Agriculture and Natural Resources
Bee Keeping Series
Bee Keeping Seminar Series Starts in January. Call for more information. (434) 969-4261.
What’s Buzzing in Buckingham?
By Doug Ladd
So what’s buzzing in Buckingham? Well last month’s class at the Buckingham Extension Office! Last month Jennifer Ligon and Doug Ladd hosted a hand’s on Honey Bee class which included five honey bee hives. With around 20 people the class went great.
Half of the class was dedicated to a class-room discussion on the different types of equipment available, their use, and the life cycle of the honey bee. We were also very fortunate to have Keith Tignor the VA State Apiarist on site to discuss pest management as it pertains to our local area and to work with the class during the hive inspection portion.
The latter half of the class included a “guided” tour through active honey bee hives with everyone able to work a hive if they wanted. By working with someone in a real hive with brood, larva, eggs, honey, pollen, etc everyone can feel confident going into their own hives when they start next spring! By the way did you know you should be ordering your equipment this winter and placing orders for bees in February??
One of the things I find with most new beekeepers is their confusion primarily revolves around the “language” beekeepers use. Having a selection of the different equipment available and working a live hive as we did in the class is a huge advantage for the new beekeeper starting out. It helps them decide how they want to keep bees from the start. As with most adventures into new and sometimes intimidating territory, having a plan up front before you get started can save many frustrating hours and dollars.
In closing I want to mention one of the most important things new and existing beekeepers can do is to join their local club which can be found at http://www.virginiabeekeepers.org/ under “local groups”. Bee’ing an active member of a club will greatly improve your chances of success. So please take the time each month to actively participate in your local group, research, research, research, and ask tons of questions. Beekeeping is always evolving and it creates a great opportunity to learn things far beyond honey bees. I personally never realized how many things bloom in the spring, summer, and fall until I paid attention to my Maple trees humming with life in the early spring!
I look forward to seeing many more new faces in the upcoming classes! And if you’re close to the Prince Edward Extension office next to Lowes in Farmville on the first Tuesday of every month at 7pm stop in and introduce yourself to me (Doug Ladd) and the Heart of VA Beekeepers! For more information on upcoming Bee Classes call the Buckingham Extension Office at (434) 969-4261.