One way to get started keeping bees is to take a class. Professor Jon Zawislak with the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service says the service offers beekeeping courses around the state year-round.
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The courses are held in three short sessions.
Part one covers the hive, its components and how it works as well as basic bee biology and how to work with the creatures, not against them.
The second class discusses seasonal colony management, from putting the first bees into the hive to how to harvest and bottle honey.
The final class focuses on bee health, how to protect the hive from other insects such as beetles and caterpillars and how to fight the bee's top parasitic enemy: the varroa destructor mite.
The class schedule for the rest of 2016:
June 6, 13 and 20 in Forrest City
Oct. 10, 17 and 24 in Ash Flat
Nov. 7, 14 and 21 in Texarkana
The Arkansas Beekeepers Association Fall Conference is scheduled for Nov. 4-5 in Mountain View.
There are also beekeeper associations scattered all over Arkansas, with regular meetings for beekeepers of all experience levels. Some associations even own equipment that can be borrowed by members at no cost.
Zawislak says, "It's a great way to meet fellow beekeepers in your area. They're very knowledgeable about what's in bloom and other conditions. They can advise beekeepers on where to purchase bees and equipment. It's a good way to get good personal information from people that know."
Beekeeper Ronnie Graham agrees.
"They'll take you in and take you to their apiaries and show you how to work the bees. There's nothing like hands-on."
For more information, contact the UA Extension Service, (501) 671-2000 or uaex.edu, or the Arkansas Beekeepers Association at arbeekeepers.org.
HomeStyle on 05/14/2016