Forsyth Beekeepers Club helps Little Mill Elementary obtain and maintain their very own hive!!
Here is an update from our President Nedal:
Scott Garchow’s Science Connections Enrichment class started working on a honeybee project back in 2019. The first group of students to work on the project spent an entire semester getting permission to have bees at school. The students had to get approval from the top to the bottom and every step in between. By the time our club was contacted, the students had received the required approvals and a very tall screened chain link enclosure, monitored by camera, had been constructed behind their classroom. Through the first part of 2020, the club provided consultation and mentoring to the students and donated four copies of First Lessons in Beekeeping. After COVID hit, the project was paused, but the students got back to it last fall. The club continued mentoring and consulting as the students continued to accumulate the knowledge and equipment needed before getting their bees. Early in 2021, the students let us know they were ready for bees and the club offered to donate a nuc. On April 26th, 2021, me, my youngest beekeeper, Sam, and Bill Dunn were there as the students received and installed their first colony. Bill returned the following week for their first hive inspection. All is going well according to the reports from the class. “Kids are having a lot of fun”, according to Mr. Garchow. Hopefully, this is just the start and soon our club will be assisting more Forsyth County Schools with getting their own hives going. All thanks to determined students at Little Mill Middle School. Thanks and congratulations to them!
May 27th 6:30 pm Zoom Meeting
David McLeod, President of Potato Creek Beekeepers will discuss Varroa Management with us.
David is an Alabama native. He has been a beekeeper since he was 13 years old. He also runs Georgia Wildlife Services and concentrates on stinging insect removal.
Hive Management
June - July
The main activity honey-wise in Georgia at this time is sourwood in the mountain regions and cotton in the areas of Georgia south of Perry. In some years these flows are significant. Sourwood begins within the first two weeks of June and may last through July. Cotton runs about mid-July to mid-August.
Most beekeepers remove all spring honey before moving hives to the mountains or supering them up for sourwood. Pollination may draw some revenue, especially with cucurbit crops such as pumpkin.
Hot, dry summers can be stressful on bees. The beekeeper can help by providing water in entrance feeders. If robbing gets started in an apiary it is important to tape shut all gaps and cracks that permit foreign bees to harass a colony.
Fire ants may get aggressive in drought conditions, and the beekeeper can respond with mound treatments of Amdro™ or similar fire ant baits. In areas with small hive beetles now is a good time to treat soil surrounding hives with the nematodes, Steinernema riobrave and Heterorhabditis indica, available from organic gardening catalogs.
ttps://bees.caes.uga.edu/bees-beekeeping-pollination/getting-started-topics/getting-started-a-synopsis-of-bee-management-in-georgia.html#June
PS…..DON’T FORGET TO WATER YOUR BEES!!!