Thursday, October 31, 2013
Happy Halloween!
Monday, October 28, 2013
Nature's 3D Printers...
Nature's 3D Printers, Using Honeybees to Create Art...
This blog content comes to us from INDULGD
We think of 3D printing as a recent development, but for nature it has been part of history for millenniums. Simple honeybees have been using 3D printing for as long as man can remember, but no one seems to take notice, except Dewar’s. The Dewar’s 3-B Printing Project was done in collaboration with Sid Lee Agency and Robin Theron, a master beekeeper. The concept was to have the bees create objects using their honeycomb building process. The team created inverted shapes that the bees used as the outer shell for creating their hives. When the process of building the entire honeycomb hive was complete, Robin Theron carefully calmed the bees with smoke and removed the outer shell exposing the 3-B printed sculpture. This series of sculptures is being kept on display for the Dewar’s company.
Just remember, the next time someone says 3D printing is futuristic, remind them it is also as old as honeybees. Check out the cool videos showing the 3-B printing process.
- See more HERE 
Friday, October 25, 2013
November Meeting & Recipe Contest...
&
HONEY
RECIPE CONTEST
When:
Thursday November 14th
Starting
at 7:00pm
Where: Willimanset
Heights
It’s time for our November
meeting. This time of year the activity
in your hives is winding down. The
colder weather will start the bees to cluster.
It’s time for us to put entrance reducers on the hives and make sure our
equipment is properly stored for winter.
And since the bees need less management now, we should all have some
free time on our hands (right? or yeah, right!).
Our November meeting theme is
going to be our HONEY RECIPE CONTEST! The
rules are simple… Bring a dish of your
choice, and the recipe MUST include honey.
There will be three categories: Appetizer, Entrée, and Dessert. Each member can enter as many dishes as they
wish. Everyone who attends the meeting
will have the opportunity to try all the made with honey goodies, and then
we’ll vote for our favorites. There will
be a first place winner in EACH category and the winners will receive….
$50 CASH!!!
Please bring a label for your dish
so we can see the name of your recipe and make voting easier. Please consider making “sample” size servings
of your recipe so everyone can get a taste.
If you’d like to share your recipe with the club, please bring
copies. Winning recipes will be posted
on the blog.
Bee well!
Jessica Martin
HCBA Secretary
(860) 978-5388
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
My Final (I hope) Sting of This Season...
I'm a cautious beekeeper, and I almost always wear all of my protective clothing when working with my bees, so I rarely get stung. My sting of the season was a good one though! I had closed up my hives and was putting my equipment away in the garage. All was well until I was getting out of my suit on our back deck before heading back into the house. One of my girls went rogue, and dive bombed my forehead as soon as I removed my veil. Didn't see it coming and she got me good. Just above my left eyebrow. Day two swelling pictured below...
Thursday, October 10, 2013
Extracting with the Gleasons...
Club member Dan Gleason was nice enough to share this video of his family's recent honey extraction. They got 40lbs this year! Nice work Gleasons!
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
October Meeting...
When:
Thursday October 10th
Starting
at 7:00pm
Where: Willimanset
Heights
It’s October and it’s time to meet
again! This will be our Big E follow up
meeting. For members who sold honey and
beeswax products at the Big E, checks will be available for pick up at the
meeting. Treasurer Cheryl Robare will be
ready to give us all the full financial report on the fair, so we can see how
we did. Did you work the Big E? It’s time to go over the pros and cons. How did we do, what can we do better, and what’s
really working great? We will also have
our annual post Big E auction. Left over
honey sips and candy will be available for purchase to the highest
bidders. There is usually something for
everyone, so bring your wallets! If you
have anything bee related you’d like to get rid of, feel free to bring that
too. We’ll auction anything! President Jeff Rys will be our auctioneer for
the evening.
Next, let’s talk about getting our
hives ready for winter! If you have
questions or suggestions concerning fall and winter management, please join us
at the October meeting for this discussion topic.
Bee well!
Jessica Martin
HCBA Secretary
(860) 978-5388
Sunday, September 29, 2013
Thursday, September 12, 2013
iPhone Cameras are Great!
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
Swarm Cells...
Club members Andy & Joyce are enjoying all the challenges of beekeeping in their first year. Wanting to experience all the things a new hive has to offer, they started two hives, one from a package and one from a nuc. Turns out the nuc has been non-stop excitement. I believe they're up to 3 swarms now. Andy was kind enough to send these awesome photos of their overzealous hive. Look at all those capped swarm cells! Luckily, these photos aren't too recent, and Andy & Joyce and one of those new queens seem to have everything under control for now!
Thanks to Andy & Joyce for sharing these photos and thanks to senior club member Eric Nitsch for taking a look at their hives and offering a helping hand.
Thanks to Andy & Joyce for sharing these photos and thanks to senior club member Eric Nitsch for taking a look at their hives and offering a helping hand.
Thursday, August 15, 2013
Insecticide?
Time magazine recently featured the honeybees' struggle on their cover. It's nice to see the subject getting more and more attention.
Unfortunately, some of what's killing the bees has recently directly effected one of our members. HCBA Trustee, Larry Borysyk, recently sent me this photo of the front of his hive.
All the bees on the ground near the hive are dead. Larry thinks they may be victims of insecticide. If so, let's hope the effects on the hive are limited and they recover and gain strength to be ready to over-winter!
Thanks for sharing this with us, Larry!
August Meeting...
When: Thursday, August 22nd
at 7:00pm
Where: Willimanset
Heights
Pizza and beverages will be
served!
Come help out and have some
fun!
We’ll be bagging candy in
preparation for the Big E, so while this will not be a regular meeting, we will
have the opportunity to discuss all things bee while we work. Come lend a hand, and get some last minute
tips for harvesting and fall and winter management.
Have you tested for mites yet? Treated?
Do you have honey? Have you
harvested? Getting ready to? Should you?
Can you borrow the extractor? Are
you feeding? Medicating? Are your hives in danger of robbing? When will you put on your entrance
reducers? Are you using a slatted or
screened bottom board? Should you
switch? Come one, come all! Some of us have questions, and other have
answers, new and experienced beekeepers come together and help each other out!
See you there! And don’t forget to volunteer for a shift at
the Big E!
Friday, May 31, 2013
June Meeting...
Hampden
County Beekeepers
When:
Wednesday, June 12th at 7pm
Where: Willimanset
Heights
Big
E Meeting
At this meeting, we will select our Big E committee, go
over the rules and regulations for Big E Sellers and volunteers, and vote on
spending some money in hopes of making the Big E more profitable for everyone
involved.
If you have any questions about what we do at the Big E,
or what to expect as a volunteer, or even how you can sell your own honey or
beeswax products in the HCBA booth at the fair, this meeting is for you!
I am proposing we spend an estimated $900 to buy custom
printed bright yellow bags to put our honey in.
Our customers will carry our bags around the Big E all day and advertise
for us, generating more visitors to our booth and more sales. At the meeting I will have a bag sample, and
price quotes. The treasurer’s report
will also be available for review at the meeting so you can see the finances
before you vote.
After the Big E discussion and the vote, we will have an
open forum bee talk. What’s on your
mind? What’s going on in your hive? Want to talk about swarm prevention? I do!
We will have pizza, salad and drinks.
All members are welcome to attend. Please RSVP to me by email or phone if you
plan to attend so we order enough food!
Bee well!
Jessica Martin
HCBA Secretary
(860) 978-5388
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Bill's GIANT Swarm...
This just in from Bill Crawford!
Bill stands 6 feet tall and this swarm is taller and as wide as he is! Unbelievable!
Bill stands 6 feet tall and this swarm is taller and as wide as he is! Unbelievable!
Thanks for sharing, Bill!
Thursday, May 9, 2013
My First Marked Queen...
The weather has been getting warmer finally, and while at first I had noticed my bees taking the opportunity to get out and stretch their wings, the last week or so, there seemed to be fewer and fewer bees leaving the hive. I had been checking in with and feeding my bees on Saturdays for quite awhile, and there seemed to be plenty of bees in the hive when I opened it. So I started to get nervous when as the weather got warmer, I wasn't seeing more and more bees leaving the hive. The field bees that were coming and going were bringing in pollen, a good sign, but the traffic still seemed light.
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Last weekend we had beautiful weather, a great time to find out what's really going on in there. I'll be honest, I was nervous to do a full inspection of my hive, afraid to confirm I might be losing it. So, I called on my support system, fellow HCBA members, Mike Feeney to help with the inspection and Sean Martin (also known as my husband) to take photos and have his shoulder ready just in case I needed to cry on it.
Mike's first suggestion for me was to reverse the position of my inner cover. I usually keep the notch on the inner cover facing the back of the hive so I have a rear entrance. Well when all the bees are using the back door, it's much harder to tell how many are coming and going. With both entrances facing the front of the hive, it's much easier for me to see who is coming and going without having to go into the beeyard. I agreed to changing the position of my inner cover, and we went out to open my hive.
.jpeg)
At first glance, things did not look good. As I feared, the number of bees in the hive appeared to be much fewer than the week before when I last fed them. Determined to find out what was going on, we pulled out each frame and meticulously looked them over. There were a lot of empty cells (too many if you ask me) but there were also plenty of pollen and syrup stores, one whole frame up top was almost completely full of syrup. Unfortunately, there were no signs of brood... Until one of the last frames out of the top box! Mike spotted some eggs in the lower cells and my spirits were lifted! What a relief to see those eggs! When we opened the bottom brood chamber, we found all the signs pointing toward "Queen Right"! More eggs, and larvae, and then, her majesty herself! Thank goodness. Mike is like a beekeeping boy scout and is always prepared, so when we saw the queen, he was already to trap and mark her.
I have never marked a queen in the past. My beekeeping philosophy is that if I can see all the queen right signs, I don't look too hard for her because I fear I may do something while searching to compromise her well being. But... there she was! And we were prepared! How often does that happen?
Ladies and gentlemen... Queen Daryl Palumbo
So we put everything back together, keeping all the brood in the center, and rearranging some frames so that some of the empty celled frames were closest to where she was laying.
Switching the inner cover really seemed to help too. Now I can see all the bees coming and going, and it already looks like more traffic than I originally thought.
Plus, I know I'm queen right, so I can relax... until next week!
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Beeswax Products...
At our final bee school session of 2013, HCBA's new President and first lady, Jeff & Pam Rys covered the topic of Beeswax Products. I grabbed a quick photo of their set up before they packed it up for the night...
When it comes to beeswax, Pam does it all! And since she's not busy enough with the bees and the HCBA, she also belongs to a Bull Terrier dog club. When they needed trophies for an event, Pam came through with her beeswax skills and made these...
When it comes to beeswax, Pam does it all! And since she's not busy enough with the bees and the HCBA, she also belongs to a Bull Terrier dog club. When they needed trophies for an event, Pam came through with her beeswax skills and made these...
Bull Terrier votive beeswax candles!
If you've got any questions about beeswax or beeswax products, Jeff and Pam have answers! Thanks to you both for sharing your knowledge and craft with us!
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Mike Trapped a Swarm...
HCBA member Mike Koleczek sent in this awesome photo of the first swarm he's captured in his trap...
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We'll have to find out what he using to lure them, because it looks like it's working good!
.JPG)
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
May and the Annual Meeting...
Because our time together from January through April is taken up with bee school, our May meeting is our first official club meeting. This year's annual meeting is important because we will be electing the Board of Directors who will hold office for the next 2 years. These meetings are less structured than our school sessions and are great asset for all members. As soon as the new officers have been locked into their positions, we'll choose our Big E Committee for this year's fair, and then have an open floor for Q&A and general bee discussion. I hope to see all of you there! Here's the official meeting announcement...
When:
Wednesday, May 8th at 7pm
Where: Willimanset
Heights
At our first post-school meeting on May 8th,
we’ll be holding elections for a new board of directors.
And the nominees are…
President… Jeff Rys
Vice President… Tom Flebotte
Treasurer… Cheryl
Robare
Secretary… Jessica
Martin
Trustees (3)… Lee Duquette, Larry Borysyk, Ron Willoughby &
Mike Feeney
As our out-going president, Jim Stefanik will be our 4th
Trustee
We have 4 nominees for 3 Trustee positions, and all of the
other nominees are running unopposed. We
do still have to make it official. Come
out and vote!
Once the new Board of Directors has been made official,
they will elect “The Big E Committee”.
The fair will be here before we know it!
After elections, we will have an open floor for Questions
& Answers, and we would also love to hear from our newest members about how
their first hive installation experience went... Hopefully the new bees are here by then.
Friday, April 26, 2013
Graduation Day...
Special thanks to new beekeepers Stefania Raschilla and Heather Bean for the adorable graduation cupcakes! You ladies rock!
Friday, April 12, 2013
Bee School Session 8...
When:
Thursday, April 25th at 7pm
Where: Willimanset
Heights
This
will be our 8th and FINAL session of bee school for 2013!
All members are welcome to attend.
HCBA Vice President, Jeff Rys will be back with his lovely
wife Pam to cover Beeswax Products and First Aid. This lesson will be followed by presentation
of bee school certificates, and the raffle for the new hive set-up.
At our first post-school meeting on May 8th,
we’ll be holding elections for a new board of directors. If you have any nomination ideas for
President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary, or our 3 Trustee positions, or
want to get involved yourself, please let me know.
I will have Mann
Lake
I will also have sign up sheets for the Sturbridge Village
Trip for anyone interested, just find me and ask!
Bee well!
Jessica Martin
HCBA Secretary
(860) 978-5388
Thursday, April 4, 2013
Bee School Session 7...
When:
Thursday, April 11th at 7pm
Where: Willimanset
Heights
This will be our seventh session of bee school for 2013…
getting closer to the end!
All members are welcome to attend.
HCBA Vice President, Jeff Rys will be back to cover Fall
& Winter Management and Honey Extraction.
HCBA member Lee Duquette will be in attendance with some
goodies to sell too. If you need pollen
patties, Lee’s got them for $2.25 a piece which is a steal considering the
retail price is $3.00! If you don’t need
a whole case, but need a little something to get your bees through this cold
spring weather, Lee is your man! PLEASE
BRING YOUR SINGLES and QUARTER so Lee won’t have to make change! He’ll also have single serving doses of
Fumagilin B if you need that.
Bee school will be over soon, and at our first post-school
meeting we’ll be holding elections for a new board of directors. Per our by-laws; “The Secretary and Treasurer may be re-elected
without limitation, subject to their willingness to serve, and doing so to the
satisfaction of the Association.” While each of the other offices “may serve no
more than 2 consecutive 2 year terms, however they may be elected again after
an interval of 2 years”. If
you have any nomination ideas for President, Vice President, Treasurer,
Secretary, or our 3 Trustee positions, or want to get involved yourself, please
let me know.
I will have Mann
Lake
I will also have sign up sheets for the Sturbridge Village
Trip for anyone interested, just find me and ask!
Bee well!
Jessica Martin
HCBA Secretary
(860) 978-5388
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Bee School Session 6...
When:
Thursday, March 21st at 7pm
Where: Willimanset
Heights
This will be our sixth session of bee school for 2013…
getting close to the end!
Ken Warchol will be back to cover Challenges of Beekeeping. Ken is always entertaining and educational,
so this class is not to be missed!
All members are welcome to attend.
I will have Mann
Lake
I will also have sign up sheets for the Sturbridge Village
Trip for anyone interested, just find me and ask!
Bee well!
Jessica Martin
HCBA Secretary
(860) 978-5388
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Bee School Session 5...
When: Thursday, March 7th at 7pm
Where: Willimanset Heights
This will be our fifth session of bee school for 2013.
HCBA Vice President, Jeff Rys will present Spring & Summer Management and Bears and Other Invaders. Jeff’s management presentations are some of my favorites, straightforward and informative. Don’t miss this one!
All members are welcome to attend.
Those who would like to are again invited to bring a snack to share.
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Bee School Session 4...
When: Thursday, February 21st at 7pm
Where: Willimanset Heights
This will be our fourth session of bee school for 2013.
Ken Warchol will be back to cover Dynamics of the Hive and Queens & Swarms. Ken is always entertaining and educational, so this class is not to be missed!
All members are welcome to attend.
Those who would like to are again invited to bring a snack to share.
Bee well!
Jessica Martin
HCBA Secretary
(860) 978-5388
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Bee School Session 3...
When: Thursday, February 7th at 7pm
Where: Willimanset Heights
This will be our third session of bee school for 2013.
HCBA Member Tom Flebotte will cover sources of bees and hive installation.
All members are welcome to attend.
Our last bee-school break was a huge success thanks to everyone who brought something! Those who would like to are again invited to bring a snack to share.
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Bee School Session 2...
When: Thursday, January 24th at 7pm
Where: Willimanset Heights
This will be our second session of bee school for 2013.
HCBA Members Tom Flebotte and Lee Duquette will cover the topics of PROTECTIVE CLOTHING and HIVE ASSEMBLY. Hammers are optional!
All members are welcome to attend.
Our last bee-school break was a huge success thanks to everyone who brought something! Those who would like to are again invited to bring a snack to share.
Bee well!
Jessica Martin
HCBA Secretary
(860) 978-5388
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
2013 Bee School Agenda...
The 2013 beekeepers school will be held at the Willimanset Heights Improvement League (WHIL) 118 Mount Vernon Road , Chicopee , MA , 01013
January 10
|
Introduction to
| ||||||
Speaker: Jim Stefanik - President
| |||||||
Topic 1 & 2
|
Introduction to Beekeeping
| ||||||
Speaker: Ken Warchol
| |||||||
January 24
|
Topic 1
|
Protective Clothing Speaker: Lee Duquette / Tom Flebotte
| |||||
Chapter 3
|
Topic 2
|
Hive Assembly Workshop – Bring a Hammer
| |||||
Speakers: Lee Duquette/Tom Flebotte
| |||||||
February 7
|
Topic 1
|
Sources of Bees
| |||||
Chapter 4
|
Speaker: Tom Flebotte
| ||||||
Topic 2
|
Installing Bees
| ||||||
Speaker: Tom Flebotte
| |||||||
February 21
|
Topic 1
|
Dynamics of the Hive
| |||||
Chapter 2
|
Speaker: Ken Warchol
| ||||||
Topic 2
|
Queens & Swarms
| ||||||
Speaker: Ken Warchol
| |||||||
March 7
|
Topic 1
|
Spring & Summer Management
| |||||
Chapter 5 & 8
|
Speaker: Jeff Rys
| ||||||
Topic 2
|
Bears & Other Invaders
| ||||||
Speaker:
| |||||||
March 21
|
Topic 1
|
Challenges of Beekeeping
| |||||
Chapter 8
|
Speaker: Ken Warchol
| ||||||
April 11
|
Topic 1
|
Fall & Winter Management
| |||||
Chapter 6 & 7
|
Speaker: Jeff Rys
| ||||||
Extracting Honey
| |||||||
Speaker: Jeff Rys
| |||||||
April 25
|
Topic 1
|
Beeswax Products & First Aid
| |||||
Speaker: Tom Flebotte & Kim Dermeski
| |||||||
Topic 2
|
Question and Answers, Certificates and Raffle
| ||||||
Speaker: Jim Stefanik
| |||||||
Outdoor Workshop: Date and Location to be announced
| |||||||
In case of snow call: Jim Stefanik @ 413-786-1790 OR Jessica Martin 860-978-5388
| |||||||
President:
|
Jim Stefanik
|
Vice President:
|
Jeff Rys
| ||||
Secretary:
|
Jessica Martin
|
Treasurer:
|
Cheryl Robare
| ||||
Directors:
|
Mike Koleczek
|
Tom Flebotte
|
Mark Ditzner
| ||||
Fair Directors:
|
Tom Flebotte
|
Jim Stefanik
|
Don Mayou
| ||||
DIRECTIONS: 118 Mount Vernon Road
From Route 91 Take I-391 toward Chicopee
Merge onto MA-141 /Grattan Street
Turn Left onto Rolf Avenue
Turn Left onto Dale Street
Turn left onto Mount Vernon Road
#118 is on the right hand side apx 1 mile
www.mapquest.com can also assist you in your driving directions.
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