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Name: __________________________________________
Address: ________________________________________
City/State/Zip: _____________________________________
Phone: ___________________________________________
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Douglas County Beginning Beekeeping Workshop
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A training program has been scheduled in Douglas County to provide new beekeepers the information they need to start and care for a honey bee colony. In two evening sessions, participants will learn basic bee biology, behavior, and techniques for managing honey bees. In a subsequent hands on session, participants will assemble their hive, open and examine colonies, install package bees, and see how honey and beeswax are prepared for market. This workshop is designed to give new beekeepers the skills and experience necessary to successfully start and care for a honey bee colony.
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What: Two 3-hour classrooms and a 6-hour, hands-on lab.
When: Two evening sessions: February 20 and 21, 1997. 6:30 - 9:30 PM.
Where: Douglas County Extension, 8015 W. Center Rd., Omaha, NE
Hands-On Lab: March 15, 1997, 9:00 - 4:00 PM at ARDC (Ithaca, NE). You must have hive supplies and protective equipment to fully participate in the lab session. We can order the supplies and protective gear you need for delivery on March 15 at the ARDC. Questions? Call Dennis Ferraro at (402) 444-7804.
Cost: The basic registration fee is $15 which includes three books, Starting Right With Bees, A Guide to Managing Bees for Crop Pollination, and Honey Bee Diseases and Pests. Equipment orders are optional.
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How to register: Detach and return this registration form with workbook payment ($15) by February 15, 1997. Make checks payable to Douglas County Cooperative Extension. Send to: Beginning Beekeeping, Attn: Dennis Ferraro, Douglas County Cooperative Extension, 8015 West Center Road, Omaha, NE 68124-3175
Name: _______________________________________________
Address: _____________________________________________
City/St/Zip: ____________________________________________
Phone: _______________________________________________
| Registration fee (required): | $15.00 |
| Hive equipment package (optional): | $64.25 |
| Protective equipment package (optional): | $93.50 |
| Total payment enclosed: |
Please indicate: glove size _____, coverall size _____
Notes:
North Platte Beginning Beekeeping Workshop
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What: Two 3-hour classrooms and a 3-hour, hands-on lab.
When: Friday, March 21, 6:30 - 9:30 PM and Saturday, March 22, 8:30 - 4:00 PM Where: University of Nebraska Research and Extension Center. Highway 83 & State Farm Rd. Hands-On Session: March 22, 1997, 1:00 - 4:00 PM at Research and Extension Center (North Platte, NE). You must have hive supplies and protective equipment to fully participate in the lab session. We can order the supplies and protective gear you need for delivery on March 22 at the training site. Questions? Call Jack Campbell at (308) 532-3611.
Cost: The basic registration fee is $15 which includes three books, Starting Right With Bees, A Guide to Managing Bees for Crop Pollination, and Honey Bee Diseases and Pests. Equipment orders are optional.
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How to register: Detach and return this registration form with workbook payment ($15) by February 15, 1997. Make checks payable to Lincoln County Cooperative Extension. Send to: Beginning Beekeeping, Attn: Jack Campbell, UNL West Central Research & Extension Center, Route 4, Box 46-A, North Platte, NE 69101-9495.
Name: _______________________________________________
Address: _____________________________________________
City/St/Zip: ____________________________________________
Phone: _______________________________________________
| Registration fee (required): | $15.00 |
| Hive equipment package (optional): | $64.25 |
| Protective equipment package (optional): | $93.50 |
| Total payment enclosed: |
Please indicate: glove size _____, coverall size _____
Notes:
Midwest Master Beekeeping Workshop
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When: July 31 - August 2
Where: Apiculture Laboratory, Agricultural Research and Development Center, Ithaca, NE.
Cost: $70 per person, includes 5 meals, refreshments, training manual, and cap.
Lodging: Available in Lincoln and Wahoo. A list of facilities and their rates will be sent to all registrants. A van will leave Lincoln at 7:30 AM daily for participants who need transportation.
Program: The program will consist of a combination of classroom and hands-on training sessions. Daily sessions will be followed by a cookout and team problem solving exercises. A complete program will be published in a subsequent issue of Bee Tidings. Dr. Marla Spivak, University of Minnesota Apiculturist, will be part of the program this year. Dr. Spivak will conduct sessions on queen rearing and stock selection.
Master beekeeper certificates and pins will be awarded to participants who complete the training, demonstrate a range of bee management skills, and complete six service units. Service units may be met by speaking to schools, civic groups, or bee clubs about bees, beekeeping, pollination, or hive products. They can also be met by working at an educational exhibit, assisting a young person prepare state or county fair entries, attending a state or national beekeeping meeting, or participating in a radio, newspaper, or television interview.
Registration: Registration is limited, and applications will be accepted on a first-come basis.
Send registrations to:
Include the following information:
Name: ______________________________________
Address: _____________________________________
City/St/Zip ____________________________________
Phone: _______________________________________
Please provide a brief summary of your beekeeping background to assist us in planning.
| Department: Entomology | Instructor: Marion Ellis | |
| Course Title: Beekeeping | Office Hours: TR 8:00 - 12:00 | |
| Course Number: 109 | Phone: 402-472-8696 | |
| Call Number: 3707 | e-mail: mellis@unlinfo.unl.edu | |
| Section Number: 001 | Meets: TR 13:00-13:50, PI 204 |
Text: The Hive and the Honey Bee (1992 edition), edited by Joe M. Graham, published by Dadant and Sons.
| Reserve List: | The Biology of the Honey Bee, by Mark Winston. |
| Bees and Mankind, by John B. Free | |
| Insect Pollination of Cultivated Crop Plants, by S.E. McGregor | |
| A Guide to Managing Bees for Crop Pollination, ed. CAPA | |
| Honey Bee Diseases & Pests, ed. CAPA |
Course Description: The objective of this course is to provide an in-depth introduction to the biology and social behavior of a single insect species, the honey bee. Because of its intrinsically interesting nature and economic value, the honey bee has been studied from every scientific and practical perspective. Students will conduct experiments to discover basic facts about bees. They will establish new colonies, follow their development, and learn to diagnose problems associated with honey bee culture. Bees pollinate crops worth 9.7 billion dollars, and instruction in crop pollination and pollination biology are included in this course. This course is suitable for any student who is fascinated with honey bees' intricate and complex social structure and provides a good foundation in both basic and applied biology. There are no prerequisites for this course.
Course Requirements: Students will be expected to participate in "hands-on" learning exercises including handling honey bees and collecting data to discover basic facts about bees. A literature review paper is required, and students will present their topic to their classmates. Students may select a topic from the instructor's list, or they may select their own topic with the instructor's approval. Topics and a list of references are due February 6. Papers are due April 10. A field trip to the University of Nebraska Apiculture Lab located at Mead, Nebraska is scheduled for Saturday, March 8, from 8:00 AM - 2:00 PM.
To register: Registration materials can be requested from: Admissions Office, University of Nebraska, 301 Administration Building, Lincoln, NE 68588-0434. You may also request information by phone by calling: (402) 472-2878.
There is a welded chain of causal events that leads directly to our species: if plants,
including many food and forage crops, as well as natural floras, must have insects to
exist, then human beings must have insects to exist. And not just one or two kinds of
insects, such as the friendly and lovable honey bee, but lots of insect species, vast
numbers of them. The reason is that millions of years of coevolution have finely tuned
relations between particular plants and their special pollinators. The shapes and colors
of the flowers, their scent, their location on the stalk, the season and daily schedule of
their pollen and nectar offerings, as well as other qualities we admire but seldom
understand, are adjusted precisely to attract particular species of insects......Nature we
learn, is kept productive and flexible by uncounted thousands of such partnerships.
The connections are fragile.....when one partner is extinguished, the other is at the very
best, put at risk - and sometimes doomed. Eighty percent of the species of our food
plants worldwide, we are informed, depend on pollination by animals, almost all of
which are insects. One of every three mouthfuls of food we eat, and of the beverages
we drink, are delivered to us roundabout by a volant bestiary of pollinators. The
evidence is overwhelming that wild pollinators are declining around the
world......Humanity, for its own sake, must attend to the forgotten pollinators and their
countless dependent plant species.
The loss of nesting habitat to agriculture and development, pesticide use, the demise of wild honey bee populations due to parasitic bee mites, and a steep decline in the number of hives managed hives by beekeepers are all cited in the book as factors which make pollinator conservation and restoration important issues.
What does all this mean to a farmer, home gardener, or orchardist in Nebraska, and what does it mean to a person who enjoys the diversity and beauty of our native and wild flora? In short, you can not grow cultivated plants or conserve wild plants without caring for or conserving their pollinators. Insect pollination accounts for much of the biodiversity that surrounds us. Anything that affects pollinating insects will affect the plant species which depend upon them.
Manitoba beekeepers experienced severe colony losses this fall when they fed high
fructose corn syrup that did not meet specifications. Dr. Rob Currie, University of
Manitoba Entomologist, advises beekeepers to avoid off-spec loads of syrup. Syrup
can be of-spec for a variety of reasons. In some cases, off-spec syrup may be
acceptable as bee feed, however, other off-spec syrups can result in colony decline or
death. Dr. Currie advises two simple tests that beekeepers can perform to protect
themselves from feeding lots of high fructose syrup that are harmful to bees. The first
is to examine the color. Good syrup should be clear. If the syrup is yellow or golden in
color, it should not be fed to bees. The second test is a pH or acidity test. This can be
performed with a soil testing kit which can be purchased for about $3.00. If the pH is 3-4
do not use the syrup. If the pH is 5-6 the syrup is borderline. If the pH is 7-8 the
syrup should be acceptable.
High fructose corn syrup is prepared by a series of enzyme processes, each of which requires a specific pH. In processing, acids and bases are added to regulate the pH during each step. If too much acid is added, acid hydrolysis occurs which results in the formation of compounds that are both harmful and indigestible to bees. Honey bees have a limited number of digestive enzymes. While they can process nectar and pollen, many other starch and protein sources are indigestible to them. Beekeepers should always exercise caution in considering alternate food sources to feed their bees.
The Nebraska Honey Producers Association and the Nebraska Beekeepers Association will hold a joint meeting on Friday, November 21 at the Agriculture Research and Development Center near Ithaca, Nebraska. The meeting will include invited presentations and a tour of the Apiculture Lab. The day will conclude with a cookout at the Apiculture Lab. Details will be provided in subsequent issues of Bee Tidings.
The Iowa Honey Producers Association and the Iowa Department of Agriculture are sponsoring beginning beekeeping classes in Ames, Cedar Rapids, and Des Moines in Feb. For more information contact Bob Cox at (515)-281-5736.
The South Dakota Honey Producers Association will hold their summer meeting on July 11, 1997 in Pierre, South Dakota. Contact Bob Reiners for details at (605)-773-3796.
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