Upcoming Events
Our guest speaker is Lars Chittka, the author of the book The Mind of a Bee and Professor of Sensory and Behavioural Ecology at Queen Mary College of the University of London. He is also the founder of the Research Centre for Psychology at Queen Mary. He is known for his work on the evolution of sensory systems and cognition using insect-flower interactions as a model system. Dr. Chittka has made fundamental contributions to our understanding of animal cognition and its impact on evolutionary fitness studying bumblebees and honeybees. We will wrap up with Bee Buddy breakouts and a raffle.
We will start the meeting by breaking into geographic "Bee Buddy" groups, which you can join after registering at the desk in the back of the room. Our guest speaker is Brad Kuhn from Finding Nectar Nursery, who will talk about what to plant to properly nourish our bees and other pollinators. Additionally, we’ll make seed bombs that you can take home for your own garden! We will wrap up with a raffle.
Join us on Tuesday, March 11th from 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM for a MHBC meeting at the Montview Boulevard Presbyterian Church, 1980 Dahlia Street, Denver CO 80220. Agenda: Announcements and Business. Q&A led by Kamon Reynolds. Kamon Reynolds, from Tennessee’s Bees, will talk about spring splits and honey production. “Bee Buddy” breakouts. We will meet in groups by geographic area to discuss what is going on with our hives, ask questions, networking/mentor/mentee opportunities, etc. Wrap up and raffle.
Join us on Tuesday, February 11th from 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM for a MHBC meeting at the Montview Boulevard Presbyterian Church, 1980 Dahlia Street, Denver CO 80220. Agenda: Q&A session hosted by our own Bryan Zavada: What's going on with the hive? Continuing the sustainability theme, Bryan will speak about "Selecting for Host Resistance". We will have a "Bee Buddy" breakout and wrap up with a raffle.
Join us on Tuesday, January 14th from 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM for the MHBC meeting at the Montview Boulevard Presbyterian Church, 1980 Dahlia Street, Denver CO 80220. Agenda: We will have various tables set up on a rotational basis, including Membership Payments, wax crafts, and Club Offerings. We will also provide a presentation on the use of the club electronic bulletin board. Please note there will not be a Zoom link for the January meeting because most of the focus will be on the table rotations.
Wrap up 2024 for members with survey results, new survey, nominations and voting for open board positions, a honey-themed potluck and comradery.
David Izaguirre is a commercial beekeeper from Greeley, CO and has around 1,000 hives. He has been beekeeping for over 20 years. Izzy's Honey provides the following services: package bees, 5 frame nucs, queens, bulk bees, honey, wax, pollen, and pollination services. Presentation: Wax rendering demo with David Izaguirre
Matt and Sarah McLean have been beekeeping since 2019. They run 70 hives throughout the metro area. Matt is working at the master level in the Colorado Master Beekeeping Program. As a husband and wife team they work out of their humble abode nurturing bees, creating educational resources, and giving back to the community in whatever ways they can–time, money, and education. For more information, check out these links: https://voyagedenver.com/interview/exploring-life-business-with-matt-sarah-mclean-of-homestead-in-the-hood/ and https://www.homesteadinthehood.com/about
Mile Hive Bee Club members have been cordially invited to this free event on Sept 7th, 2024! This is the 4th Annual Niwot Honey Bee Harvest Festival. It includes the Tom Theobald Speaker Series with presentations on honey bees, pollinators and more! The presentations are geared towards adults, but the festival is family friendly and there's lots to do for all ages! Deets below: Saturday - 9/7/2024 10am - 4pm MTN Downtown Niwot (2nd Ave & Cottonwood Sq) Live music, Bee fun for kids, pop up vendors, mead tasting, To Theobald speaker series, Bee products and honey, observation hives, food trucks, special menu items and cocktails at area restaurants! Come join in on the fun and let's say thanks to Niwot for hosting such an amazing fun-filled, free, festival event and inviting us to join! Visit their site for more info: niwot.com/events/niwot-3rd-annual-honeybee-harvest-festival-637/
Cory Stevens will be talking about queens and comes to us from his 27 acre farm in Bloomfield, Missouri which he manages for wildlife and pollinator habitat. Cory and his wife Jaime own Stevens Bee Company where they have selected a VSH line of bees they call "Missouri Mite Hunters." Cory is a Past President of Missouri State Beekeepers Association. He was certified as a Master Beekeeper by the Eastern Apicultural Society in 2013, and earned a MS in entomology from University of Nebraska - Lincoln. He was trained by Sue Cobey in 2014 to instrumentally inseminate queen bees. Cory slips bees into random conversation with strangers, and annoys his wife by constantly talking about bees.
Collecting Pollen: How to Collect and What to Do After Presented by Mike Seib, co-owner of Seib's Hoosier Honey in Indiana. Together with his wife Debbie, Mike keeps 150 to 200 hives. Mike has been a beekeeper since he was 10 years old. Are you pollen curious? Join your fellow MHBC members for this informational meeting on how and when to collect pollen
Sustainable Management Practices During Spring Build-up with Bryan Zavada, Advisor CSBA
CONCEPTS IN VARROA MANAGEMENT Varroa continues to be the number one problem for beekeepers. In our own operation, we’ve successfully managed varroa, without the use of synthetic miticides, since 2001. We’ve tried most every control option, and I’ll share we’ve found to work (including selective breeding). An effective mite management plan must be based upon the understanding of the biology of the mite. I present important biological concepts to help beekeepers to plan effective mite management strategies tailored to their own operations.
FEBRUARY FIELD TRIP - NOTICE - CANCELLED DUE TO INCLEMENT WEATHER! RESCHEDULE DATE TBD...STAY TUNED!
Who? This would especially be good for newbees-to-3rd year beekeepers or those experienced beekeepers who could contribute to hive assessment and time of year activity. Join us at Riverside Cemetery/Pollinator Meadow. Why? To determine what might be going on in the hive this time of year, how to prepare for warmer weather ahead and to determine adequate stores and to make the decision to supplement, as needed.
Our February 13th meeting will feature Tina Sebestyen. Tina will answer your beekeeping questions from 6:30 -7:00pm and then will present, "All About the Queen". Everyone from the newest beekeepers to the old pros will learn something interesting about queen bees. Here's what Tina has to say: "Pretty much the only thing beginning beekeepers are taught is that there is only one queen in the colony, and it turns out, not even that is true! Why does a queen lay eggs in supersedure cells when it means her death? Why do queens sometimes ignore queen cups, and what triggers them to lay eggs in cups later? Why do bees still start queen cells when there is a caged queen in the hive? Why do they kill your brand new, expensive queen, and how can we improve queen acceptance? All of these questions can be answered by understanding All About the Queen. Can’t wait to see you all!"
Laura Cascardi, Certified Herbalist Laura will be teaching us about herbs and how to infuse them into honey. Laura’s passion for herbalism, healing, and well-being is evident in her 20 + years of working with herbs and people. She began her formal education with herbs at the Rocky Mountain Center of Botanical studies where she graduated in 2001 as a certified herbalist. In 2013 she graduated from Colorado State University with a bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences with a concentration in Botany. In 2014, Laura co-founded the Equinox Center of Herbal Studies where she is the director and one of the primary teachers. *Zoom will not be available for this meeting since it is a "hands on" workshop.
6:30 pm Review of survey summary from last month and reiteration of use of the electronic billboard on website 6:45 pm Discussion panel/show and tell on: Honey harvesting Winter prep 8:00 pm Craft demo Do-it-yourself mouse guards 8:20 pm Wrap up and drawing
Dr. Jon Zawislak is an assistant professor of apiculture and urban entomology for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. Mysteries and Management of Laying Workers Sometimes the order of a bee colony breaks down. What compels workers to begin laying eggs? What happens when they do? And what can a beekeeper do to correct things?
Join us at the Washington Street Community Center at 809 South Washington Street. All are welcome--members, and nonmembers alike! Kathy Gill will be presenting her master beekeeping project re: testing drones for mites. Dewey Caron will be speaking via Zoom on "Run Up to Honey Production" starting at 7:00pm.
Join us at the Washington Street Community Center at 809 South Washington Street. All are welcome--members, and nonmembers alike! This meeting will cover package installations discussion and demo by Dan McConnell and Bryan Zavada and making splits by Gregg McMahan (past club president; beekeeper; educator at To Bee or Not To Bee; documentary of Bee People; one of the original founders of Mile Hive Bee Club; founder of Westminster Bee Club; owner of Rocky Mountain Bee: professional removals with rescue, relocation and education; and honeycomb supplier to Stranahans, a Colorado whiskey distillery).
Join us at the Washington Street Community Center at 809 South Washington Street. All are welcome--members, and nonmembers alike! Meghan Milbrath: Assistant Professor, Entomology and Coordinator of the Michigan Pollinator Initiative Specialties: Honey bee veterinarian, bacterial diseases, commercial beekeeping, and queen questions This presentation will be in Zoom at the club meeting.
Guest speaker Katharina Dawitt: Nutritional Benefits of Feeding Bananas to Honey Bees! Club officer elections, club supports, ABF, Stock Show booth
David Tarpy, Professor and Extension Apiculturist of North Carolina State University, will be joining us to talk about varroa mites, vectored diseases, and remedies.
Mile Hive Bee Club April Zoom Meeting We will go over package and nuc installation, swarm catching equipment, and other spring topics.
March Guest Speaker TIna Sebestyen - Spring Colony Biology - Swarm management, spring splitting
February Speaker James Tew - Healthy Colonies and How to Identify Them
Join us on Tuesday, January 12th for our first zoom meeting of 2021! We will start off at 6:30 PM with Q and A. At 7 PM our formal meeting starts. This month's topics: How to Feed Your Bees-Pros and Cons of Different Feeders, A Beekeeper's Winter, Club Plans and Ideas for This Year
Join us in December as we celebrate our beekeeping year and look forward to next year. We will hold officer elections and have a fun giveaway raffle.
At 6:30PM, Joe Komperda will start us off as usual with Newbees Q and A, followed by the vice-president of our Colorado State Beekeeper's Association, Tina Sebestyen, who will be presenting All About Queens.
Kristina Williams, our former club President, will be our guest speaker. Topic: Scared Straight, Mite Management Practices
Veterinarian Amanda Levesque will be presenting on the topic of the Veterinary Feed Directive, addressing antibiotic usage for American and European Foulbrood. She will also discuss the diagnosis and treatment of other colony diseases.
6:30 p.m. for NewBees 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. Regular Meeting
6:30 p.m. for NewBees 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. Regular Meeting
Tentative date for demonstration of a hive split
we will covering splits (Dan and Sandy), package and nuc installations (Shava) and if there is time, swarms (Robert and Ellen)
If you would please post and let your members know about the Wyoming Bee College pre-Conference and two day conference, March 22,23 & 24. You can access more information and registration at our website http://www.wyomingbeecollege.org
6:30 p.m. for NewBees 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. Regular Meeting
Apiary visit, weather permitting. Oxalic acid demo.
6:30 p.m. for NewBees 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. Regular Meeting