"So work with the honey bee, creatures that by a rule of nature, teach the art of order to mankind." William Shakespeare
Gentle Honeybees
It is unfortunate that many people have been taught to be afraid of Honeybees. Many times people cannot even recognize the difference among Honeybees, Wasps, Hornets, Bumblebees or Yellow Jackets. They categorize all insects that buzz and sting into the same group. This is wrong.
Ironically, beekeepers are seldom stung. The late Dr. G.H. Gale, a leading authority on Honeybees and a Honeybee geneticist with Dadant and Sons was responsible for producing a hybrid line of Honeybees bred for gentleness and high honey productivity called the "Midnite" Truthfully, Honeybees sting only when they feel they or their home is being threatened. The drone or male Honeybee cannot sting at all and the queen bee rarely stings. However, on rare occasions the worker Honeybee will sting if she feels the entrance to her give is threatened. The only consolation for the person who has been stung is that after she stings, her stinger is pulled from her body and she soon dies.
How Honeybees work
Most all flowers produce a sweet liquid to to attract insects, primarily Honeybees, so that pollination can take place and assure the survival of that plant species. Honeybees make honey from nectar found inside the flower blossom. Field worker Honeybees collect the nectar and carry it back to the hive in pouches within their body. The Field. Worker Honeybee gives the nectar to young Worker Honeybees back at the hive, who then place the nectar in a beeswax comb made up of six sided cells. The excess water is then evaporated from the nectar. After a period of time the nectar is transformed into Pure Honey.
Some workers collect nectar, some collect pollen and some do both. In terms of economic
value the Workers that collect pollen are the most important to you and I. Honey
is just he sweet secondary reward that we collect from Honeybees. If Honeybees ceased
to exist today, about one-
The Beekeepers Guild of the Eastern Shore
www.bgesva.org
Sign up for a class and/or
Join by contacting
David Fluhart -
John Chubb -
John
Long -
Paul Kist -
Test your knowledge and beekeeping skills with the BEEQUIZ. This new Quiz from the VSBA will challenge both novice and expert beekeepers. There are hundreds of questions in the quiz database. Each quiz consists of a different set of questions. Have some fun and amaze your friends while learning more about managing honey bees.
Website and BGESVA Logo owned by The BeeKeepers Guild of the Eastern Shore Design by Evan F Clements
Attention BGES Members -
Thinking about Honey Bees as a hobby?
The Beekeepers Guild of the Eastern Shore (the BGESVA) is ready to teach you what you need to know about getting started with your own backyard beehive. We have classes for folks who want to learn where to get all their equipment, their first honey bees, and how to extract their first sweet honey. Club mentors will help you learn all about your new bees. Our new beekeeper courses are taught in February and March so you will be ready for bees in the spring time. More advanced classes are taught as needed. You are welcome to visit at any of our monthly meetings which are all open to the public. We hope to see you there!
2013 Eastern Shore Honeybee Swarm List
If you see a swarm of bees this spring don’t run for the Raid. Grab the phone and call one of the individuals listed on our SWARM PAGE. They will come to you and safely collect the bees. This is a free service of the Beekeepers Guild of the Eastern Shore.
April, 2012 -
wants them out. The Crawlspace is low -
I called Russell V. and he came and helped me find the bees; he was such a help. Today I went exploring a little. The attached pictures are what I found.