Beekeeping News and Notes: February 2020
New varroa silver bullet? Nectar is hard! Too many bees? Almonds, Bt, pesticide concentrations. Read More …
Tag: February 2020
MSBA Long- and Shirt-Sleeved T-Shirts Available Again
Both long- and short-sleeved “I’m a Maryland Beekeeper” shorts are available again, both for delivery and pickup.
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Synthetic Drawn Comb: Contamination Concern
Recently, a relatively expensive foundation featuring drawn wax (but NOT beeswax) cells that are synthetically produced has come on the market. Beekeepers should be concerned to see synthetic wax combs on the market. Even if synthetic wax were chemically similar to beeswax and made of food- or pharmaceutical-grade ingredients, it is not beeswax. Using synthetic wax will degrade the quality of the products that beekeepers may give or sell to customers who expect a pure product made by bees. If Read More …
Beekeeping Humor, February 2020
Looking forward to a Spring 2020 with lots to smile about! Click on images to expand.
UMD Bee Squad Spring Management Class 2/22/2020
Want to get ready for spring but don’t know where to start? Come to our Spring Management Class! We will take a deep dive into everything you need to know to get your bees ready to have a happy and healthy year. To sign up please email us at beesquad@umd.edu
EAS In Orono: Make Your Plans!
We hear that the Eastern Apicultural Society 2020 Short Course and Conference in Orono, Maine August 3-7 is very popular, and local accommodations may be filling up fast! With the slogan, “come for the bees, stay for the vacation!” this EAS has its usual impressive array of internationally-recognized and crowd-favorite speakers, as well as a range of workshops and a children’s program. Among other super cool new features, the EAS team will be deploying a new smartphone app for the conference, Read More …
Mite Resistant Bees in Puerto Rico GOT Your help!
SUCCESS! Thank you to the many members who donated to this urgent cause. MSBA collected enough money to send emergency bee food to Puerto Rico’s unique bee subspecies. This fundraiser is now closed. Read More …
News from the Apiary Inspectors, February 2020
Cybil Preston, State Apiary Inspector, MDA Phone 410-841-5920, Fax 841-5835, Cell 410-562-3464 2019 Statistics: Maryland has 2,161 beekeepers registered, in 2,716 apiaries and 15,923 registered honey bee colonies. Mack and Tukka have inspected and certified 2000 colonies so far this winter! Apiary registration letters In December, the Maryland Department of Agriculture’s Apiary Inspectors Office sent out letters and registrations to all beekeepers who have been active during the last 5 years. Please do send in or email your signed registration Read More …
President’s Message, February 2020
New president, thanks to Jim Fraser, a winter that’s rough on stores, recent classes and more to come, February 15 meeting with Kim Flottum PLUS extra workshops. Read More …
President’s Message, February 2020
First, I must give a well-deserved appreciation to outgoing MSBA President Jim Fraser. His willingness to help any beekeeper, share information, and just generally be a great all around ambassador for Maryland beekeepers will be missed. I hope to learn from his example. Well: this has been an interesting winter. The weather has been up and down so much that our bees have been impacted. We are seeing bees going through their stores rapidly, and adding sugar blocks at a Read More …