The Stinger - Newsletter of the Alabama Beekeepers Association. Newsletter of the Alabama Beekeepers Association.

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1 April 2017 Newsletter of the Alabama Beekeepers Association Inside This Issue Letter from the President by David Ellis Letter from the Secretary by Susan Ellis Letter from the Vice-President by Bill Evans Letter from the Treasurer by Bonnie Funderburg Letter From Editor by Jerry Carter Season of the Swarm by Geoff Williams and Jack Rowe Regional Beekeeping Organizations Updated by Jerry Carter In the Kitchen by Alabama State Beekeepers...And More!!! April 2017 Page 1

2 Letter from the President Well, Spring is here and the nectar is flowing in most of the state, I hope you have your hives in great shape for the honey flow. Check on them and add supers as you need them, if you don't have enough supers or other supplies, then you can order them from Rossman or Kelly Bees and they will bring them to the annual picnic on April 29th. The picnic is a great way to meet other beekeepers from around the state and get the latest info on what is happening through out the state. The David Ellis picnic will be held at Lanark Park Pavilion in Millbrook, Alabama, This is a beautiful new park and is located in the central part of the state. The Alabama Beekeepers Association will provide the meat and drinks, please bring you favorite side dish and your best desert if you can. I am looking forward to seeing each of you that can make the meeting. I always enjoy the picnic and time spent with fellow beekeepers. I am going to try to get one or all of the state bee inspectors to come to the picnic and give us a report on how thing are going all around the state. Thanks! David Ellis ABA President Letter From The Secretary Alabama Beekeepers, I hope that everyone has marked their calendars for the upcoming ABA state picnic. The picnic will be on Saturday, April 29, at the Alabama Wildlife Federation State Headquarters, Lanark Pavilion located at 3050 Lanark Road Millbrook, Al. Hours are 11:00 a.m. until 2:00 please bring a covered dish. I hope to see everyone there. Susan Ellis ABA Secretary April 2017 Page 2

3 Letter from the Vice President I recently learned that Jim Pitts, Director of the Chilton Research and Extension Center in Thorsby, is retiring by the end of this year, after more than three decades in that position. As a result, this year there will be no Farm, Home, & Wildlife Expo held on the first Saturday in August, as there has been for the past several years. The Alabama Beekeepers Association has maintained a presence there with a tent that has grown larger every year. Beekeepers from Bill Evans around the state have contributed sample containers of honey for taste testing by those attending. It has become one of the more popular exhibits there and I, for one, will miss having the opportunity to introduce beekeeping and local honey to the public. Jim assures me that he will suggest to his successor that the event be continued next year but there is no assurance that it will be reinstated. On a happier note, I have confirmed that both Rossman and Kelley will be at our picnic on Saturday, April 29th in Millbrook, so order your supplies and equipment before then and have them delivered without having to pay freight charges. Also, Bonnie has arranged to have a Beekeeper Band to come play for our entertainment. We hope to see many of you there. Check our website for details. Bill ABA Vice President Letter from the Treasurer The Alabama Beekeepers Picnic is scheduled for April 29th from 10 AM to 2 PM at the Lanark Pavilion in Millbrook where we went last year. Jerry will have driving directions elsewhere in the Stinger. Everyone is asked to bring a covered dish. Hal Hendrix is cooking the BBQ and the Alabama Beekeepers Association will be providing the Paper Products, drinks and buns. There will be tables and chairs there for everyone. We will be having Freddy Clowdus from the Blount County Beekeepers Association playing with a couple of other band members with him. He played for us at the picnic a couple of years ago. April 2017 Page 3

4 Bonnie Funderburg The Lanark Pavilion is very nice and I hope all of you will make a special effort to be there. Rossman Apiaries and the Kelley Beekeeping Company will be there bringing preordered items. It is a great time to save on shipping costs. We will have a booth set up to accept dues for Alabama Beekeepers or so you can have a chance to buy some of our Alabama Beekeepers Apparel. Hope to see you there. Bonnie Funderburg ABA Treasurer Letter From The Editor As promised here are the directions to the Lanark Pavilion DIRECTIONS TO LANARK FROM I-65 NORTH FROM MONTGOMERY: Take I-65 North to Exit 179 (Prattville/Millbrook) Turn right (go east) on Cobbs Ford Road approximately ¼ mile and turn left on Edgewood Drive (first paved road to the left past Chevron). At the T in the road, go right approximately ½ mile and turn left onto Lanark Road. Stay Straight on Lanark road- do not turn right or left. Follow the signs to parking area. FROM I-65 SOUTH FROM BIRMINGHAM: Take I-65 South to Exit 179 (Prattville/Millbrook) Turn left (go east) on Cobbs Ford Road approximately ¼ mile and turn left on Edgewood Drive (first paved road to the left past Chevron). At the T in the road go right approximately ½ mile and turn left onto Lanark Road. Stay Straight on Lanark road- do not turn right or left. Follow the signs to parking area. Back in March the Alabama Beekeepers Association sent out a notice that Fred Harrison had died. I had the privilege of meeting Fred at a queen rearing class I was covering for this newsletter. I would like to add my condolences to his family. I have added some updates to the regional beekeeping association s list. Thank you to everyone who sent in corrections and new club listings. Be sure April 2017 Page 4

5 to check and see if there is a club in your area. If there isn t maybe someone will take the initiative and get one started. I also have two new contributors to The Stinger. Geoff Williams and William Jack Rowe have teamed up to write a beekeeping blog. For those of you who do not know these two...you will. I have included a brief bio of both men on the next page. They are a great resource for Alabama Beekeepers to draw knowledge from. Because we are in Swarm Season I have reprinted their blog on Swarms. I would like to thank Auburn Cooperative Extension System, Auburn Bee Lab, Geoff Williams, and Jack Rowe for their contribution to The Stinger. I look forward to reading more of their blogs. Look for the links to more of their blogs after the Season of the Swarm part and lastly I would like to say I hope you all come out to the picnic, if you can. As beekeeping becomes more challenging it is nice to know others are working through the same problems. The meetings the ABA have are a great way to learn, share, and help each other through all the beekeeping woes we all have in common. Jerry Carter Upcoming Events Alabama Beekeepers Association Picnic...Saturday, April 29 th For details on events or to add your event call Jerry Carter at or to: carterbees@charter.net There are sure to be a lot of Spring and Summer fairs and festivals, send them in early!!! You might be a beekeeper if You eagerly await the phone call from the post office asking you to please come pick up your bees. Your friends and neighbors think you are the answer to every swarm and beesin-the-wall problem. There is a bucket of something in your garage that can only be good for smoker fuel. You are called "the Honey Man," or "the Bee Lady" by a lot of people who don't know your name. April 2017 Page 5

6 Geoff Williams Assistant Professor Insect Pollination & Apiculture Department of Entomology & Plant Pathology Auburn University, Auburn, AL Born and bred in Canada, Geoff experienced his first bee sting at the ripe age of 23. He has been hooked ever since. His graduate studies at Canada s Dalhousie University improved our understanding of the fungal parasite Nosema ceranae, and his post-doc work at Switzerland s University of Bern and Agroscope was the first to discern the potential damaging effects of neonicotinoids on honey bee reproduction. Now at Auburn University, Geoff represents the College of Agriculture s first ever faculty member that specializes in bee health. He is looking forward to immersing himself in all that Alabama beekeeping has to offer! William (Jack) Rowe Regional Extension Agent Forestry, Wildlife and Natural Resource Management The Alabama Cooperative Extension System, 8300 Highway 104, Fairhope, AL wjr0001@aces.edu Community-Forestry/ Jack is a native of the Eastern Kentucky Mountains and was educated at the University of Kentucky, where he got a little too interested in insects and trees, finally working his way through a Masters in Horticultural Entomology. Beekeeping is only one focus of his work. Jack also is a Master Arborist and serves as Urban Forester to 16 rural towns in Southwest Alabama and writes and lectures on community trees and tree care for the Cooperative Extension. April 2017 Page 6

7 Season of the Swarm Part 1: What the?!?! By William Rowe 1 & Geoff Williams 2 1 The Alabama Cooperative Extension System, Fairhope 2 Department of Entomology & Plant Pathology, Auburn University, Auburn So far 2017 is full of Earliness. Early Spring, early blooming, early bee colony build-up, early mite populations, and definitely early swarming. Reports of swarms in late January and early February across southern Alabama were surprising. They provoked us to write about what you should expect from your colonies during this time of year, as they start to experience nectar- and pollencollecting opportunities. Swarming is honey bee colony reproduction - each departing swarm is a young animal (or super-organism) venturing off to find its start in life. Ain t Nature grand? Now that Spring is in the air and a young, uh, colony s thoughts turn to love (ok, bluntly, reproduction), you as a beekeeper must turn your thoughts to its management. It s kind of like you parent s out there trying your best to manage your spirited teenage children. Sometimes you get it right! Sometimes you don t! You just try your best. The first swarms of Spring will cost each colony its queen and a large proportion of its worker population anywhere from 40 to 80%. Coupled with the departing bees is a drop in stored honey because the departing workers consume and store it in their honey-crop to use it as fuel to start anew. Furthermore, there will be a break in the brood cycle because the new queen needs time to get up and running! New beekeepers tend to regard honeybee swarming as something to worry about. Sure enough, even a wise beekeeper needs to consider swarming. As you might imagine, the loss of so many bees from a colony sets back its ability to collect and store honey and pollen, which of course also affects its ability to pollinate. Also, the colony will be busy raising brood to rebuild the population, further consuming resources. This diminishes the potential pounds of honey you can take from the colony during the spring season! Another problem of swarming, particularly for hobby beekeepers maintaining bees in populated areas, is how fear inducing they are to the general populace. Although swarms are by nature gentle (they don t have a nest to defend), they can set up shop in many places. The most natural space we all think of is a hollow tree trunk (Fig 2). April 2017 Page 7

8 Figure 2. A worker honey bee guards her nest in a tree cavity. Photo by G. Williams. But, they can also set up just as easily in the walls of buildings, attic spaces, out buildings, utility boxes, and so on, so long as the space is acceptable to them. Colonies in our buildings and structures cause many problems, not the least of which is the expense of tearing the structure apart to get the bees and their comb out. You don t want to be the person responsible for someone having to pay to have a wall torn out (Fig. 3). If you are not working to control your swarms, you are also potentially promoting honey bee parasites and diseases. Feral honey bee colonies are not usually successful these days. In fact, they tend to be local sources for Varroa mites, small hive beetle, foulbroods, Nosema, and other diseasecausing organisms to bees. Figure 3. Honey bees of all species can set up shop in precarious places. This Giant honey bee Apis dorsata colony built its nest on a hotel balcony in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Keeping hives on your suburban or urban lot is fine, as long as you adhere to your municipality s bylaws, follow proper beekeeping practices, and are considerate of others. Not managing your bees to reduce swarming is, plain and simple, negligent. Good beekeepers manage their swarms as much as they can. That doesn t mean you have to get every last swarm. But, you owe it to your bees, yourself, and everyone around you to try your best. If for nothing else, do it to avoid potentially awkward encounters with your neighbors (Fig. 4). April 2017 Page 8

9 Figure. 4. Honey bee swarms can land in inconvenient places. Photo from Wikimedia Commons Stay tuned for why and how our colonies swarm in Part 2. Further resources Seeley, T.D Honeybee Democracy. Princeton University Press, 280 pp. Public lecture (Accessed 9 April 2017) Graham, J.M. (Ed.) The hive & the honey bee. Dadant & Sons, Inc., Hamilton IL pp. Geoff Williams and William Jack Rowe Check out to read part 2 of this blog and other informative blogs by William Jack Rowe and Geoff Williams. You can also find them on Facebook at auburnbees/ I spoke with Geoffrey Williams through and he will be at the picnic. If you see him, let him know how much we appreciate the time and effort he puts into Alabama Beekeeping. Jerry April 2017 Page 9

10 Hello Beekeepers: Registration for the 2017 Young Harris College & University of Georgia Beekeeping Institute opened on Monday afternoon, March 13th. This year's institute will be held May 10th through May 13th in Young Harris, GA. View the program (subject to change) here: young-harris/documents/beekeepinginstitutesinglepgsforweb.pdf Registration details and a link to the registration form will be posted at the bee lab website here: If you have any questions please contact Bear and Mary Beth Kelley at greenabaco@gmail.com Registration will fill up quickly, so be sure so sign up early! See you all there! The Young Harris Bee Lab To all beekeepers: Please be sure to come to the one of the largest beekeeping conferences in the US. It is being held at the University of Delaware, in Newark Delaware July 31 thru August On Monday and Tuesday there is a Short Course program for beginners, intermediate and advanced beekeepers. The Master beekeepers program is also given these days. The Main Conference starts on Wednesday and ends on Friday with keynote speakers Wednesday and Thursday morning. Please come for one or more days. A one day registration is just $65 and the Main Conference or Short Course is $175. All five days is $250. The Short Course attendees are also invited to stay Wednesday to listen to the keynote speakers and spend the rest of the day in classes. We have evening activities as well, including Tales in the Apiary, Dancing with the bees with Cliff Sunflower, Beeopardy (bee Jeopardy) with Howland Blackiston (author of Beekeeping for Dummies) and Next Gen Social evening with Sarah the bee girl. We have field trips to Nemours Mansion, My Cuba and Liquid Alchemy Mead April 2017 Page 10

11 Maker. Buses will be provided and sign-up is required as seating is limited. We have many, many great speakers including : Debby Delaney, Tom Seeley, Jen Berry, Marla Spivak, Mike Palmer, Jim Tew, Clarence Collison, Jay Evans, Tammy Horn, DE beekeepers and more. We will also have over 30 of the finest beekeeping supply vendors in the country. They will be selling all of their goods on-site. You also don't want to miss the Thursday Evening Auction & Buffet and the Friday Evening Awards Banquet. And please don't forget the honey show. See website for details. You must be a member of EAS to attend the conference. Membership is just $25 for a family of four. Click here to learn more about the conference Click here to become a member page After you become a member, you will receive an in order to set you initial password. You will then be able to log on to the registration link and register for the conference. Click here to register for the conference conferences/eas-2017/2017-registration.html and click on online registration or 2017 mail-in form. If you want to become a volunteer for the conference, please me at rjb.bauer@gmail.com see attached for volunteer activities. Volunteering can reduce or eliminate your conference costs. Please help us make this a wonderful event. Please note that the conference has a maximum enrollment of 600, and last year in New Jersey we hit that number, therefore be sure to sign up early to ensure your spot at this exciting and educational event. See you in Newark!! Bob Bauer EAS President 2017 April 2017 Page 11

12 Regional Beekeeping Associations Alabama Mountain Beekeepers Association meets the second Monday of the month at 6:00PM; 1590 Tabor Road Cut Off, Gadsden, Al Barbara Pavey: President; Baldwin County Beekeepers Association--meets the first Monday of the month at 6:45PM; PZK Hall, Al hwy-104, Robertsdale, Al Rebekah Hargraves: President; Bibb County Beekeepers Association meets the first Thursday of the month at 6:30; Cahaba Lily Center on Main Street in West Blocton, Al. David Hamm: President; ; Blount County Beekeepers Association meets the fourth Thursday of every month, except November and December, at 6:30; Blount County Resource Center, US Hwy 231, P.O. Box 188, Cleveland, AL Jerry Carter: President; ; Central Alabama Beekeepers Association (Montgomery, Elmore and surrounding counties) meets the fourth Thursday of the month at 6:00PM; Elmore County Extension Office, 340 Queen Ann Rd., Wetumpka, Al Allyson Andrews: President; Chilton County Beekeepers Association meets the first Thursday of every month at 6:00PM; Clanton Recreation Center, 309 1st St., Clanton, Al. Larry Wyatt: President; Choctaw County Beekeepers Association After several attempts no current information is available. If you have any information please send to Clarke County Beekeepers Association I have a report of a club meeting in Clarke County, but was unable to confirm. If you have any information please send to carterbees@charter.net Cullman County Beekeepers Association meet the second Tuesday of the odd numbered months (January, March, May...ect.) at 6:00PM; Main ALFA Building, 307 Main Street, Cullman, Al. Phillip Garrison: President; East Alabama Beekeepers Association meets the second Tuesday of every month at 6:30PM; Ashland Housing Authority Meeting Room, 35 East Circle Drive, Ashland, Al, Luke North: President; Contact Jeff Monroe for more information: Cell or office jmonroe@firerescuehelp.com April 2017 Page 12

13 Etowah County Beekeepers Association meets the first Thursday of the month at 6:30PM; Carnes Rec Center, 102 Case Ave. SE, Attalla, Al., David Kelton: President; ; Jackson County Beekeepers Association meets the first Thursday of every month at 6:30PM; Jackson County Farmers Federation Building, John T Reid Parkway, Scottsboro, Al. Keith Fletcher : President; keith.fletcher@mda.mil Jefferson County Beekeepers Association meets the third Thursday of every month except December at 6:30PM; Birmingham Botanical Gardens, 2612 Lane Park Road, Birmingham, AL David Ellis: President; jeffcobees@jeffcobees.org Limestone County Beekeepers Association meets the second Thursday of every even month (Feb, April, June...ect.) at 6:00PM; Limestone County Water Authority, Hwy 72, West Athens, Al, Lionel Evans: President; lcbees.al@gmail.com Lower Alabama Beekeepers Association (Butler and surrounding counties) meets the second Saturday of odd numbered months (January, March, May...ect.) at 2:00PM; Antioch Baptist Church, 2303 Old Stage Rd., Greenville, Al. Ralph Pugh: President; Madison County Beekeepers Association meets the second Thursday of every odd month (January, March, May...ect.) at 6:30PM; Huntsville Botanical Garden, 4747 Bob Wallace Avenue, Huntsville, Al. Ricky Walls: President; ricksmailbag@yahoo.com Mobile County Beekeepers Association meets the second Thursday of the month at 6:45PM; Grace Tabernacle Church, 2001 Dawes Road, Mobile, Al. Johnny Johnson: President; contact Jane Spicciani for information; janespicc@gmail.com Monroe County Beekeepers Association No information, club appears to be inactive. Please send any information to carterbees@charter.net Northeast Alabama Beekeepers Association (Calhoun and surrounding counties) meets on the second Thursday of each month at 6:30PM; Calhoun County Administration Building, County Extension Auditorium, 1702 Noble Street, Anniston, Al. David Goodson: President; contact Jerry Gilbert for information jerry@gilbertandco.com Northwest Beekeepers Association no longer active per a former member; If you have any further information on this organization please send to carterbees@charter.net St. Clair County Beekeepers Association meets on the fourth Thursday of odd months (January, March, May...ect) at 6:30 PM; Riverside Marina Building across the April 2017 Page 13

14 street from the Riverside Fire Dept. Lat. N , Long. W Jimmy Carmack: President; ; Sand Mountain Beekeeping Association (Marshall and surrounding counties) meets on the third Thursday of each even numbered month (February, April, June...ect.) at 6:30PM; Guntersville Public Library, 1240 O Brig Avenue, Guntersville, Al Bob Cole: President; ; honeyandbees@charter.net Saugahatchee Beekeepers Association (Lee and surrounding counties) meets the first Tuesday of even months (February, April, June...ect.) at 6:00PM; Lee County Extension Office, 600 7th Street, Suite 4, Opelika, Al. Samantha Shaw: President; gregsamshaw@gmail.com Shelby County Beekeepers Association meets the second Thursday of each month at 6:30; Hope Christian School, 419 Philippians Blvd, Pelham, AL George Baldwin: President; ; shelbybees.org Southeast Alabama Beekeepers Association (Coffee and surrounding counties) meets on the first Thursday of the month at 7:00 PM; Coffee County Extension Office, 1055 East McKinnon Street, New Brockton, Al. Tim Faulkner : President; ; timfaulkner@aol.com Contact: Phillis Wilson: Secretary; for more information Southwest Alabama Beekeepers Association (Escambia and surrounding counties) meets the Third Monday each month at 6:30; Pentecostal Holiness Church, 839 Palafox St, Flomaton, AL Bill Blair: President ; blairmobile@yahoo.com Tallapoosa River Beekeeping Association (Tallapoosa and surrounding counties) meets the third Thursday of every month at 6:00; Dadeville Recreation Center, 116 Kids Ct, Dadeville, AL. Keith Robinson: President; ; rangerkr@hotmail.com Tennessee Valley Beekeeping Association (Lawrence and surrounding counties) meets on the second Thursday of every even numbered month (February, April, June...ect) at7:00pm; Moulton City Hall, 720 Seminary Street, Moulton, Al. Jo Ann Clark: President; Contact David Hicks for more information; hicksdp@juno.com The Queen s Castle Beekeeping Association (Escambia and surrounding counties) meets the last Saturday of the month at 9:30AM; US Hwy 29 Andalusia, AL Annie Jo Peavey: President; contact number (OJ and Lucy Blount) Tri County Beekeepers Association (Lamar, Fayette, and Marion Counties) meets the third Tuesday of the month at 6:30PM; Crossville Community Center, State Highway 18, in East Lamar County. Patti Butler: president; April 2017 Page 14

15 Walker County Beekeeping Association meets the fourth Monday of every month at 6:30PM (except July and December with a picnic to be scheduled in July); Ext Svc Bldg, 1501 N. Airport Road, Jasper, AL. Lonnie Funderburg: President; ; funder@otelco.net West Alabama Beekeepers Association (Tuscaloosa and surrounding counties) meets the third Thursday of the month at 6:00PM; Tuscaloosa Extension Auditorium, th Street, Tuscaloosa, Al Vince Wallace: President; ; wallacebees@gmail.com Wiregrass Beekeeping Association (Houston and surrounding counties) meets on the first Thursday of the month at 7:00PM; Houston County Extension Office, 1699 Ross Clark Circle, Dothan, Al. Steve Loveland: President; contact at wiregrassbeekeepers.com/contact...and for our friends near Douglasville Ga. West Georgia Beekeepers Association meets the fourth Monday of the month at 6:30; American Legion, 6449 Bankhead Hwy, Douglasville Ga. For more information contact Marilynne Parker, President I have tried to verify every organization on this list, please look over your club s information and let me know if there are any mistakes. If you are a member of an organization not listed please let me know. If you would like to add any contact information or other information to your organization s listing, please send to carterbees@charter.net or call me at Any club listings with no information will be removed from this list after this issue!! Please help us keep this list up-to-date. Thank you to everyone who sent in corrections and updates to this list. Jerry Carter If it is Sunday morning and rainy and you find yourself on the way to the beeyard and not to Church, you just might be a beekeeper. When you buy groceries and it consists of 50 bags of sugar you might be a beekeeper. If you are overheard talking about killing the queen and replacing her with a virgin, and nobody calls the cops you might be a beekeeper. April 2017 Page 15

16 In the Kitchen The following recipe was submitted to Lonnie Funderburg for The Stinger in 2009 by Col. Fred Fulton. 1 nine inch unbaked pie shell, chilled 1 1/2 cups honey 1/4 cup melted butter 1/4 tsp. salt 1 tsp. vanilla Pinch of nutmeg 3 eggs 1 cup chopped pecans Honey Pecan Pie Cream together honey, butter, salt, and nutmeg. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Add pecans and beat well. Pour into pastry shell. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes, 300 degrees for 20 minutes, 250 degrees for 10 minutes, or until filling is firm. 2 Cups Milk Strawberries with Honey Ice Cream Delight 2 Cups Fresh Strawberries washed with stems removed, mashed ½ Cup Honey 4 scoops vanilla Ice Cream In a blender combine milk, mashed strawberries, and honey, whip until smooth, then pour into cold glasses. Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream to each glass. Makes 4 serving. Submitted by: Susan Ellis April 2017 Page 16

17 I will be having a two day Queen class April Friday & Saturday starting at 8:30 am each day and finishing up around 5:00 pm. The class is almost full, limited to 20 Beekeepers. We will cover several methods to raise Queens and Drones. We will cover the equipment needed, grafting tools, and much more. After lunch Saturday we will pull frames of fresh laid eggs/ larvae and practice hand grafting and learn how to mark your queens. For class schedule visit our web site lookoutmountainhoneybees.com after April 16. We have made arrangements for anyone that needs to stay over night at a special room rate. The class is $ per person which includes lunch for both days, breakfast, snacks, drinks, door prizes, and grafting tools. To register call or honeybees60@gmail.com. Also, I will be at the ABA picnic on the 29th of April. If you need any supplies give me a call or your order and I can deliver them to you at the picnic. We have a full line of beekeeping supplies to chose from. Thanks FOR BETTER BEEKEEPING David Kelton April 2017 Page 17

18 Queen Rearing for the Small Scale Beekeeper Sponsored by: Rockhurst Farm Sandhurst Bee Company Jefferson County Beekeepers Association Dates: Saturday, April 22 Sunday, April 23, Registration fee: $200. Location: Rockhurst Farm, 4165 County Hwy 51, Wilsonville, Alabama (More info about location can be found at rockhurstfarm.com) Rearing your own honey bee queens is one way to improve the health and productivity of your colonies. This hands-on course is designed to give beekeepers the knowledge and skills to raise queens in small or large beeyards. Topics for this course include the biology of honey bee reproduction, equipment and supplies needed, selecting breeder stock, drones, Cloake board use, grafting (hands on), queen mating, and marking queens. Instructors for this course include Georgia-certified Master Beekeepers John Hurst and Michael Steinkampf (course directors). This course will be limited to 12 students to ensure hands-on experience with grafting and hive manipulations. Although there are no specific requirements for registering, students should have at least a basic knowledge of beekeeping practices....i attended this class last year and did a write-up of it, you can check it out in the August 2016 issue...for more information or to see if there are any spots left contact Dr. John Hurst at Phone: (205) (text message preferred) dochurst51@gmail.com Jerry Membership Report Members as of 02/19/ New Members -24 Non Renewals -212 Members as of 04/17/ April 2017 Page 18

19 Rear your own queens using the cell punch method. No tedious transferring of delicate larvae. This kit includes the cell punch tool as well as some other useful items to get you started raising queens. Also included is 2 pages of instructions with color photos. To obtain your kit send $20 plus $2.50 shipping and handling to: Wil Montgomery 1401 Lakemont Drive S. Southside, Alabama Kit will ship the next day Looking for something? Check the classifieds. Do you have something to sell? List it in The Stinger Send listing to carterbees@charter.net or call April 2017 Page 19

20 The Stinger 216 Hershel Drive Gardendale, AL Place Stamp Here