a number of rules to be followed.
Location
Bee Needs
Human Needs
The following video discusses the most basic bee equipment that a first time beekeeper will need. You will learn about different personal protection gear, gloves, hive tools, bee brushes and smokers.
The short answer is that honey can contain a bacteria that babies digestive systems are not yet developed enough to handle. The learn more click here.
April Kustov, Wisc State Hive Inspector, spent 2 days with BCBA members inspecting hives and sharing her knowledge. April was thorough and focused during hive inspections and spent a generous amount of time with each beekeeper, explaining and demonstrating as they went through each hive.
She also was our featured speaker for the BCBA meeting (Wednesday 8/21/2019) There was plenty of good conversation, great questions and valuable learning for all attending. THANK YOU April ! So nice having you with us !
BCBA participating in GIRL SCOUT Journey!
The Brown County Beekeepers Association recently partnered with Girl Scout Troop 4679 from West De Pere, WI to assist troop members on their Girl Scout journey. The members Brooklynn Steier, Nicki Waystedt, and Skylar Schultz, participated with BCBA club members to construct, paint and install a hive as part of their Outdoor Journey. The Girl Scout Outdoor Journey is focused on environmental stewardship. The girls learn how to care for our planet by minimizing our ecological impact and to be an advocate for nature. Working with BCBA is a perfect fit for the girls to complete their Journey due to the important role bees play in our environment. The girls certainly have talent painting and were very engaged in installing the nuc in their new home.
Each year the Brown County Beekeepers Association recognizes one of its members for their knowledge of bees, for exceptional contributions to the club, and dedication to continuing their personal education.
This year’s selection is Carl Fisher. As a member of the club since 2017 Carl has worked tirelessly the last two years as coordinator for the Introduction to Beekeeping class, volunteered to be a member of the nominating committee, lead the audit committee and learned about marking queen bees before conducting a Meeting Before the Meeting on queen marking for club members.
Previous honorees:
2017 – Lynn Lindgren
2016 – Dave Doering