Installing our Package of bees

Bee..n a little buzzzy with bees and Scuba and family, and not got to update the blog until today.

WORK: Check on bees Saturday 28th April  3pm  (Weather permitting)  should take no more than 20-30 minutes of actual time, plus questions and answers if you have any.

Our installation of the pkg of bees Sponsored by Tates Apiaries from Winston Salem  went very well. Larry Tate was a Boy Scout many years ago, and was happy to help us. The Queen we have is from Wayne's bees, a local Hygienic bee race. Wayne Rich kept bees in our area and had two hives that he never treated and these survived all the issues of the recent years. Wayne passed away a few years back and Wally Swaims and Larry Tate are keeping these genetics going. These bees will fight the Verroa Mites and Small Hive Beatles inside the hive, keeping the hive strong.

In the end most of the scouts in the Project were able to come last Saturday, which is pretty awesome. A number of people also invited friends and family and we had about 14 people in all. I had forgotten it was the Guilford County Bee club's open day , so none of our mentors were able to come, but it all went down without a hitch.

Allen with 15,000 bees

Jack opening the hive

Dylan helping move a frame

Sugar can feeder and the Queen cage

Queen cage with cork removed

hanging the queen cage

Bunch of bees

Harrison helping me close up the hive with a little smoke

Sugar feeder on top of hive top

We went through some theory with the boys, passed the pkg around for people to feel 3lbs of bees, some 15,000 of them, and then without much ado and a little sugar spray, opened the pkg, showed everyone the Queen in her cage and shook out the bees into the 8 frame hive.

Beekeeping Boy Scout Project
• Exact Commitments  for the year ( Hive time 21‐24 hrs – workshop 10 hrs –Lessons 6 hrs)

• Jan / Feb ‐ 2‐3 work days in Rick’s workshop to build hives 3 hrs minimum each time
•  Beginners course on Thursday nights at Guilford County Ext ( not mandatory) 
• Full details : http://www.guilfordbeekeepers.org/community/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=1378

•  Feb :  1‐2 time check Rick’s hives for food ‐ only if temp above 60 Deg
•  March : Busy Time for Swarms ‐ on call –plus learn on 2 weekend days
•  April :  Get our hives and get Hands on – 2 days 2 hrs
•  May :  2 days x 1 hr –plus 1x 2 hrs Workshop day for frames
•  June – 2 days x 3 hrs –Honey extraction
•  July 1 – 2 days x 3 hrs Honey extraction‐ Feeding
•  Aug Sept Oct – 1 day /month – 1 hr each time (feed and treatments if needed)
•  Nov / Dec – little to no work‐ except workshop time

Scout beekeeping project, troop 107 Greensboro, NC

This is a blog about Boy Scouts in Greensboro NC doing the long discontinued Beekeeping merit Badge.

It was started  by a dad who is a beekeeper, and a bunch of boys and their parents and leaders, with the aim to learn more about bees, and keep at least 2 hives for one complete season. If successful, then the sweet rewards will be much appreciated.

The boys will be learning about Biology, woodwork, botany, a little bit of chemistry, and a LOT of working with others.

The Winter months will be taken up with basic education about bees and their issues, as well as workshop time to build and paint the hives themselves.

In spring we will get a swarm or two of bees and start the process to make them thrive and thus hopefully produce honey and wax in excess of their own needs.

Summer will see the bees at their strongest, and the boys will learn about the pests that bees have to cope with here in the Piedmont of NC. Hopefully we will be able limit chemical treatments to organic only. We will manage space in the hives, add honey supers when needed and extract honey and wax when excess exist.

The project will be run as small groups of boys with adult leaders educating and overseeing , but the boys will do the work once educated.