This month we will be discussing winter prep and feeding. Also, we will be having our officer elections for 2022, we have 7 positions available: President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, Event Coordinator, and 2 Members at Large. To run for office you must be a member in good standing for at least one year.

Date: October 7, 2021

Time: 7:00 PM

Location: Cave Springs church of Christ Family Center

Due to most of our officers being out of town during the first week of August, we are regrettably going to have to cancel our monthly meeting in Cave Springs that was scheduled for Thursday, August 5.  The topic of discussion for this meeting was going to be on starting to think about preparing your hives for winter.  We will be discussing this more in our upcoming meetings, but now is the time, especially for our new beekeepers, to begin getting things in mind for what is coming over the next few months. 

When it comes to overwintering bees, your preparation has to begin now.  Do I have the right equipment?  Do I insulate my hives or not?  Do they have enough honey stored up?  How much is enough? When do I start feeding 2/1 sugar water?  Do I need to use dry sugar, sugar cakes, candy boards, or any other type of winter feeding method?  What about screened bottom boards?  What about upper entrances?  Do I need to make a quilt box to put on top?  And there are a thousand other questions that will come up, along with a thousand different answers and opinions.  Pretty much par for the course for beekeeping.  Below are a few videos for you to begin thinking about what it is going to take to get your bees ready for the winter.  Each of these videos come from different parts of the country, where methods may be different than NW Arkansas, but they all give you a good idea of many of the things you need to start thinking about.   

As winter gets closer, remember that the Benton County Beekeepers Association members are here to help and answer any questions you may have.  Again, we are sorry to have to cancel the August meeting, but we are always just a phone call, text, or email away if you need help with anything.  

Topics: After such a wet spring, it seems that summer and dry weather is finally upon us. This means that the nectar flow is coming to an end. This month we will be discussing feeding our bees during a dearth. We also hope to have a panel of experienced beekeepers that will be available to answer any questions you may have regarding any aspect of beekeeping.

Date: July 1, 2021

Time: 7:00 PM

Location: Cave Springs church of Christ Family Center

This month's meeting wasn't livestream or recorded. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Date: June 3, 2021

Time: 7:00 PM

Location: Cave Springs church of Christ Family Center

Topic: It's what we've all been waiting for! The sweet, sweet satisfaction and reward of our efforts to help our bees stay healthy and strong. It's almost honey harvest time. In the next 2-3 months beekeepers everywhere will begin the annual spinning, crushing, straining, and bottling process. June's guest speaker, Jon Zawislak, will be sharing his years of experience to help you be the most efficient and successful with this year's honey harvest, bottling, and even some tips on marketing your honey. If this is your first year of beekeeping, you may not be harvesting this year, but the information at this meeting will give you a head start to prepare for what is coming next year.

Guest Speaker: Jon Zawislak is the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service State Apiculture Instructor. He conducts classes, workshops, short courses, and presentations in the area of beekeeping and apiculture. He provides education and resources to both hobbyist and commercial beekeepers, with an emphasis on honey bee biology and integrated pest management. He also works with Master Gardners, 4H youth, pesticide applicators, and other groups to emphasize and promote the importance of protecting pollinators. He has been an invited speaker for honey bee associations on the local, state, and regional level all across the region. He has a B.S. in Botany from the U of A in 2005, and a M.S. in Entomology from the U of A in 2008, and is an Eastern Apicultural Society Master Beekeeper, 2009.

Topics: We will be discussing Pest Management. We had a special guest speaker, Jacob Bates, the new state bee inspector for the north half of Arkansas.

Date: May 6, 2021

Time: 7:00 PM

Location: Cave Springs church of Christ Family Center

Below is the video from May's meeting.

Date: April 1, 2021

Time: 7:00 PM

Location Cave Springs church of Christ Family Center

Topics: Hive Inspections -- You have just popped the top off of this box that contains up to 60,000 honey bees, now what? Club president Steve Schinnerer will be going over what, as the beekeeper, you should be looking for during hive inspections. Swarm Prevention & Collection -- Part of the hive inspection process will be assessing the needs for implementing swarm prevention procedures. These will be discussed as well as different techniques for capturing swarms.

Date: March 4, 2021

Time: 7:00 PM

Location: Cave Springs church of Christ Family Center

Agenda: Installing bees into a hive and Splits

Speakers: Patrick Edwards and Steve Schinnerer