Meetings and Workshops

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.

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.

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.

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

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)

Members can access recorded sessions by logging in, looking under Member Resources –> BYBA Presentations

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.

Members can access recorded sessions by logging in, looking under Member Resources –> BYBA Presentations

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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