Calendar of Events
Meetings and Workshops
Monthly Meetings – 2024
BYBA Meetings begin at 7 PM to allow time for socializing with your fellow beekeepers. Speaker Presentations begin at 7:30 pm. These meetings are held the last Tuesday of most months at the Norfield Church Community Room; 64 Norfield Road, Weston, CT. These events are free and open to the public.
New Bee Fundamentals & Special Topics Sessions are held via Zoom on the 3rd Tuesday with timely information about what is happening in your hive right now and what to prepare for the weeks ahead. New Bee Fundamentals generally runs from 6:30-7:30 & Special Topics for advancing beekeepers runs from 7:30-8:30. Please bring your questions to our experienced panel of beekeepers for a variety of expert answers. New Bee Fundamentals/Special Topics is a benefit of membership. Please register each month to receive information about accessing the call. Dates for 2024 are 2/20, 3/19, 4/16, 5/21, 6/18, 7/16, 8/20, 9/17, 10/15, 11/19 & 12/17.
Our calendar is subject to change, so please always check the website for any last minute updates.
Mondays, January 8th, 15th, 22nd, & 29th (Mon, Feb 5th – Snow Date) – Bee School – A fine way to either get a solid introduction into beekeeping or to fill in some gaps in what you know already that will strengthen your skills. Topics covered include safety issues, types of equipment, evolving roles of the worker bee, honeybee pests and diseases and much, much more.
Tuesday, February 27th – John Gaut – Back Yard Queen Rearing
Tuesday, March 26th – Kirk Webster
Tuesday, April 23rd – Chef Patti Jackson – Honey in the Kitchen
Tuesday, May 28th – Dr Juliana Rangel
Tuesday, June 25th – Annual Member Dinner & Silent Auction
Tuesday, July 30th – Dr. Tom Seeley
Wednesday, July 31st – Beelining Workshop with Dr. Tom Seeley
Tuesday, September 24th – Etienne Tardif – Winter Prep
Tuesday, October 29th – Dr. Michael Simone-Finstrom
Tuesday, November 26th – Michael Palmer – Sustainability Through Vertical Beekeeping
In addition, a number of weekend workshops are scheduled each year to give participants a hands-on opportunity to learn new beekeeping skills & techniques and visit other bee yards.
2024 Workshops & Past Meetings
Workshops - 2024
Please note: BYBA workshops are an exclusive benefit to members and their guests. Please note these are tentative dates and descriptions. All are subject to change as we solidify the schedule for the upcoming year.
Digital Bee School – For anyone who missed Bee School, you are able to purchase recordings of all 4 sessions. Non-member cost is $60 which includes 2024 BYBA Membership. Member cost is $30. Questions may be brought to the New Bee Fundamentals Zoom Sessions which take place monthly on the 3rd Tuesday of the month.
February 17 Hands-on Hive set up – Open house format featuring Wax Creations with Panagiota Raguskus, Hive Building with Michael Lund, Where to Site Your Apiary with Dahlia Garza, Beekeeping Accessories with Joel Dawson, & Bear Fences with Charles O’Donnell
February 25 CSI: Dead Out with Christopher Rountos
March 16 Hiving Packaged Bees with Charles O’Donnell
March 24 First Hive Inspection with Charles O’Donnell
April 21 Mite-A-Thon with Bill Riecker & Panagiota Raguskus
April 28 Swarms & Splits with Paula Wolf
May 5 Hive Inspection #2- Colony Build-Up with Leslie Huston
May 18 Comb Honey Production
June 9 Hive Inspection #3 – Colony Expansion with Joel Dawson
July 13 Hive Inspection #4 – Hangry Bees
July 20 Honey Harvest
August 18 Hive Inspection #5 – Assessing Colony Health with Andy Hatt
September 14 Hive Inspection #6 – Winter Prep
September 22 Hands-On Microscopy
October 19 Products of the Hive
Additional workshop information will be posted as it becomes available.
Workshops - 2023
Please note: BYBA workshops are an exclusive benefit to members and their guests. Please note these are tentative dates and descriptions. All are subject to change as we solidify the schedule for the upcoming year.
Online Bee School – 4 sessions starting Saturday, 2/25 from 9-11 AM. Additional Sessions 3/4, 3/11 & 3/18 via Zoom from 9-11 AM. Non-member cost is $60 which includes 2023 BYBA Membership. Member cost is $30. Each presentation will include commentary and Q & A time from the presenter.
SUNDAY March 5th – CSI: Deadout – Post-mortem on a colony that didn’t make it through the winter. We’ll look at the history of the colony as well as the evidence we find left in the hive in an attempt to determine what happened and what we might do differently to achieve a better outcome in the following season.
Saturday, March 18th – Build A Hive Workshop
Sunday, March 26th – Package installation workshop.
Sunday, April 2nd – First hive inspection Come learn how to inspect your colonies. What is it you want to see early in the season and how to adapt to help your bees get off to a strong start!
Saturday, April 15th – Member Apiary Visit – Join us as we visit a BYBA member’s home apiary.
Sunday, May 7th – Mite Count Workshop – Come to a hands-on workshop all about mites. You’ll see a demonstration, work with a group to do a mite count yourself, and discuss the possible actions to take once you’ve assessed the mite level in your colony.
Saturday, May 6th – Swarms, a necessary, natural process. Learn how your colony might benefit from a split, signs that your colony is getting ready to swarm and see a live split demonstration.
Thursday, May 11th – Join David Blocher as he explains the process behind rearing your own queens.
Tuesday, May 16th – June 3rd– Queen Rearing Class Cycle 1 – See link for details. This is a 3-week series of classes that will teach you how to raise your own queens. At the end of the series, you get to keep one of the queens you raised!
Sunday, May 21st – BYBA Members Open House at the Bee Yard
Saturday, June 10th – Member Apiary Visit – Join us as we visit a BYBA member’s home apiary.
Tuesday, June 6th – June 24th – Queen Rearing Class Cycle 2 – See link for details. This is a 3-week series of classes that will teach you how to raise your own queens. At the end of the series, you get to keep one of the queens you raised!
Saturday, June 17th, (rain date 6/18) Honey Harvest Workshop
Saturday, July 8th – Member Apiary Visit – Join us as we visit a BYBA member’s home apiary.
Sunday, July 23rd, (rain date 7/29th) Late Summer Hive Inspection – When beekeeping gets ugly! What do you need to look for and what preparations might you need to get your bees ready for fall.
Saturday, August 12th – Fall Mite-A-Thon – Please join us this Saturday at the bee yard as we demonstrate how to do a mite check. Then we’ll team up to get hands-on to check all the colonies in the yard. Afterwards, we will regroup, discuss the results, and talk about the possible actions one could take given that information. This workshop is being presented by BYBA Board Member, Jan Stranik.
Saturday, August 12th – August Wannabees Meeting. Calling families with kids of all ages! We hope that you’ll join us at the BYBA Bee Yard for our Wannabees Kid’s Club Meeting. Kids will learn about pollinators while getting hands-on experience with the Wannabees bee hives. If you’ve never attended a Wannabees Meeting and would like more information, please email us at wannabees@backyardbeekeepers.com
Tuesday, August 15th – New Bee Fundamentals/Special Topics – This month’s topics:
NewBee Fundamentals: Feeding do’s and dont’s, grumpy bees and other seasonal changes in attitude, early stages of fall / winter prep
Special Topics: Why isn’t my honey capped?, late-season re-queening, second swarm season?, colony assessment
Saturday, August 19th – Fall Prep Workshop– Please join Master Beekeeper, Bob Conlan, to learn about how to assess your colonies and get them ready for fall. How much food should they have? Are they healthy and strong? How do you tell and what do you do if the answer is no. Bring your questions and your protective bee gear.
Sunday, August 27th – Member Apiary Visit – Join us at Jan Stranik’s mobile apiary!
Sunday, September 17th – Winter Prep Workshop – Please join Master Beekeeper, Leslie Huston to learn about ways to prep your hives for winter. Should you insulate or ventilate? What if your bees are low on stores? Are they healthy and strong? How to tell what that looks like at this time of year and what to expect in the coming months.
Saturday, October 14th – Wax Workshop
Additional workshop information will be posted as it becomes available.
Workshops - 2022
Please note: BYBA workshops are open to members and their guests.
SUNDAY 2/27 – CSI: Deadout – Post-mortem on a colony that didn’t make it through the winter. We’ll look at the history of the colony as well as the evidence we find left in the hive to try to determine what happened and what we might do differently to achieve a better outcome in the following season.
SUNDAY 3/13 @ NOON – CSI Deadout Post-mortem on a colony that succumbed to the cold and harsh realities of winter
Saturday, March 19th – Build A Hive Workshop – Join past BYBA President, Rick Glover, who will show you the simple steps to building a complete hive set up to hold your first colony of honey bees.
Saturday, March 26th 9 AM – Package installation workshop. Join BYBA President, Ben Haase, as he installs a new package of bees at the Bee Yard. Also, bring your smoker and get a lesson on how to light it and keep it lit throughout your inspection.
Sunday, April 3rd – Noon – First hive inspection Come learn how to inspect your colonies. What is it you want to see early in the season and how to adapt to help your bees get off to a strong start!
Saturday, April 30th – 10AM – Mite Count Workshop – Come to a hands-on workshop all about mites. You’ll see a demonstration, work with a group to do a mite count yourself, and discuss the possible actions to take once you’ve assessed the mite level in your colony.
Saturday, May 14th, (rain date 5/15) – 10 AM – Swarms, a necessary, natural process. What to think and do. Splits, similar to swarms, but they don’t annoy the neighbors.
Wednesday, May 18th – June 7th– Queen Rearing Class Cycle 1 – See link for details. This is a 3-week series of classes that will teach you how to raise your own queens. At the end of the series, you get to keep one of the queens you raised!
Thursday, 5/19 – 7:30 PM – Join David Blocher as he explains the process behind rearing your own queens.
Saturday, May 21st – 4:30 PM – BYBA Members Open House at the Bee Yard
Saturday, June 18th, (rain date 6/19) Honey Harvest Workshop
Wednesday, June 8th – June 22nd – Queen Rearing Class Cycle 2 – See link for details. This is a 3-week series of classes that will teach you how to raise your own queens. At the end of the series, you get to keep one of the queens you raised!
Saturday, July 23rd, (rain date 7/24) Late Summer Hive Inspection – When beekeeping gets ugly! JoinBYBA Vice President, Andy Hatt for tips and tricks to get in and out in a hurry during these late summer inspections. What do you need to look for and what preparations might you need to get your bees ready for fall.
Sunday, August 14th – Fall Mite-a-thon. Join us at the BYBA Bee Yard for Hands on practice checking a hive to determine the mite load. Learn why regardless of your beekeeping philosophy, it’s always better to know this important piece of data. Also be sure to join us next week for the Fall Prep Workshop to learn more about how to use this info to help your hives make it through the winter.
Saturday, August 20th (rain date 8/21) Fall Prep Workshop. Please join us at the BYBA Bee Yard where we will discuss late summer colony assessment, colony health and stores, mite treatment options, pros and cons of fall feeding, and preview the equipment and steps required to ensure your apiary and colonies are prepared for the approaching winter. This is the first of two workshops in the Fall/Winter prep series. David Blocher’s excellent Winter Prep workshop will take place in September. The successful beekeeper is always looking ahead. Please join us!
Saturday, September 10th – Winter Prep Workshop – It may not seem like it, but winter is coming. In beekeeping, we often have to prepare for the next seasonal change well in advance of seeing those changes begin. Join Back Yard Beekeeper’s Association Board Member, David Blocher to learn about preparing your colonies for the upcoming winter.
Sunday, November 6th – Wax Workshop Join former BYBA President, Rick Glover, as he teaches about working with wax to create some great products of the hive! This is a hands-on workshop and all attending will create and go home with their own candle.
Sunday, November 13th – MOVIE NIGHT HAS BEEN POSTPONED
Additional workshop information will be posted as it becomes available.
Workshops - 2021
Please note: BYBA workshops are open to members and their guests.
Additional workshop information will be posted soon.
TBD , 2021 Hive Setup & Bear Fence BYBA Board
March , 2021 CSI: Dead Out – Why Did They Die?
April , 2021 Hiving Package Bees – Hive Inspection #1
September 25, 2021 Winter Prep Workshop w/ David Blocher & Rick Glover
Workshops - 2020
Please note: BYBA workshops are open to members and their guests.
Additional workshop information will be posted soon.
Sunday, February 23, 2020 Hive Setup & Bear Fence BYBA Board (Norfield Grange, Weston, 11am)
Saturday, March 14, 2020 CSI: Deadout David Blocher (BYBA Bee Yard, Easton, 11am)
Sunday, April 5, 2020 Hiving Package Bees & 1st Inspection Ellen Zampino (BYBA Bee Yard, Easton, 11am)
Monthly Meetings - 2023
Monthly Meetings – 2023
The BYBA monthly meetings begin at 7:30 pm on the last Tuesday of the month via Zoom or at the Norfield Church Community Room; 64 Norfield Road, Weston, CT.
There is usually a meeting designed specifically for new beekeepers prior to our General Meeting at 6:30 pm via Zoom. Our calendar is subject to change, so please check back for the latest updates or call any members of the Board (see the listing of Board members).
These events are free and open to the public.
Note: These events are subject to change as we continue to work through and adapt to the current health pandemic.
Monday, January 9th, 16th, 23rd, & 30th (Mon, Feb 6th – Snow Date) – Bee School – A fine way to either get a solid introduction into beekeeping or to fill in some gaps in what you know already that will strengthen your skills. Topics covered include safety issues, types of equipment, evolving roles of the worker bee, honeybee pests and diseases and much, much more.
Tuesday, February 28th – Cory Stevens – Conquering the Queen Dilemma – Cory will be speaking about stock selection for sustainability. He will detail out what a year of selection looks like starting with queen rearing in the spring, culling undesirable traits, and VSH/SMR testing the following year along with picking breeder queens.
Tuesday, March 28th – Michelle Flenniken, Ph.D. from Montana State University – The impact of viruses on honey bees at the colony, individual, and cellular levels. Join Dr. Michelle Flenniken, a microbiologist/virologist and co-director of Montana State University’s Pollinator Health Center, for a presentation on the impact of viruses and other pathogens on honey bee health. She will highlight recent research from her lab and discuss the importance of basic and applied science to address this important global challenge.
Tuesday, April 25th – Alvaro De la Mora, Breeding Honey Bee Colonies for Low Varroa Growth in Ontario & Use of Single Brood Chamber vs Double Brood Chamber Two talks in one night! The first focuses on selecting bees for Low and High Varroa population Growth (LVG and HVG, respectively). The two genotypes produced after three generations of selection, were assessed for gene expression, haemocyte (insect blood cells involved in cellular immunity) concentrations in haemolymph, DWV levels, grooming behaviour (related with natural Varroa-resistance), and overwinter colony mortality. The second talk focuses on the experience that the Honey Bee Research Centre at the University of Guelph has with the use of single brood chambers in their hives.
Tuesday, May 23rd – Alexandra Bartsch – The Nature, History and Uses of Beeswax – Alexandra Bartsch lives in Lexington, Massachusetts, where she has been keeping bees since 1978. Since 2016 she has been a master Beekeeper certified by the Eastern Apiculture Society. Alexandra and her daughter Anastasia created the Lexington Bee Company in 2015 in order to provide bees for public and non-profit lands nearby and to foster beekeeping and beekeeping education. In order to do so, she depends on the assistance of the Lexington High School Beekeepers Association, which she mentors.
Tuesday, June 27th – Annual Member Dinner & Silent Auction
Tuesday, July 25th – Lars Chittka – The Mind of a Bee –Lars Chittka is the author of the book The Mind of a Bee and Professor of Sensory and Behavioural Ecology at Queen Mary College of the University of London. He is also the founder of the Research Centre for Psychology at Queen Mary. He is known for his work on the evolution of sensory systems and cognition using insect-flower interactions as a model system. Chittka has made fundamental contributions to our understanding of animal cognition and its impact on evolutionary fitness studying bumblebees and honeybees.
Tuesday, September 26th – Etienne Tardif – Beginner’s Guide to Field Observations – Inside and Outside of the HiveBeekeeping is about more than just what is going on in the hive. Good beekeepers quickly connect what is going on inside the hive with what is going on outside. As a beekeeper you must learn this for your own local area if you want to be successful. In this presentation we will discuss several things you can do to improve your understanding of weather-related bee foraging behaviours, your nectar and pollen flows and your annual bee cycles. The outside world will help you understand what is going on inside your colony.
Tuesday, October 24th – BYBA Member, Paul Labrum – Broodminder…What are the girls up to?
Tuesday, November 28th – Dr. Judy Wu-Smart
In addition, a number of weekend workshops are scheduled each year to give participants a hands-on opportunity to learn new beekeeping skills & techniques and visit other bee yards.
Monthly Meetings - 2022
February 22, 2022 Evan Abramson -Designing Biodiversity in the Anthropocene: Landscapes and Corridors to Support Wild Pollinators
March 29, 2022 Dewey Caron – Evaluating Your Spring Colony
April 26, 2022 Roger Patterson – What is going wrong with our queens?
May 24, 2022 Raina Jain – HiveGuard: Eliminating Varroa Mite Infestations Using Thymol Entranceway
June 28, 2022 BYBA Club Pot Luck & Silent Auction
July 26, 2022 Mark Creighton – State Bee Inspector
September 27, 2022 Howland Blackiston & Marina Marchese – “Honey for Dummies”
October 25, 2022 Sam Comfort – Living the Hive Life: a night of music, bees, and anarchy with Sam Comfort – LIVE!
November 29, 2022 Anthony Planakis – Official Beekeeper of the NYPD
Monthly Meetings - 2021
February 23, 2021 Rose-Lynn Fisher: Bee, via Zoom
March 30, 2021 Robyn Underwood – COMB Project
April 27, 2021 Jennifer Berry – TBD
May 25, 2021 Sam Comfort – The Good, The Bad, and the Bugly: Recent efforts to simplify a complex bee world
June 29, 2021 Ice Cream Social at LaChat Farm
July 27, 2021 Dan Conlon – Queen Assessment
September 28, 2021 Mary Duane – Honey Judging
October 26, 2021 Nick Hoefly of Astor Apiaries – Beekeeping in the Big Apple
November 30, 2021 Michael Lund – Building your own Equipment
Monthly Meetings - 2020
February 25, 2020 David Tarpy: Coming out of Winter
CANCELED: March 31, 2020 Dan Conlon: Looking for Queens in all the Right Places
CANCELED: April 28, 2020 Anthony Planakis: NYC Bees, A Day in the Life
CANCELED: May 19, 2020 Wyatt Mangum: Topic TBD
CANCELED: June 30, 2020 Dinner & Silent Auction
CANCELED: July 28, 2020 Dan Conlon: Looking for Queens in all the Right Places
September 29, 2020 Tammy Horn: Beeconomy, Women and Bees, and Trade/Global Markets
October 27, 2020 Patty Pulliam & Ellen Zampino: Cleaning and Crafting with Beeswax
November 17, 2020 Howland Blackiston: Mead Making
Monthly Meetings - 2019
January 29, 2019 Jamie Ellis: The Indispensible Nuc
February 26, 2019 Aaron Morris: Masterful Beekeeping
March 26, 2019 Sam Ramsey: Varroa Mites
April 30, 2019 Ed & Marion Szymanski: Planting for Pollinators / Neighborhood Mite Monitoring
May 21, 2019 Grai St. Clair Rice: Bees in the Garden, a Dance with Evolution
June 25, 2019 Dinner & Silent Auction
September 24, 2019 Kim Flottum: Second Season
October 29, 2019 Katie Lee: Queen-Rearing – Selecting Breeder Colonies
November 19, 2019 (was November 26) Larry Connor: The Increase Nucleus as Support Hive in the Backyard Apiary and the Bee Breeding Program
Monthly Meetings - 2018
January 30, 2018 Howland Blackiston: JeoparBee
February 27, 2018 Kirsten Traynor: Over The Atlantic: European Intensive Hive Management
March 27, 2018 Christy Hemenway: Top Bar Hives
April 24, 2018 Roberta Glatz: The Biology of Swarming
May 22, 2018 Peter Borst: Harvesting Honey, Let Me Count the Ways
June 26, 2018 Pot Luck Dinner and Silent Auction
September 25, 2018 Richard Cowles: The Queen of Your Dreams
October 30, 2018 Dewey Caron: Working toward Natural/Treatment-free Colony Management
November 27, 2018 Bill Hesbach: Over-wintering
Monthly Meetings - 2017
January 31, 2017 Sharp Eatman: Wild bees
February 28, 2017 Aaron Morris: Topic TBA
March 28, 2017 Carl Jurica: Raising local queens
April 25, 2017 Frederique Keller: Apitheraphy
May 23, 2017 Christina Grozinger: Partnering with beekeepers
June 27, 2017 Dinner & Silent Auction Meeting
September 26, 2017 Tom Seeley: Honey bees in the wild
October 31, 2017 Kirk Webster: The Evolution of Darwinian Beekeeping.
November 28, 2017 Jennifer Berry: Varroa Virulence
Monthly Meetings - 2016
January 26, 2016 Alison Gillespie, author: Hives in the City
February 23, 2016 Jonathan Snow, PhD. Barnard on Housewarming: Thermoregulation in Honey Bee Colonies
March 29, 2016 Dr.John Boyce M.D., Yale on Honey as Medicine
April 26, 2016 Roberta Glatz, NYS, on Bee Stings & What You Can Do About It
May 24, 2016 James Wilkes on Hive Tracks: Using Technology for Record Keeping
June 28, 2016 Dinner & Silent Auction
September 27, 2016 Anne Frey on Mistakes in Beekeeping
October 25, 2016 Brenna Traver, Penn State, on Honey Bee Pathogens
November 15, 2016 Jennifer Tsuruda, Clemson, on Behavioral resistance to Varroa
Monthly Meetings - 2015
January 27, 2015 Sam Droege (meeting cancelled due to snow.)
February 24, 2015 Dr. Meghan Milbrath on Keeping a Healthy Hive
March 31, 2015 Izzy Hill on beneficial nematodes for small hive beetle control
April 28, 2015 Sam Droege on The Glorious Diversity of Other Bees.
May 26, 2015 Wyatt Mangum Ph.D on Queen Introduction
June 30, 2015 Dinner & Silent Auction Meeting
September 29, 2015 Juliana Rangel Posada on Reproductive Biology of Honey Bees
October 27, 2015 Sam Comfort on Future Zombee Apocalypse
November 17, 2015 Michael Fairbrother of Moon Light Meadery on Mead
Our general membership meetings are held on the last Tuesday of most months at 7:30 PM at the Norfield Church in Weston, CT.
Please see our Calendar of Events for details.
64 Norfield Rd
Weston, CT 06883
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