Why be a Beekeeper?... The Pineywoods

Why be a Beekeeper?...
 Honey bees are key pollinators of 1/3
of our food, worth over $15 billion to
our food supply, and responsible for
3.5 million acres of crops.
 Beekeepers practice environmental
stewardship and increase the natural
population of bees, which are
experiencing a difficult era due to
imported mite and beetle pests and
diseases, CCD, pesticides, GMO
crops, reduced habitat, pollution, and
even climate change.
 Thorough pollination produces
increased quantity and quality of a
home garden’s fruits, vegetables and
nuts, including increased seed
production resulting in larger, tastier
and more regularly shaped produce.
Bees pollinate many of our native
plants as well.
 A well managed hive, urban or rural,
can produce 3-10 gallons of honey local natural honey with unique
benefits for your family and for
marketing. Crafts, cosmetics,
polishes and other products can be
created from honey and beeswax.
 Beekeeping is a fascinating,
challenging, and relaxing hobby and
a great family, youth group, or retired
couple project that promotes
environmental awareness and animal
husbandry.
The Pineywoods Beekeepers
Association …
Established in 2001, PBA is comprised of
hobbyist and commercial beekeepers from
several surrounding counties.
Attend meetings that include educational and
informative programs and speakers, panel
discussions, equipment sourcing and field days.
Pineywoods Beekeepers
Association
Bee School 2015:
Our tenth basic course in
beekeeping with hands-on
training and sourcing of bees
for your own hive ~
Network with fellow beekeepers, keep up with
regional techniques, and use our free lending
library of beekeeping VHS/DVD’s.
Hands-on opportunity to learn basic beekeeping
at our Spring Bee School.
Help maintain multiple PBA educational/honey
production hives in Lufkin and the permanent
Win Day Observation Hive at SFASU Mast
Arboretum in Nacogdoches.
Participate in community events such as the 4H
Beekeeping Class, SFASU ‘Bugs, Bees,
Butterflies & Blossoms’ and local festivals,
demonstrating our portable observation hives.
Honey bee on ornamental pear blossom ~ Photo M C Kocyan
Include your family at our meetings, in our Youth
Program including hive and bee colony
acquisition, Field Days, Summer Picnic and
Christmas Dinner.
Annual dues $10 for email members and $16 for
postal include our newsletter, The Bee Line. Be
our guest the second Thursday each month,
7pm-9pm, Angelina County Chamber of
Commerce ~ see if beekeeping is for you!
Henry Reynolds with a hive frame of honey ~ Photo M C Kocyan
Contact for class information:
pineywoodsbeekeepers@gmail.com
936-632-2272
Three-day course with class instruction at
AgriLife Community Room
2107 South Medford, Lufkin
Next to Angelina County Farmers Market,
East side of Loop 287
 April 18, 2015
10:00 am – 5:00 pm
 April 25, 2015
10:00 am – 5:00 pm
And Hands-on Hive Practice at
PBA Fairview Bee Yard, Lufkin
 May 2, 2015
10:00 am till end of Q&A’s!
Textbook included:
Honey Bees and Beekeeping:
A Year in the Life of an Apiary
by Keith S. Delaplane, PhD
Course Outline
I
II
Why keep bees
Bees and the History of Beekeeping
A. What exactly is a Bee
B. Bees as social insects
C. Honey Bee Biology
D. Races of Honey Bees
E. History of Beekeeping
III Getting Ready
A. Beekeeping Tools and Clothing
B. Standard Hive Parts and Configuration
C. Building and Purchasing Equipment
D. Hive Location
E. Preparing Feeds and Medications
F. Buying Mature Colonies
IV
Installing Package Bees and Swarms
A. Ordering Packages
B. Installing Package Bees
C. Releasing the Queen
D. Medicating Hives
E. One Week Check
F. Installing Swarms
V Spring Management of New Colonies
A. During the first three weeks
B. Three week check
C. Equalizing colonies
D. Minimizing Robbing
E. Nectar Flows and Supering
F. Nine Frames vs. Ten Frames
G. Mowing Grass
H. Moving Hives
I. Weather
VI Honey Bee Diseases and Pests
A. American and European Foulbrood
B. Nosema
C. Chalkbrood and Sackbrood
D. Wax Moths
E. Tracheal and Varroa Mites
F. Small Hive Beetles
G. Fire Ants
H. Africanized Bees
I. Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD)
VII Late Summer and Autumn Management
A. After the Nectar Flow
B. Medications and Miticides
C. Retiring Poor Colonies
D. Winter Preparations
VIII Management in Winter
A. Warm days in Winter
B. Late Winter Management
IX Spring Mgmt for Overwintered Colonies
A. Basic Spring Management
B. Importance of Queens and Re-queening
C. Using Nucleus Colonies at Spring Buildup
D. Preventing Swarms
E. Dividing Colonies
X Harvesting and Selling Honey
A. How bees make Honey
B. Judging Honey Quality
C. Harvesting Honey Supers
D. Removing Excess Water
E. Extracting Honey
F. Beeswax
G. Comb Honey
H. Selling Honey
Course Demonstrations
Protective Gear / Minimizing Stings
Hive Components / Smoking the Hive
Evaluating Frames / Pest Management
Managing a Hive / Honey Harvesting
Application for PBA Bee School 2015
Please print clearly:
Name: _________________________________
Address: _______________________________
______________________________________
Phone: ________________________________
Email: _________________________________

$60 Fee includes Course, Textbook, and 2015 PBA
membership thru December. ($50 course fee for
current PBA members.)

Register to reserve a textbook and class seat.
Immediate family member may sit in and audit.

Bee Veil Apparel, Bee Gloves, Hive Tool, Smoker,
and Hive Components purchased separately.

Bee Colony purchased separately. A list of
limited regional sources of bee colonies (available
early May) will be supplied. Reserve colonies as
early as possible.

Beekeeping not recommended for persons highly
allergic to bee or insect stings.
Mail Check or Money Order payable to
Pineywoods Beekeepers Association to:
Marie C. Kocyan
PBA Program Coordinator
124 John W. Wallace Road
Huntington, TX 75949-2656