Forsyth Beekeepers Club News

I would first like to thank everyone for allowing me to be your President this year. I will do my best to make it a great FBC beekeeping year. Jenifer Berndt has stepped up this year and accepted the nomination as VP and by your popular vote given her the opportunity to serve in 2025 as your FBC VP. Jenifer will be managing your meeting education each month this year so be sure and thank her for all those efforts as well as many other tasks she will perform to make FBC and better bee club. In December we had our annual board meeting and planning for our 2025 year at FBC. Those in attendance were Jen (VP), Teri (Secretary), Ryan (Treasurer), Bill (MAL), Andy (MAL), Lily (MAL), and myself. Our plan for 2025 includes our monthly meetings Jan through Oct, our two-day bee school, queen rearing class, disorder class, honey show, and our annual holiday dinner. We are putting together a partial schedule, and you may even have it by the time you see this newsletter. And for 2025 you should receive this newsletter one to two weeks prior to our monthly meeting. We are looking forward to a great 2025 beekeeping year.

It is now mid to late January, and I hope everyone has done the following. Fed their bees well in fall and have plenty of food on board now as the bees have begun their spring build up. They began their build up just after the winter solstice, which was Dec 21, at 4:19 am. And of course, treated our bees to mites in summer, maybe fall, and again in December. It also is a good idea to take a quick look into your hives on a warm day in mid-January to see that all is good. Plenty of food and more brood rearing. And since it is cold outside a good time to stay where it is warm and get all your equipment ready for spring and maybe build some new boxes. Also, if you are planning spring splits, and you have not ordered queens then you should do this now as most queen breeders will be out soon for spring deliveries.

Looking forward to seeing all of you on January 23rd to kick off our 2025 FBC year. Our speaker this month will be Peter Helfrich from MABA and will talk to us about “Native Bees.”

Best Regards,

Butch Shelton

Speaker Spot Light

Peter Helfrich is President of Metro Atlanta Beekeepers Association.

Peter is a backyard beekeeper with many years of experience. Along with the honey bee, Peter loves native bees. He sits on Decatur’s Bee City USA Committee to help ensure the community does all it can to preserve pollinators. Peter was Georgia Beekeeper Association’s Beekeeper of the Year for 2024.

Meeting Check-in

Please check in on the Wild Apricot App or the iPad FBC will have available.

If a guest does not have an account with FBC, please have the guest fill out their information on the note pad that will be provided.

This change in procedure will allow us to see our attendance numbers with greater ease than doing a 1-2- 3 head count.

Wild Apricot/Membership Software

Please go to

https://forsythbeekeepersclub.wildapricot.org, log in and update/enter your information.

Address, phone number, high school district etc.

Your information will be private to other club members, but keeping your information up to date allows the Board members to contact you should we need to.

Mentoring

Mentors will be assigned based on your Forsyth County high school district. When you fill out your membership form on our Wild Apricot Website, please fill in what district you reside in.

If you reside outside of Forsyth County, we will do everything in our power to assist you but cannot guarantee hive side visits.

Mentors will walk you through all aspects of beekeeping, from setting and selecting your apiary site to installing your bees to hive inspection and managing your hive. This service is provided free of charge to all paid members of FBC. Mentors are Certified and above. If you would like a mentor, please contact Teri Meyer and she will assign you to one in your area.

The private mentoring page (club membership form and paid dues required) ensures advice is sound, from experienced local keepers, and can be found here:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1037121333000214/

Bee School Day 1:

February 22, 2025, at the Armory.

100 Aquatic Circle, Cumming, 30040

9:00 am to 3 pm

This school is modeled from First Lessons in Beekeeping by Dr Keith Delaplane.

I encourage you to read this book before school. The club has a few copies and of course, Amazon.com.

The covered topics will get you through your first year of beekeeping. This is also a great refresher course for those eligible for the UGA Master Beekeeper Program Certified Beekeeper exam.

FBC will provide lunch and snacks also. If you have special dietary needs, please let Teri or Ann know.

If you would like to volunteer, please contact Bill Dunn.

Bee School Day 2:

Tentative date of April 26th with May 3rd as a backup date in case of rain.

Bill’s Pecan Orchard

Time: 9am-3:00pm

This is hive side, bring your smoker, veil, jacket, hive tool and questions.

Senior members of FBC will take you through the hive, then you will take us through the hive.

Bring a chair and a sack lunch and water/drinks.

Wear appropriate footwear (we are in a cow pasture)

Bring your bee suit, veil, gloves, hive tool, smokers.

The facilities are primitive. Sawnee Mountain is a short drive if you are not comfortable with the trees;)

Directions:

There is not a physical address for the property.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/2Jr4ZPD6MXUZtoXa9

From Dawsonville:

Highway 9 south, past Spot Rd, Antioch Rd, you will turn right onto Dr. Dunn Rd.

(across from Sawnee View Gardens Cemetery) At the end of Dr. Dunn Rd, turn right onto Bettis Tribble Gap. Look for the hive boxes just a few hundred feet from the turn.

From South of the Square:

Hwy 9 North, past the VFW, across Sawnee View Gardens cemetery, turn left onto Dr. Dunn Rd.

Turn right at the stop sign (Bettis Tribble Gap)

Please text/call if you get lost.

Teri

770-235-5985

Club Resources

(Available to paid members)

The Club Library includes books, magazines, DVDs, journals, and teaching hives.

Librarian: Lilly Turpin lillian1@mindspring.com 678-463-0907

Extractors are available for borrowing to paid members. Lilly hosts the extractor and equipment. Please email Lilly Turpin lillian1@mindspring.com to reserve the extractor. $20 cash deposit, returned to borrower upon cleaned extractor returned within 4 days.

2025 Club Officers

President: Butch Shelton butchshelton@bellsouth.net

Vice President: Jennifer Berndt

Secretary: Teri Meyer 770-235-5985 fbctreasurer1@yahoo.com

Treasurer: Ryan McDonald

Librarian: Lilly Turpin 678-463-0907

Members At Large: Bill Dunn, Andy Bailey, Butch Shelton

Member Products or Services:

Blue Ridge Honey Company Bees, beekeeping supplies Bob Binnie

706-782-6722

B & A Bees Honey and Hive Products Butch and Ann Shelton

770-366-3622

Bill’s Bees Honey and Hive Products Bill Dunn

770-630-2742

If you would like to have your inform

December 2023 Newsletter

Teri Meyer — Wed, 06 Dec 2023 01:50:00 GMT

fbcdec2023newsletter.docx

August 2023 Newsletter

Teri Meyer — Thu, 24 Aug 2023 18:41:39 GMT

fbcaugust2023newsletter.docx

2023 Honey Show Rules

Teri Meyer — Mon, 24 Jul 2023 01:27:35 GMT

FBC Honey Show Rules.docx

July 2023 NewsLetter

Teri Meyer — Mon, 24 Jul 2023 01:26:28 GMT

JulyNewsletter2023.docx

June 2023 Newsletter

Teri Meyer — Mon, 24 Jul 2023 01:24:58 GMT

June2023newsletter.docx

May 2023 Newsletter

Teri Meyer — Mon, 22 May 2023 00:27:43 GMT

May2023newsletter.docx

April 2023 Newsletter

Teri Meyer — Mon, 22 May 2023 00:26:20 GMT

april2023newsletter.docx

March 2023 Newsletter

Teri Meyer — Mon, 22 May 2023 00:25:25 GMT

Marchnewsletter2023.docx

Feb 2023 Newsletter

Teri Meyer — Mon, 22 May 2023 00:24:13 GMT

FEB20223newsletter.docx

January 2023 Newsletter

Teri Meyer — Mon, 22 May 2023 00:22:43 GMT

January 2023 Newsletter.docx

October 2022 newsletter

Teri Meyer — Mon, 22 May 2023 00:21:37 GMT

october2022newsletter.docx

September 2022 newsletter

Teri Meyer — Mon, 22 May 2023 00:19:27 GMT

September2022 Newsletter.docx

June 2022 newsletter

Teri Meyer — Mon, 22 May 2023 00:19:04 GMT

June2022newsletter.docx

Bee School Postponed New Date TBD

Teri Meyer — Thu, 13 Jan 2022 01:47:15 GMT

Bee School Postponed.docx

December 2021 Newsletter

Teri Meyer — Thu, 09 Dec 2021 13:16:10 GMT

December2021 newsletter.docx

May 2021 News

Teri Meyer — Mon, 24 May 2021 10:20:30 GMT

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 27^th 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!!!

April 2021 Newsletter

Teri Meyer — Sun, 18 Apr 2021 14:01:36 GMT

April 2021

Happy Birthday ~ Moses Quinby, April 16, 1810

Moses Quinby is known as the "father of commercial beekeeping in the United States," Among his innovations in beekeeping, he is credited with the invention of the modern bee smoker with bellows. He is also the author of the book "Mysteries of Bee-Keeping Explained" (1853). At his peak, he kept over 1200 hives of bees.

Moses Quinby was born April 16, 1810, in Westchester Co.,N. Y. While a boy he went to Greene Co., and in 1853 from thence to St. Johnsville, Montgomery Co., N. Y., where he remained till the time of his death, May 27, 1875.

From the year 1853, excepting the interest he took in his fruits and his trout-pond, his attention was wholly given to bees, and he was owner or half-owner of from 600 to 1200 colonies, raising large crops of honey. On the advent of the movable frame and Italian bees, they were at once adopted by him, and in 1862 he reduced the number of his colonies, and turned his attention more particularly to rearing and selling his Italian bees and queens.

April 22 Zoom Meeting:

Mr. Bill Dunn

Bill is one of FBC founding members. He is on the Board of Directors for our Club. Bill is the key to our bee schools as he is the back bone of the program. He works behind the scenes to secure a location for Day 1 and Speakers. He graciously allows the club to use his hives for Day 2 of our bee school. Bill provides the club with our observation hive bees during the Cumming Fair. In addition to all he does for FBC, he speaks to several clubs through out the year.

Bill will be discussing hive inspections and management this month with us.

Dues for 2021:

We are in the process of transitioning over to a web-based membership app called Wild Apricot. You will be able to pay your dues through this website.

We will send several emails using Wild Apricot. Please be patient as we build the website.

You may also use the cash app Zelle. Most banks have the app attached to your online banking. The email address to use is

FBCtreasurer1@yahoo.com

Family Membership- $20 dues, cash / check payable to FBC

We welcome visitors. After two visits, we kindly ask that you pay membership dues to help us with the costs of our meeting location, speaker fees, materials, equipment, and other costs associated with running one of the best beekeeping clubs around. Membership form is available on our Wild Apricot website. Please see Teri or Kelley to pay dues. Dues renew in January. Annual dues are $20 for the full year ($10 July-Dec).

Mentoring

Mentors will be assigned based on your high school district. When you fill out your membership form on our Wild Apricot Website, please fill in what district you reside in.

We will also host mentor zoom meetings on a variety of topics. These will be announced on our Facebook page.

The private mentoring page (club membership form and paid dues required) ensures advice is sound, from experienced local keepers, and can be found here:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1037121333000214/ Once we have in-person meetings again, monthly mentor dinners will resume.

Volunteer Opportunities and Thank Yous!

Our group is entirely run by volunteers. We appreciate each and every phone call, e-mail, and words of advice. Without you, there’s no way we would have the support group that we all enjoy. While we await the opening up of venues, day camps, schools, etc. we haven’t had many requests for speakers...but please stay tuned!

Club members who have a bee related product or service to offer

may list their items or service here.

Blue Ridge Honey Compa

Raw & Natural Honey

Bees & Beekeeping Supplies Bob Binnie

706-782-6722

Eve’s Garden Healing Salve for Bee Stings and More, 2 ounces

Please message

Kathy Oliver

(she’s offered to donate $1 per sale to the club!)

Flippin’ Bee Company

Queens, nucs, packages, and woodenware

James Shepherd

678-509-4164

B & A Bees

Honey and Hive products

770-366-3622

Hardware & Woodenware

Hoyt Rogers

770-479-1731

Honey & Hive Products Bill Dunn

770-630-2742

April Hive Management

April - May

The busiest time of the year. Swarm prevention and colony buildup are the goals.

Continue equalizing colonies and cutting queen cells. Sell or trade frames of brood if necessary, to knock back extra strong colonies. Another use of surplus brood is the production of splits, or new colonies. Take 3-5 frames of bees, honey, and brood (minus the queen), place them in a new hive body, give them a new caged queen, and move the new colony to a new apiary site. Package bees are also now available for making colony increase.

With the availability of mail-order queens, the beekeeper can now replace failing queens. Find and remove the old queen from the colony, insert the new caged queen between two center brood frames, but do not remove the cork from the cage opening. Return after 2-3 days and observe the behavior of the bees on the outside of the cage. Do not release the queen if workers are biting the wires of the cage But if the hive bees are trying to feed the caged queen (reaching through the wires with their tongues), then this is a good sign that they are ready to accept her At that point you can remove the cork. Check a week later to make sure the new queen is accepted. You will know this if there is an abundance of newly-laid eggs and young brood in the cells.

By mid-April most of Georgia is in prime honey production. Hive manipulations should cease and the beekeeper should be supering up for the various flows which are clover, tupelo, blackberry and other brambles, tulip poplar, and gallberry.

February 2021 Newsletter

Teri Meyer — Sun, 07 Feb 2021 23:17:00 GMT

February 2021

Happy Valentine's Day!

St. Valentine is the Patron Saint of affianced couples, bee keepers, engaged couples, epilepsy, fainting, greetings, happy marriages, love, lovers, plague, travellers, and young people. He is represented in pictures with birds and roses and his feast day is celebrated on February 14.

Meetings:

Due to the continued increase in Covid19 cases, we can not have face to face meetings. I predict that this will go on for sometime.

FBC will continue to conduct Zoom and or Facebook live meetings every month. Each Month you will receive an email with a link or instructions for the upcoming meeting.

FBC February Zoom Meeting

Mr. Dan Long, Master Beekeeper

will discus Beginning Beekeeping

Dan Long started keeping honey bees in 1996 in Pennsylvania. After a hiatus and a move to sunny Athens, Georgia, he has gotten back into the “game” with gusto. A Certified Master Beekeeper, he stays up to date with the latest information and techniques for tending his hives.

He also contributes regularly to the community by speaking on beekeeping topics and tending to several public hives; including the observation hive at Sandy Creek Nature Center.

Tallassee Highlands Apiary is licensed and inspected by the Department of Agriculture.

Dues for 2021:

We are in the process of transitioning over to a web based membership app called Wild Apricot. You will be able to pay your dues through this website.

We will send several emails using Wild Apricot. Please be patient as we build the website.

You may also use the cash app Zelle. Most banks have the app attached to your online banking. The email address to use is

FBCtreasurer1@yahoo.com

Family Membership- $20 dues, cash / check payable to FBC

Mentoring

Mentors will be assigned based on your high school district. When you fill out your membership form on our Wild Apricot Website, please fill in what district you reside in.

We will also host mentor zoom meetings on a variety of topics. These will be announced on our Facebook page.

The private mentoring page(club membership form and paid dues required) ensures advice is sound, from experienced local keepers, and can be found here:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1037121333000214/ Once we have in-person meetings again, monthly mentor dinners will resume.

Volunteer Opportunities and Thank Yous!

Links & Sign Ups

Club Resources

(Available to paid members)

The Club Library includes books, magazines, DVDs, journals, and teaching hives.

Librarian:Lilly Turpinlillian1@mindspring.com

Extractors are available for borrowing to paid members. Lilly hosts the extractor and equipment. Please email Lilly Turpin lillian1@mindspring.com to reserve the extractor.$20 cash deposit, returned to borrower upon cleaned extractor returned within 4 days.

Club members who have a bee related product or service to offer

may list their items or service here.

Blue Ridge Honey Compa

Raw & Natural Honey

Bees & Beekeeping Supplies Bob Binnie

706-782-6722

Eve’s Garden HEaling Salve for Bee Stings and More, 2 ounces

Please message

Kathy Oliver

(she’s offered to donate $1 per sale to the club!)

Flippin’ Bee Company

Queens, nucs, packages, and woodenware

James Shepherd

678-509-4164

B & A Bees

Honey and Hive products

770-366-3622

Hardware & Woodenware

Hoyt Rogers

770-479-1731

Honey & Hive Products Bill Dunn

770-630-2742

2021 Club Officers

President Nedal Shawkatnedalshawkat@gmail.com

Vice President Ray Suppleraysupple@bellsouth.net

Treasurer Teri Meyer FBCtreasurer1@yahoo.com

770-235-5985

Librarian Lilly Turpinlillian1@mindspring.com

Secretary Kelley Campbellkelleygirl53@hotmail.com

February Hive Happenings:

This is a month that can make or break a hive. The hive is building up (queen is starting to lay) and on pretty days, the workers are out foraging without much success. They are bringing in minimum pollen and nectar.

FEED YOUR BEES!

You can take a quick peek in your hives this time of year on pretty days (above 55 degrees) I would not do a full inspection just yet. As you break down the hive, the propolis is dislodged and will not seal back up tight. This is a lot of work and energy for the girls that are running low on resources. In addition to disrupting the seals, you risk chilling the brood as the colony count is low and clusters are small.

Finish putting together your equipment and painting your boxes and cleaning up your apiary area.

Remember “oops” paint is cheap and easy. Do not paint the inside of your boxes or your frames.

Continue to read, join bee club meetings.

Mentors

On January 31, 2021, an email was sent to 34 Certified Beekeepers who are eligible to become mentors in our club. 26 of the emails were opened. I have 11 confirmed mentors at this time. Please let me know if you wish to be or to continue to be a mentor.

I also ask the mentors in our club to host a Zoom/Facebook Live meeting. The topic can be of your choice or choose from:

A Year in the Bee Yard

Life Cycle of the Honey Bee

Feeding

Bee Biology

Disease and Pest

Products of the Hive

I (Teri) have a Zoom account. Zoom also offers a free membership for meetings less than 40 minutes or less.