The Beekeeper’s Companion Since 1861
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Conscious Beekeeping – Chestnut Ridge, NY

- April 30, 2016 -

When

Apr 30, 2016    
9:00 am - 5:00 pm

Where

The Pfeiffer Center
260 Hungry Hollow Road, Chestnut Ridge, NY, 10977

Conscious Beekeeping

The Pfeiffer Center- Chestnut Ridge, NY

The growing popularity of small-scale beekeeping is good news for the bees, but it also raises its own set of challenges. Rarely does a small-scale beekeeper encounter Colony Collapse — but every beekeeper must contend with rampant Varroa mites, scant forage, and scarce high-quality package bees and nucs.

Conventional approaches focus on beating back or defeating these challenges, but the search for a silver bullet to every problem seems only to unearth new problems. This workshop approaches the problem from the other side: What can we do to help our bees thrive and flourish in the present-day environment? Starting from an understanding of the honeybee colony as an organism unlike any other found in nature, we will consider:

  • Swarming as an expression of the bees’ vitality;
  • Healthy rhythms of life in the hive, and how to support them;
  • When to intervene and when to let your bees manage on their own;
  • Increasing your apiary naturally with splits and swarms while breeding better, locally-adapted queens;
  • Alternative hive designs;
  • Gardening to support your bees;
  • Varroa control through acid treatments and brood interruption;
  • And more.

Weather permitting, we’ll visit the Pfeiffer Center’s apiary, where techniques discussed in the classroom will be demonstrated.

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