Week two of class is complete. The Carroll County Beekeepers Association puts on a great short course. Last night's topics included the difference between package bees and Nucs, installation of bees into hives, and honeybee biology. The biology portion was fascinating to me. The way the hive communicates with pheromones is extremely efficient. If a Queen dies or is having issues then the stabilizing pheromone that she produces will be nonexistent or week. The colony will know within 6-7 hours and can begin emergency preparations. This is vital to the survival of the colony. We discussed timelines of the bee life cycle and it became obvious that beekeepers can be the difference between life or death of the colony.
I also looked into reserving my bees. I am most likely purchasing them from a "local" vendor out of Gaithersburg. The advice that he gave me was to get on the list next week. I could get on the list to get bees at the end of March but he said that is a bad time for new beekeepers. I can only assume thet is because there is no good nectar flow and that could make starting a hive more difficult. It looks like I will not get them until April. A few weeks doesn't matter to me but it could make a world of difference for the bees.
Some new videos will be forthcoming. I am gathering fuel for my smoker and will be doing a tutorial on how to light and keep the smoker lit. My fuel of choice is going to be dried pine needles. They are plentiful in my area. I will also be doing a video on foundation installation into frames, and assembly of the hive components.
If there is anything else you want to see let me know.
I also looked into reserving my bees. I am most likely purchasing them from a "local" vendor out of Gaithersburg. The advice that he gave me was to get on the list next week. I could get on the list to get bees at the end of March but he said that is a bad time for new beekeepers. I can only assume thet is because there is no good nectar flow and that could make starting a hive more difficult. It looks like I will not get them until April. A few weeks doesn't matter to me but it could make a world of difference for the bees.
Some new videos will be forthcoming. I am gathering fuel for my smoker and will be doing a tutorial on how to light and keep the smoker lit. My fuel of choice is going to be dried pine needles. They are plentiful in my area. I will also be doing a video on foundation installation into frames, and assembly of the hive components.
If there is anything else you want to see let me know.
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