We will be enjoying another year of great speakers, opportunities to learn from our own expert beekeepers, and fun social events.

If you would like to speak or if you would like to suggest a speaker for a future meeting, please email president@longislandbeekeepers.org.

For other local events, see our Special Events calendar.

We meet the 4th Sunday of each month. Unless otherwise noted, our meetings are held at Smithtown Historical Society Frank Brush Barn, 211 East Main Street (Route 25), Smithtown.

Doors open at 1:30, the meeting starts promptly at 2:00

If you use Google Calendar, you can subscribe to the Google's LIBC Meeting Calendar by clicking on this link:

Sunday, January 27, 2013
No Meeting in February
Sunday, March 24, 2013: Annual Meeting & Elections
Sunday, April 28, 2013
Sunday, May 26, 2013
Sunday, June 23, 2013
No Meeting in July (Attend EAS in PA)
Sunday, August 25, 2013
Sunday, September 22, 2013
Sunday, October 27, 2013
Sunday, November 24, 2013
Sunday, December 2013: Annual Holiday Luncheon

Interested in beekeeping, but not sure of what's involved? Attend our free beekeeping for new-bees class: Beekeeping 101.
Before our regular monthly meeting, from 1:00 to 1:45 you learn some of the basics of beekeeping and find out if it's right for you.
Our meetings are held at Smithtown Historical Society Frank Brush Barn, 211 East Main Street (Route 25), Smithtown.

Here is the proposed class schedule for this year:
Lesson 1: March - Selecting the Right Equipment for your Beekeeping Experience
Lesson 2: April – Starting a Hive of Bees and Overwintered Colony Revival
Lesson 3: May – Colony Buildup and Swarm Prevention
Lesson 4: June – Honey Production and Processing
Lesson 5: July – Queen Replacement and Colony Multiplication
Lesson 6: September – Fall Preparation
Lesson 7: October – Winter Preparation
Lesson 8: November – Spring Preparation

Guest Speaker
Brian Zimmerman from Nassau County Soil and Water Conservation will be discussing native pollinators of Long Island.

Dr. James E. Tew will be discussing "Inside the Natural Honey Bee Nest."
Few things are more familiar to beekeepers than the hive equipment in which they house their bees. Indeed, it has served both beekeepers and honey bees for many years. Though we love it and can't imagine keeping bees in anything else, its design is not perfect. That opinion has been made clear by the bees themselves. This discussion will review characteristics of both natural honey bee nests and artificial nest domiciles.

Dr. James E. Tew is currently the Beekeeping Specialist for the Alabama Cooperative Extension Service, Auburn University. In 2011 he retired after 34 years as the Ohio State Extension Beekeeping Specialist at Ohio State Univ.. He has taught and has conducted applied research on honey bees and their behavior, specifically pollination behavior. He writes monthly articles for Bee Culture and has written two books, Beekeeping Principles and Backyard Beekeeping. He enjoys woodworking, photography and feeding ungrateful birds.

In lieu of a meeting in August, we're encouraging members to attend the Eastern Apicultural Society 2013 Summer convention at the West Chester University of Pennsylvania, August 5-9th. The theme is “Honey Bee Connectivity”. West Chester PA is located near the Brandywine Valley, west of Philadelphia and north of Wilmington DE.
The 2013 program will focus on our relationship with honey bees and how they connect us with the environment and other people. We are planning to engage growers and gardeners, educators, and other beekeepers / beekeeping organizations both at home and abroad.

For More Information...
http://www.easternapiculture.org/conferences/eas-2013.html

We're not sure what his topic will be, but who cares? It's Dr. Tom Seeley!!

Details to be announced.

Annual Honey Judging Contest
Doors open at 1:30, the meeting starts promptly at 2:00
Our honey judging contest isn’t just limited to extracted honey, it also includes comb honey, creamed honey, chunk honey, beeswax, mead, honey cookery, arts and crafts, and gadgets. You can see the entire list of products and rules here: http://www.longislandbeekeepers.org/library/honeyrules/honeyrules.html

Bee Wellness Workshop Report
Club member, Donal Peterson, will be reporting on the NY Bee Wellness Workshop he attended in July and the upcoming opportunity for club members to learn about bee diseases.

Smithtown Historical Society Frank Brush Barn, 211 East Main Street (Route 25), Smithtown, at 1:30 PM.

Place and date to bee announced.