beekeeping

An Ounce of Prevention

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The time to fix Varroa problems is now.

With the season well underway it’s our job as beekeepers to keep an eye on the Varroa mite population and plan to treat the bees when it becomes necessary. To that end the next meeting of the Leatherstocking Beekeepers’ Association will feature a discussion session among the members about our Varroa mite counts and our plans on how to deal with this.

The homework for the meeting is to perform a test for Varroa mites on your colonies.

The evening will begin at 6:30 p.m. with snacks and the meeting will be called to order at 7 p.m. on Thursday, June 25, in the Louis C. Jones Center at the Fenimore Farm and Country Village (formerly The Farmers’ Museum), 5775 State Highway 80, Cooperstown.

The discussion will be followed by Q&A, a discussion of monthly activities, and the business meeting.

We’ll Bee seeing you there.

Planting Seeds for Spring

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Winter is a time when the bees are huddled away, the flowers are dormant and the world endures the depths of winters cold. The best time to plan for the warm season, is now.

At this months meeting of the Leatherstocking Beekeepers’ Association learn about Pollinator Meadows with Daniel H. Waldron, Terrestrial Invasive Plants Information line Coordinator and Division of Lands and Forests –  Invasive Species of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

Learn what you can do to feed the bees and all the other pollinators that call the Northeast home.

The presentation will be followed by a regular business meeting.

The January meeting of the Leatherstocking Beekeepers’ Association will be held at 7 p.m. on January 28, 2026 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.