Thank you attendees to the “To Bee or Not to Bee” short course

The Leatherstocking Beekeepers’ Association would like to thank the more than 40 attendees of our “To Bee or Not to Bee” Introduction to Beekeeping short course on Saturday, February 24.

Together we learned about our insect friends the Apis mellifera who are responsible for pollinating so much of our food crops, what is needed for us to care for them as beekeepers, and some of the challenges they face.

As each of us contemplate the coming year here are a few reminders from the class.

Our next meeting will be held at 7 p.m. on Thursday March 28 at The Farmers’ Museum, Cooperstown. (The meeting will be held in the back classroom due to an event the museum is holding.) At this next meeting we will be raffling off a nucleus to an attending member of the association. This is a great opportunity to either expand the apiary or get a jump start on a new beekeeping endeavor.

The Beekeepers’ will have a booth at the OCCA Earth day festival on April 20. We look forward to seeing you there. If a member would like to help staff it please contact our secretary Richard Lercari at honeychef3@gmail.com.

Check back here and on the facebook page for other beekeeping news.

We look forward to seeing you again and welcome to the Leatherstocking Beekeepers’ Association.

Bee Prepared… for winter

Our bees have worked hard all summer long and now the time of cold is almost upon them. Learn how we as beekeepers can help our girls to survive the winter ahead with the Leatherstocking Beekeepers’ Association.

The first presentation will be “Getting hives ready as they head into winter” with Richard Lercari discussing the physical prep of the hive for the cold months ahead. Following will be a cautionary commentary on (expired) bee treatments for both the beekeeper and the bees with Richard Burroughs.

Club president Mike Lyons will then host “Responsible beekeeping practices” an open forum about the LBA mission.

All are welcome to visit, learn, and get bee questions answered.

The Leatherstocking Beekeepers’ Association will be meeting Thursday, October 26 at 7 p.m. at The Farmers’ Museum, Cooperstown.