Welcome to Beekeeping

Always start your day with your favorite caffeinated drink!

A look into the art and science of keeping honey bees!

Presented today by: Bob Borkowski

• Beekeeper since 1998, started as a 4-H project with my son.

• Student at the Institute of Applied Agriculture, Sustainable Agricultural Business Management major

• Veteran owner of B & B Apiaries, where our hobby is turning into a retirement business.

Why keep honey bees?

One honey bee makes 1/12 of a teaspoon of honey in its lifetime

Ancient cave paintings depict humans “robbing bee trees” for honey.

Ancient Egyptians traded honey in commerce.

Honey is mentioned five times in the Bible.

John the Baptist survived in the wilderness on wild honey and locust!

And who could forget this famous honey robber of all time !

According to the National Honey Board beekeepers fall into three categories.

• Commercial beekeeping operations: these are your migratory beekeepers who provide most of the national pollinations services. They run 300 + colonies in their operations.

• Sideline beekeepers: local beekeeping operations running between 25 and 300colonies for local pollination and honey production.

• Hobby beekeepers make up 95 % of beekeepers managing up to 25colonies at a time, usually in their backyards or other small locations.

Honey Production

Beekeeping in the Mid-Atlantic States

Honey production in the Mid-Atlantic States is mostly in flowering trees:

Black Locust Trees (Amber honey)

Tulip Poplar Trees (Dark Amber)

American Holly Trees (Water white honey)

Basswoods (an early blooming tree)

Sourwood (typically in the Appalachian areas)

Black Locust, Robinia pseudoacia Tulip Poplar, Liridendron tulipifera American Holly, Ilex opaca

Flowering trees for honey production in Maryland

Pollination of Crops

Honey bees facilitate cross pollination

Colony Collapse Disorder

• Phenomenon first discovered in 2006

• Lots of research was initiated to discover a cause

• No real hard facts as to why this occurs, a host of possibilities exist

• Top of the list is Nutrition, Parasites, and Pesticides

• Visit PlosOne.org to see some of the latest honey bee research

There are three species of honey bees used in Maryland

Italian Hybrid: Carniolan Italian Bee Russian

These species have favorable traits, mostly they are gentle to work with and overwinter well.

You’ll need some equipment to get you started!

Outer CoverInner Cover

Section (comb) Honey Super

Shallow honey super(liquid honey

Queen Excluder (optional)

Brood or Deep Super ( Queen egglaying and raising young bees andreplacements

Bottom Board (solid or screened)

Hive Stand (optional)

Let’s Order Some Honey Bees

Three ways to obtain honey bees:

• Three Pound Packages

• Nucleus Colony

• Whole Colony

Swarms are also good way to obtain bees but a bit riskier

Catching Honey Bee Swarms

Not for the faint of heart!

LOCATION LOCATION LOCATIONYou’ve ordered your equipment and your honey bees now, you need a place to put your new colonies

You first need to orient your hive entrances towards the South, Southeast

Away from areas of high winds (hill tops) and cold stagnate air (near gullies)

There are three caste of honey bees in each colony:

• An average colony contains 60,000 honey bees

• They are the workers, infertile females 60,000, the queen, the only fertile female, and the drones, haploid males 300-1,000

300-1,000 up to 60,000 1

Brood area of a frame of honey bees

Starter Queen Cells, made by the bees

Artificial Queen Cells

An Italian Queen

A Carniolan Queen

A Russian Queen

Harvesting Honey

The beginning of the harvest, or extracting process

Cutting away the wax capping

Bottling Honey

Products of the Hive

Butterfly gardens will attract honey bees and other pollinators

Let’s not forget Bumble Bees

Need we say more !

Beekeeping Clubs in Maryland

There are local, county-oriented beekeeping clubs across Maryland. This is your chance to meet beekeepers, understand beekeeping in your local area, and perhaps get some experience at working with bees while getting early access to Spring beekeeping instruction.

ALLEGHENY MOUNTAIN BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION, President: President: Walter Shreeve, bshreve@atlanticbb.netANNE ARUNDEL BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION, Lindsay Barranco, lbarranco@comcast.net,APPALACHIAN BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION, Acting President: Hop Cassidy, hopsshop@verizon.netASSOCIATION OF SOUTHERN MARYLAND BEEKEEPERS, President: Chip Whipkey (240) 925-2196, ralphwhipkey@gmail.comBALTIMORE BACKYARD BEEKEEPERS NETWORK, President: Beth Sherring, bethsherring@gmail.comBUMBA: BOWIE UPPER MARLBORO BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION, President: Robert Greenwell, (410) 279-308, rfgreenwell@aol.comCARROLL COUNTY BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION, President: Fred Sypher, Info@CarrollCountyBeekeepers.orgCENTRAL MARYLAND BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION, President: Roger Williams, president@centralmarylandbees.orgDC BEEKEEPERS ALLIANCE, Toni Burnham, dcbees@dcbeekeepers.org, (202) 255-4318FREDERICK COUNTY BEEKEEPING ASSOCIATION, President: Rose Aurigemma, info@frederickbees.orgHOWARD COUNTY BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION, Jason Ellis, hocobeekeepersassoc@gmail.comHAGERSTOWN VALLEY APIAN SOCIETY, President: Mark & Sara Gibson (301) 371-0811, mgibson@comsearch.comLOWER EASTERN SHORE BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION, www.lowershorebeekeepers.orgMONTGOMERY COUNTY BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION, President:Tim McMahon, timmcmahonbeekeeper@gmail.comSUSQUEHANNA BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION. President: Harry Dutcher, bspaboy@comcast.netBEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA, www.beekeepersnovaWYE RIVER BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION, Contact: BeeGeorgehoney@hotmail.comBeekeeping "Short Courses" in Maryland (next sessions in 2015)