How and Why To Join

The Huguenot Beekeepers Association meets monthly to discuss topics relevant to the season including what members can expect to see in their hives and what actions they may consider taking to best care for their bees. We meet on the first Thursday of each month in the Powhatan Village Auditorium from 7-9pm and other times as designated for special programs.

Anyone interested in beekeeping is welcome to attend one of our monthly meetings as a guest. Membership dues are $10 per year per family and can be payed to the treasurer at any meeting, but generally are due at the first meeting of each year held in February. Through an all volunteer organization, the club strives to provide many benefits to both its members and the community with some of our recent programs shown below.

Member Benefits and Community Service

• Beginning Beekeeping Class - Held annually in February, this event equips the attendee with the knowledge required to become a beekeeper! Topics range from purchasing and setting up your first hive (including both woodenware and bees), how to perform an inspection, and best practices. The cost of the course includes a one year family membership, three books "The Beekeeper's Handbook", "Beekeeping Basics", and "A Field Guide to Honey Bees and Their Maladies". New members attending the course are also provided information on purchasing packages and/or nucs to start their new hives!
• Beekeeping Hardware Workshop - Free and open to the community, this workshop is held to provide tools and experienced assistance in assembling hive bodes and frames, and also installing and wiring foundation. The club provides everything except the hive components themselves, including air tools, jigs, nails, staples, and glue. The 2018 Hardware Workshop Flyer provides more information.
• Spring Hive Inspection Walkthrough - Each Spring, building upon the classroom instruction of the Beginning Beekeeping Class, members are invited to join the advisors to perform an inspection on established hives, providing invaluable experience that new beekeepers especially can put into practice with their own often newly established hives.
• Club Apiary - In partnership with Blessed Sacrament Huguenot, the club's apiary expands the community outreach
• Swarm Removal - Another community service provided by members of the club is swarm removal. While a swarm is both a natural mechanism for bees to proliferate by splitting one hive into two or more and a generally harmless occurrence, they can certainly be intimidating and occasionally decide to take up residence in less than desirable locations. Experienced club members and their contact information are listed on the Swarm Map and will respond to calls to remove swarms.
• Guest Speakers - Throughout the year, the club leadership will arrange for guest speakers to attend a monthly meeting, bringing different perspectives or state wide insight directly to the members. As an example, Virginia State Apiarist Keith Tignor spoke about the then pending legislation to establish a limited liability law for beekeepers. Jerry Hayes, author of The Classroom column in the American Bee Journal will be speaking to our club at the April 2017 meeting.
• Beekeeping Presentations - HBA members are also available to give beekeeping presentations at schools, fairs and other community groups and events. The exhibit can include educational materials, pictures and even an observation hive - a working colony with windows allowing observers to see the bees hard at work! Anyone interested in scheduling a beekeeping presentation can contact the Education and Community Outreach Coordinator.

Documents

HBA Club Extractor Rules - Rules and cleaning instructions for using the honey extractor owned by the club.

Michael Palmer's Pollen Patty Recipe - A simple recipe to make pollen patties for use in your hives.

Winter Sugar Brick Recipe - A simple recipe to make sugar bricks that can be placed in the hives as an emergency food source during the winter months.

Nectar Sources - A comprehensive list of all pollen sources available in North America, including the blooming months, availability and quality of the source for honey bees.

Pollen Sources – A comprehensive list of all pollen sources available in North America, including the blooming months, pollen color, availability and quality of the source for honey bees.

Pollen Contents – List of amino acids, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants that are found in bee pollen.

Spring Pollen & Nectar – A low resolution version of the Spring pollen & nectar chart available from Eversweet Apiaries.

Summer Pollen & Nectar – A low resolution version of the Summer pollen & nectar chart available from Eversweet Apiaries.

Fall / Winter Pollen & Nectar – A low resolution version of the Fall & Winter pollen & nectar chart available from Eversweet Apiaries.

Selecting Plants for Pollinators – A Regional Guide for Farmers, Land Managers, and Gardeners in the Southeastern Mixed Forest Province including the States of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Parts of Tennessee, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Maryland provided by the Pollinator Partnership in support of the NAPPC.

How to Store Equipment – Presentation given at the February 2017 meeting on how to store equipment after a dead out or after extraction of honey.

Preparing for Winter – Presentation given at the October 2016 meeting on how to get your hives ready for winter, including checking for mites and feeding.

Diagnosing Deadouts – How to winter bees in cold climates and diagnose the cause of deadouts.

Swarm Infographic – An infographic from Vita-Europe on honey bee swarming.

Varroa Infographic – An infographic from Vita-Europe on the Varroa mite.

Mite Treatments – Presentation given at the August 2016 meeting about how to treat for Varroa mites, including mechanical & physical controls, genetics, natural treatments and synthetic treatments.

Varroa Management Guide – Tools for Varroa Management, A Guide to Effective Varroa Sampling & Control provided by Honey Bee Health Coalition.

Honey Bee Diseases & Pests – A paper by Dr. Marla Spivak and Mr. Gary S. Reuter from the Department of Entomology at the University of Minnesota and the Minnesota Extension Service listing all major honey bee diseases, mites and pests.

Protecting Your Hives From Bears And Other Predators – A presentation given by Greg Gibson at the April 2017 meeting on how and why to setup an electric fence.

European Hornets – A presentation given at the September meeting on how to identify European Hornets and their impact on honey bee colonies.

European Hornet Trap – Instruction sheet on how to build a trap for European Hornets. This trap also works well for yellow jackets and wax moths.

Virginia's Home Kitchen Food Processing Exemptions – A list of Virginia’s New Home Kitchen Food Processing Exemptions including the rules for Honey Processing.

Virginia Honey Laws – A compiled listing of the National Honey Board & Virginia Honey label laws.

Helpful Links

Virginia State Beekeepers Association - www.virginiabeekeepers.org

VSBA Master Beekeeper Program - www.virginiabeekeepers.org/master-beekeeper

Eastern Apiculture Society - easternapiculture.org

Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) - www.vdacs.virginia.gov

VDACS Beehive Grant Program - www.vdacs.virginia.gov/plant-industry-services-beehive-grant-program.shtml

Keith Tignor – Virginia State Apiarist
804-786-3515
Keith.Tignor@vdacs.virginia.gov

Virginia Beekeeping Laws - law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title3.2/chapter44