We have merged our blog and our website. 
From now on look for our news at www.wncbees.org.

BCBC Field Day, June 8

(Remember there is no June meeting at Groce UMC)

Join us for our field day on Saturday, June 8th

10:30 am to 2:00 pm

at the Swannanoa 4H Center

170 Woodland Drive, Swannanoa

Bring your own picnic lunch and your bee suit.

Join us as Edd Buchanan guides us through installing a package, making a split and catching a swarm.

Janet Peterson will be leading the Certified Beekeeper Practical Tests for those who have signed up with her.

There will also be no meeting at the church in July.  

Monthly meetings will resume at Groce UMC on August 5.

May BCBC meeting

Join us for our May BCBC meeting.  We will have a two part program.

Phyllis Stiles will share highlights of Bee City USA's recently released "Recommended Native Pollinator Friendly Plant List for Greater Asheville".Then Dr. David Cypcar from Allergy Partners of WNC will talk to us about allergies and allergic reactions in bee keeping.

For more on Bee City USA, check it out at www.beecityusa.org/resources  Asheville is the first of what the Bee City USA Steering Committee hopes will be many Bee City USA designees.  The program encourages city leaders to celebrate and raise awareness of the contribution bees and other pollinators make to our world, asserting that if we reduce pesticide use and plant a diversity of native plants rich in nectar and pollen, we will help both native and honey bees, as well as thousands of other pollinator species.

7:00 pm on Monday, May 6th at Groce United Methodist Church
at 954 Tunnel Rd in Asheville, NC.  Come early at 6:30 for informal mentoring, conversations about your bees, and an opportunity to talk to other beekeepers.

April 1 BCBC meeting

Join us for our April BCBC meeting

7:00 pm on Monday, April 1st at Groce United Methodist Church
at 954 Tunnel Rd in Asheville, NC.

Our international beekeeper, Lady Spirit Moon, will share with us about her travel to Senegal, Africa to help beekeepers develop sustainable business in beekeeping.

We will take some time to welcome our new members who just finished beginning bee school, and will break out in regional/neighborhood groups to see who keeps bees in our local areas.  We'll also take some time for question and answers.

Come early at 6:30 for informal mentoring, conversations about your bees, and an opportunity to talk to other beekeepers.

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Bee School March 23rd & 24th

This Spring's School will be open to all - and held in the auditorium of the Folk Art Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway in Asheville, NC on Saturday, March 23 from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM and Sunday, March 24 from 12:30 PM to 4:30 PM. The School will cover basic beekeeping with an emphasis on preparing first time beekeepers for the challenges of this rewarding activity.

Cost is $45 per person - which includes $10 membership in a local Beekeeping Chapter. Experienced beekeepers interested in a "refresher" course are welcome - at a discounted rate of $35 per person if they are dues paid members of a local Association.

Please register online, then pay with credit card using the PayPal button - or print the form and mail with check to: 2013 Bee School, Center for Honeybee Research, 22 Cedar Hill Road, Asheville, NC 28806. Please do not mail cash.

Look forward to seeing you there!

Where: Folk Art Center, mile post 382 Blue Ridge Parkway, Asheville NC

When: Sat. & Sun. March 23 & 24, 2013

Cost: $45 per person

Register: Online or through the Mail

Click here to register:  http://centerforhoneybeeresearch.org/Happenings/2013BeeSchool.aspx

This event is necessary to complete the Certified Beginner Level of the Master Beekeeper Program! Take the written test on April 2 at the Extension Office on 94 Coxe Avenue and the practical-in-the-hive test at our June 8^th field day at the 4H Camp in Swannanoa. You must sign up with the Education Secretary, Janet Peterson first. (janetpeterson9@bellsouth.net)

Master Beekeeper Program

What’s all the fuss about the Master Beekeeper Program? As a BCBC club we want you to grow in your bee knowledge and one way to do that is to participate in the stair-step, well-thought-out program that has made our state NCSBA a leader in the bee world. Read more about it on our website, www.wncbees.org

 

To complete the Certified Beginner Level you will need to attend a Bee School and we just happen to have one on March 23-24.  Sign up here:

http://www.honeybeeresearch.org/Happenings/2013BeeSchool.aspx

Take the written test on April 2 at the Extension Office on 94 Coxe Avenue and the practical-in-the-hive test at our June 8^th field day at the 4H Camp in Swannanoa. You must sign up with the Education Secretary, Janet Peterson first. (janetpeterson9@bellsouth.net)

            To complete the Journeyman (woman) Level you can take the written test on April 2^nd but you will have to take the practical test at the next NCSBA meeting. The best notes to study for both tests are here: http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/entomology/apiculture/Bee_notes.html

Journeyman applicants will need 5 service credits. Here are two immediate opportunities to get these under your belt:

Talk to second grade at Glen Arden Elementary school. Contact dynamite teacher Andrea Bassett at andrea.bassett@bcsemail.org

The Buzz on Bees event is coming up at Chimney Rock Park on April 27, 11 am - 3 pm. Last year, the event featured bee hives, chats with local beekeepers, displays about the basics of beekeeping and honey production. The focus would give information about how people can help bees.

Phyllis Stiles <beecityusa@gmail.com> wants to partner with someone to go. Contact her and Dayna  <daynareggeropr@gmail.com> who is organizing the event.

March 4, 2013 BCBC Meeting

Join us Monday for a program by the brilliant Diane Almond on "The Forager's Shopping Cart."

Did you know that water foraging bees spread their load on the brood and ‘lash’ their tongues to cool the young? And did you know that nectar foragers that take the last bit of nectar mark the flower with a pheromone so foragers that follow won’t bother to stop? Most of us learned that bees forage for four items: nectar, pollen, water and resin (propolis). But how do they know what to collect, how much, when, where? And what does the hive do with these resources? Here’s a in-depth look at some of the amazing details involved in the dynamic deployment of the foraging force which can number in the 10's of thousands, and some ways we can put this info to use as beekeepers. We'll touch on some of the fascinating research in Wisdom of the Hive (Thomas Seeley) and The Buzz About Bees(Jurgen Tautz).

7:00 pm on Monday, March 4th at Groce United Methodist Church
at 954 Tunnel Rd in Asheville, NC.
Come early at 6:30 for informal mentoring, conversations about your bees, and an opportunity to talk to other beekeepers.