Category: Beeline

Fieldwatch’s BeeCheck App for Maryland Beekeepers

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At the February 2, 2019 MSBA Meeting, Maryland State Apiarist Cybil Preston will introduce us all to the Fieldwatch/BeeCheck application. Fieldwatch’s mission is “to develop and provide easy-to-use, reliable, accurate and secure on-line mapping tools intended to enhance communications that promote awareness and stewardship activities between producers of specialty crops, beekeepers and pesticide applicators.” BeeCheck is an application for beekeepers that is meant to support “Communication + Cooperation + Collaboration = Successful Co-existence.” In her presentation, Cybil will help us learn how to log in and register Read More …

2019 Winter Meeting February 02

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EXPERT presenters will include:
Dr. Samuel Ramsey, cutting edge VARROA MITE researcher expert.
William Sprenkle, QUEEN REARING and evaluations.  How to improve your own stock, Mark Dykes, Bee Squad coordinator for the vanEngelsdorp Bee Lab, and Cybil Preston, MD Apiary Inspector. Read More …

President’s Letter, January 2019

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by Jim Fraser A new year, 2019, is upon us and I hope it brings good things to you and the rest of our fellow beekeepers. We have experienced a fairly mild winter so far, yet as I write this it is freezing outside and they are predicting at least one Polar Vortex event. When you have time, “bee” sure to check your bees for adequate food stores. My bees are consuming fondant at a very fast pace. Don’t lose Read More …

MSBA Website Adds MORE Services

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MSBA now has special web pages to help you connect with other beekeepers and the public. Checkout these great NEW FEATURES…

… “LOCAL HONEY FOR SALE”….
“BUY/SELL BEES”… “MSBA ONLINE DIRECTORY”, and a lot more
Read More …

Free Bee Art

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The Art Institute of Chicago has made public 82,000+ high resolution digital images of paintings, prints and other artifacts. All are completely free to download and reuse. I typed “bee” into the search engine and was delighted to find this gem of a print from hundreds of hits. This is from 1578 by Joannes Stradanus, a Flemish artist who Read More …

Inspector’s Report

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What a crazy weather year! I was hearing about swarms all the way into September…WEIRD!!!!

Unfortunately I am again seeing a large number of “Fall Crash or “Fall Dwindle.” Without opening the beehive you’d think it is a fairly strong because robbing bees can make the hive look industrious. Some symptoms are more than a handful of dead bees in front of the hive with normal activity inside: upon inspection no bees at all meaning no brood no nothing. Some of these hives were treated for mites some were not. My diagnosis is that this is mite/viral load-related. Read More …