This is the official page for the Montgomery County Beekeepers Chapter, a member of the North Carolina State Beekeepers Association.
Montgomery County NC Beekeepers meet the third Thursday of each month except July and December at 6:00 pm in the multipurpose room of Montgomery Community College, 1011 Page Street, Troy NC.
Operating as usual
Thursday evening's meeting was good for winners! Congratulations to Sol Schales, who went home with $65 from our 50/50 drawing, and Charolette Norton walked away with the swarm trap, winning the drawing for the piece that was custom-built by Kirk Kern.
Y'all should see the big prize we're giving away in June! More info to come!
As club President Lisa Doucet said about last night's meeting, "Awesome speaker and turnout!" Libby Mack presented a very interesting and informative program she calls, "How to Stop Buying Bees."
A large crowd turned out for our May meeting and enjoyed the food, fellowship and education opportunities.
Our June meeting promises to be a good opportunity for our attendees as well.
More to come! Stay tuned!
May 20 is National Honeybee Day. Celebrate!
Tonight we welcome Libby Mack, proprietor of Charlotte Local Honey and Treasurer of the NC Beekeepers Association, who will present her popular program "How to Stop Buying Bees."
Join us at 6 pm for our covered dish supper and be sure to buy your tickets for the 50/50-Door Prize Giveaway. Feel free to bring any items you'd like to offer as a door prize.
Also, we'll be selling tickets on a swarm trap, custom built by our own Kirk Kern.
Montgomery Community College no longer requires us to wear a mask.
Be sure to tell your friends. This will be a very interesting topic that we look forward to hearing!
BEES ARE STILL SWARMING!!
Do you have a swarm trap?
Do you have ENOUGH swarm traps?
You could go home from tomorrow night's meeting of Montgomery County Beekeepers Association with a brand new swarm trap that was custom built by Kirk Kern.
All you have to do is enter the special drawing by purchasing tickets for just $5.00 each.
This drawing is separate from our regular 50/50 so odds depend on the number of tickets sold.
Be there at 6:00 pm and enjoy the covered-dish supper followed by a timely presentation by Libby Mack titled "How to Stop Buying Bees."
MCC no longer requires masks, which are optional.
We can't wait to see you there.
This Thursday evening! Join Montgomery County Beekeepers for a presentation you don't want to miss!
Libby Mack, proprietor of Charlotte Local Honey and Treasurer of the NC Beekeepers Association, will present her popular program "How to Stop Buying Bees."
Join us at 6 pm for our covered dish supper and be sure to buy your tickets for the 50/50-Door Prize Giveaway. Feel free to bring any items you'd like to offer as a door prize.
Also, we'll be selling tickets on a swarm trap, custom built by our own Kirk Kern.
Be sure to tell your friends. This will be an important topic that all beekeepers need to hear!
Don't miss our regular monthly meeting May 19th at 6:00 pm!
Join us for a discussion with Libby Mack, Treasurer of the North Carolina State Beekeepers Association and member of the Mecklenburg County Beekeepers Association, about how to stop buying bees, preparing for making splits, and other topics. Learn how to save money on bees and important things to consider. Libby and her husband Gerry run between 30 and 60 hives in 6 residential city locations. They sell nucs, honey, and wax, but most of all, they enjoy working with the bees. We'll see you there!
Mark your calendar for May 19th!
Don't forget that this awesome swarm trap built by Kirk Kern will be raffled at our May meeting!
Tickets will be available apart from our regular 50/50 drawing. $1 each or 6/$5.
You can be the owner of this trap for much less than you could buy or build it!
Don't miss this meeting!
May Beekeeping Checklist
by Nancy Ruppert, (Retired) Apiary Inspector, NCDA & CS
• Nectar flow continues---keep adding supers.
• Get extraction/bottling equipment ready.
• Consider adding an additional hive entrance (via 5/8” hole or shim) above brood area, for foragers.
• Swarming continues---keep up prevention/capture measures.
• Replace failing queens.
• Start planting annuals for future nectar/pollen supplementation.
• Install traps for small hive beetles if needed (i.e., if more than 20 adult beetles seen in hive).
• Place two or more bee “watering holes” in apiary, if not already present.
Congratulations to the Montgomery Central High School FFA chapter.
FFA advisor Kim Johnson has been notified that they are a recipient of the 2022 Student Beekeeping Grant administered by the North Carolina FFA and NC State University and provided by the North Carolina General Assembly.
The grant is for $1500 for the chapter to implement, for a minimum of three years, a student beekeeping education program. Montgomery County Beekeepers Association will work along with the FFA chapter in this exciting endeavor.
Montgomery County Beekeepers Association looks forward to assisting this new gateway program for young beekeepers!
Sometimes weird is good . . .
Artist:
We're gearing up for a fantastic meeting on May 19th!
Please join us for a great presentation by Libby Mack, Mecklenburg County Beekeeper and Treasurer of the North Carolina State Beekeepers' Association.
Libby will present a program she calls "How to Stop Buying Bees." We appreciate her expertise and look forward to hearing her tips on such an important subject.
More information will be forthcoming during the next few weeks.
Montgomery County NC Beekeepers Association President Lisa Doucet surprised Kim Gibson today during a Montgomery County Cooperative Extension appreciation luncheon with a basket of goodies (including honey, of course) put together by members of the association. We appreciate Kim, not just on Administrative Professional Day, but EVERY day!
Montgomery County Beekeepers would like to express our appreciation to Kim Gibson on this Administrative Professionals Day.
Kim works hard on our behalf at the Montgomery County Cooperative Extension office. For many years she has been responsible for mailing out the monthly notices of our meetings that bring folks together to learn about beekeeping and to enjoy fellowship together.
Thank you Kim! You are an important part of the success of our association!
Don't miss our May meeting! We will be having an extra drawing for this cool swarm trap built and donated by Kirk Kern! Our model and club president Lisa Doucet is not included.
Join us for our April meeting this Thursday at 6:00 pm in our usual spot in the multipurpose room at Montgomery Community College, Building 200..
Following open discussions on current concerns of our fellow beekeepers our presentation for the evening will be by Virginia Currie of the Xerces Society. She will present facts on becoming a Bee Campus USA, which Jessica has kept us updated on as it pertains to Montgomery Community College.
About our presenter: Virginia's life- long relationship with the plant world is what brought her to understand the importance of the "mutualist" relationship between plants and insects and eventually to the Xerces Society and Bee City USA.
She is passionate about helping people transform their lawns into biologically inclusive safe havens for all occupants (human and non-human) of that space. Increasing native plant diversity and creating habitats for pollinators are foundational to that vision.
Bee City USA's program to protect pollinators is deeply inspiring to Virginia and in alignment with her life's passion. She is grateful to have access to the organization's wealth of knowledge and to get to help spread the organization's message.
This will be an important information session for us since our club has pledged to contribute toward the success of MCC achieving the Bee Campus USA status.
Bring your favorite covered dish, an item for the door prizes and a little cash for the 50/50.
We can't wait to see you there!
We are saddened to learn of the passing of our fellow beekeeper and friend, Mr. David Grigg of Troy. He has been a part of our membership for years and was always willing to offer his hives for field days and was generous with his assistance to beekeepers both new and experienced. Please keep Karen and family near to your heart. https://pughfuneralhome.com/tribute/details/15092/David-Grigg/obituary.html#tribute-start
Full obituary to come........
April Beekeeping Checklist
by Nancy Ruppert, (Retired) Apiary Inspector, NCDA & CS
• Nectar flow is often heaviest this month: make sure that all medications are out of hive unless required for bees’ survival, be prepared to add new supers every 7-10 days, and remove feeders from all except new or weak hives.
• Bees should be very busy; closely examine hives that are not, and trim weeds that may be hindering flight.
• Swarming usually heavy---continue prevention/capture measures.
• Look closely at brood pattern; replace queen if needed.
• Have everything ready to install nucs/packages that you’ve ordered; feed upon installation.
Thank you to Montgomery County Cooperative Extension for notifying the public that local beekeepers will take care of swarms.
If you would like to be placed on the swarm list call the office at 910-576-6011.
The swarm season for bees is starting. If you see a cluster of bees hanging on a limb (or other object), you need a beekeeper, NOT an exterminator. Please call Cooperative Extension so that we can put you in contact with a Montgomery County Beekeeper. 910-576-6011.
Usually, swarming activity coincides with the nectar flow in the spring. This is when a wide variety of plants are in bloom, making nectar and pollen resources bountiful. The primary swarm season is between March and May.
When honey bees are swarming, they are not nearly as defensive as they are around their hive because they are not protecting brood (developing young bees) or honey stores. They are more concerned with scouting for a new home and staying in protective clusters around the queen. If disturbed or agitated, they will defend the cluster; therefore, it is advisable for people to keep their distance from a swarm of bees to avoid being stung.
When in doubt call a beekeeper!
Take this 3 minute quiz on swarms.
Let's test your knowledge on these busy wayward travelers!
It’s official, and our honeybees have been preparing for a while now. Happy Spring, y’all. Happy Beekeeping, too! Photo by Lisa Doucet.
Time to learn about Queen Castles and how they can increase honey production with George McAllister Thursday at 6pm.
Also, Nancy Ruppert and Shirley Harris will share highlights from the recent NCSBA meeting. Look forward to seeing you tomorrow at 6pm! Photo by Lisa Doucet.
Don't forget! Our monthly meeting is this Thursday at 6:00 pm. We will meet in Room 105 at MCC instead of our usual room. Look for signs! We can't wait to see you!
Just a little "bee humor."
Join us at our March 17th meeting to hear George McAllister's presentation, "Increasing Honey Production using Queen Castles."
George first learned beekeeping from his grandfather who had 75 hives and taught beekeeping at NC State University in Raleigh. His grandfather, an avid researcher, believed being a good beekeeper is a journey where you are always learning and constantly looking for ways to improve how you manage bees.
In 2008 George resumed his beekeeping journey while living in Charlotte, NC.
Using beekeeping methods focused on maintaining strong hives for maximum honey production in areas where you cannot keep many hives is his primary objective. George’s beekeeping methods initially evolved from observing the daily weight changes in his hives over several years. From the changes in hive weights he can observe how bees respond to his actions and the environment. Second, because of space limitations George utilizes queen castles because they take up less space.
Queen castles are integral to George’s beekeeping as they supply his honey production hives with queens, brood, bees and drawn comb as needed throughout the year. The queen castles are also part of George’s swarm management practices as the place where he raises queens from swarm cells.
Besides keeping bees George is also a past president of the Mecklenburg County Beekeepers Association. He regularly speaks at county bee clubs, the North Carolina State Beekeeping Conference, Eastern Apicultural Society (EAS) and organizations interested in bees. He keeps bees in Charlotte and Catawba county.
Troy, NC
27371
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The honeybees are busy!
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We meet the third Thursday of the month @ 6pm at the Ag Center located at 200 Glenn Road, Troy, NC 27371
North Carolina Cooperative Extension Montgome
203 W Main StMontgomery Economic Development Corporation
102 E Spring StMontgomery County Council on Aging
503 Page StMontgomery County Schools North Carolina
441 Page StMontgomery Community College - SGA
1011 Page St
Montgomery County Schools North Carolina
441 Page St
North Carolina Cooperative Extension Montgome
203 W Main St
Montgomery Community College - SGA
1011 Page St
Montgomery County Council on Aging
503 Page St
Montgomery Economic Development Corporation
102 E Spring St