Author: leatherstockingbeekeepers

Honey Harvest and Winter Prep

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The heat wave has broken, rain has returned, and fall is approaching. For us that brings anticipation of cozy sweaters and autumn colors though we know that’s really several weeks away.

If your bees have had a good year we can expect a honey harvest.

The bees, for their part are already thinking about winter. The bees being raised now will be the bees you go into winter with and so this is a crucial time of year. The best way to help the bees is to manage the mite population and make sure they have a good population with lots of resources going into winter. The best way to do that is to have an up-to-date mite count so you can know what you need to do next.

The next meeting will be all about these season closing activities.

To start the meeting we will be having refreshments courtesy of our Secretary, Emma Wallace. Providing the honey tasting this month will be member Michael Murphy whose ‘water white’ honey took the blue ribbon at the Delaware County Fair.

We will be adding a new question to the introductions regarding mite counts so Bee prepared.

The educational section of the evening will be kicked off by Richard Lercari presenting on how to extract honey at the end of the season. He will be followed by Steven Davis presenting on winter preparations and what you can do now and in the coming weeks to get your ladies through the winter.

The eductational presentations will be followed by the business meeting.

The monthly meeting of the Leatherstocking Beekeepers’ Association will be held at 7 p.m., snacks begin at 6:30 p.m., at the Fenimore Farm and Country Village, 5775 State highway 80, Cooperstown.

We’ll Bee seeing you there.

Observation hives add enchantment to beekeeping

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LBA members Richard Lercari and Mike Hoyt attended the amazing class on observation hives this past Saturday, July 19, at Betterbee in Greenwich, NY.

The class was led by the incredible Dr. David T. Peck, Director of Research and Education, formerly of Cornell University, with expertise in Neurobiology and Behavior; and by Anne Frye, Betterbee’s Head Beekeeper, teacher, and videographer, who became an EAS certified Master Beekeeper in 2002. Together they shared their wealth of insight and experience, making for an enriching experience for all.

With these teachers on hand, workshop participants had an enchanting day gaining insights into the fascinating life of bees and how observation hives work. Thanks to Betterbee’s wonderful educational staff they learned how to use the live observation hives as both a teaching tool and a unique way to keep bees at home, whether short-term or long-term.

Hands-on experiences, valuable discussion, and even a trip to the teaching apiary made this class a must for anyone interested in beekeeping! If you’re curious about the incredible world of bees and want to know how to incorporate observation hives into your life, this course is for you.

You can hear more about the class on Observation Hives this Thursday, July 25, 2025 at the monthly meeting of the Leatherstocking Beekeepers’ Association held at 6:30 p.m. in the classroom at the Fenimore Farm and Country Village, 5775 State Highway 80, Cooperstown.

We will have snacks, a honey tasting, and Lindsey Moroch of Kutik’s Everything Bees discussing commercial beekeeping.

Summer, Bees, and everything bee-tween

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The Dog Days of Summer are here and the bees love them. This is the season of honey production, sometimes splitting the hives, and sweaty beekeepers. This is when some of the bees most important work is done from filling the hive with resources to us beekeepers keeping the mite numbers in check ahead of autumn and the dark days of winter.

But that’s way in the future.

This month the Leatherstocking Beekeepers’ are meeting up to discuss, review monthly activities and learn about the industry and craft of beekeeping. We will be welcoming Lindsey Moroch of Kutick’s Everything Bees located in Oxford, NY, to present about commercial beekeeping in the year of 2025. Some of us know her from picking up nucleus colonies, her beginners classes, and from picking up equipment from her beekeeping store.

This month, we will be changing the schedule of events. Lindsey will be speaking at 7 p.m., doors will open at 6:30 p.m. for social time and to taste the honey from the forests of Germany provided by your Vice President, Stephanie Wardwell.

After the educational portion we will hold the business meeting and a Q&A where we will be passing around sign ups for the Open Apiary.

Mike Hoyt will be opening his apiary for visitors to observe and assist with an inspection. This is a good opportunity for beginning and prospective beekeepers to get a look inside the hive and what an inspection involves. The event is free but registration is required. A limited number of veils will be available.

Register at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/open-apiary-day-tickets-1466539652579?aff=ebdssbdestsearch

We’ll Bee seeing you there!

The next meeting of the Leatherstocking Beekeepers’ Association will be held Thursday, July 24 at 6:30 p.m. in the classroom of the main building at the Fenimore Farm and Country Village (formerly the Farmers’ Museum) at 5775 State Highway 80, Cooperstown.