by David s. Schultz

Fall came on quickly this year with its wet and chilly weather. The reaction of our honey bee colonies was to crowd together for warmth and safety. Challenges are on the horizon for our bees, but we have great methods to counter them. Imagine a place where a group exists of like-minded folks interested and invested in the success of our favorite past time, beekeeping.  The great thing is, we don’t have to imagine this place as it exists in your local and state-beekeeping associations. Because of these great and invaluable groups, we beekeepers have great resources at our fingertips. 

Beyond the beekeeping associations we have apiary inspectors that work on the beekeeper’s behalf to identify bees that are not healthy and to work with the beekeepers and associations to promote healthy beekeeping practices. We also have a great number of Master Beekeepers in Maryland whose mission is to help educate the general public and beekeepers about our bees, pollinators, and pollinator plants and habitat. 

I have met and worked with so many beekeepers and have every confidence that the great beekeepers of Maryland will rally together when we are called to confront the challenges facing our bees. As winter approaches let’s crowd together for warmth and safety and support our local and state beekeeping association meetings. I hope to see all of you at our November MSBA meeting.

David S. Schultz