Author Topic: Two Day Bee Improvement workshops w/Roger Patterson June 23/24th & June 25/26th  (Read 2886 times)

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Offline robo

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We are please to have Roger Patterson coming from England to run 2 Day hands-on workshops on bee improvement.   Workshops will be held in Gardiner, NY.

Due to limited size of workshops, two different sections will be offered.

1st session will be Thursday June 23rd & Friday June 24th. - more info/register
2nd session will be Saturday June 25th & Sunday June 26th. - more info/register


Roger Patterson

Roger is a practical beekeeper who has kept bees since 1963. This was directly after the harsh 1962/3 winter when a large number of bees and queens were imported. He quickly realized these imports were not well suited to our climate and conditions. A chance meeting with Beowulf Cooper resulted in him joining VBBA (now renamed BIBBA) in 1965. At one stage he ran 130 colonies, but has now reduced to around 25. He concentrates on teaching the practical aspects of beekeeping at his local BKA where he is the Apiary Manager. He lectures and demonstrates widely and is a regular contributor to the bee press. Roger now owns and maintains Dave Cushman's website www.dave-cushman.net that is widely recognized as one of the world's most comprehensive beekeeping websites. He is the author of "Beekeeping. A Practical Guide". He is a BBKA Trustee and Vice President of Bee Diseases Insurance (BDI). Roger can often be seen in the company of his border collie Nell.

Who is it aimed at?

This course is aimed at beekeepers who have several colonies, are involved in a bee improvement group or are considering starting one. It will suit those who want to raise good quality queens by using “artificial” methods in batches of 6 or more in controlled conditions. The information gained should prepare attendees for producing many more queens on a regular basis if required.
Attendees should know the “basics” of beekeeping, i.e. the life cycles, swarming procedure of a colony, disease recognition, etc., and be able to see eggs and young larvae. This is not a course for raw beginners, although it may suit fairly inexperienced beekeepers who know the “basics”, can handle bees reasonably well and are capable of learning quickly.

Note: If you suffer reactions to being stung by honey bees you are advised not to attend this course. Circumstances vary, where some locations may not be in an area that enjoys a speedy ambulance service. It is also unlikely there will be tutors or attendees who are able to deal with an emergency.

Why should we improve our bees?

Many older beekeepers agree that bees are not as tough or as suitable for our climatic conditions as bees once were. This could be for a number of reasons, including the continued importation of bees and queens, “treatments” and “supplements” that mask problems and the failure of beekeepers to cull the poor doers.
When we look to “improve” our bees, perhaps we should take into account the characteristics that have served honey bees so well since their re-colonization of Britain following the last ice age.
To help make our beekeeping more pleasurable we can select for characteristics that we prefer, such as gentleness. This is a much more rewarding and sustainable approach than simply buying replacement queens that may be imported, which have the added risk of introducing diseases.

What will be covered?

There will be both practical and theoretical elements, with time spent at a number of colonies of bees.
Amongst the topics we hope to cover are:-
Colony handling techniques.
Making up and managing queen mating colonies and nuclei.
Discussing and demonstrating Q/C building methods.
Clipping and marking queens.
Q/C raising colonies.
Assessing colonies and deciding which to raise queens from and which to cull.
Selection criteria.
Recording.
Working with other beekeepers.
Setting up and running a bee improvement group.
Equipment required – buying, making, improvising or modifying.
Drone production.
Q/C distribution.
Queen introduction.
Mating control.
Some of the myths.

What equipment is needed?

There will be some time spent at the bees, so you will need clean protective clothing. It is asked that leather (or similar) gloves aren’t worn, firstly to avoid the possibility of spreading foul brood and secondly to be able to handle and “feel” the bees without being clumsy. If gloves are worn they should be new and lightweight, such as disposables, because queens and bees may be handled.
Apiaries at some locations may be in rural areas with rough ground, so may require stout footwear.
Magnifying aids, if required, to see eggs and young larvae.
All equipment that is brought on site should be cleaned beforehand.
We strongly suggest a notebook and/or laptop.
A camera for practical sessions is always useful and its use will be encouraged, but please don’t use one to photograph the projector screen, as it annoys other attendees.
All other equipment will be supplied.

What can I expect?

A well run course with a limited number of attendees, so the tutors aren’t overstretched and we can give individual attention.
Experienced tutors who will be teaching from their own experience, not from books or the web. Please accept they may not have experience of all methods – few people have, however, there will be a number of options, so you can make your own mind up which you prefer.
This course will be fun, interactive and full of encouragement to explore the joys of raising your own queens that have the characteristics you want. The knowledge gained will help give you the satisfaction of producing your own queens and the confidence to assess and improve them.
Attendance is not intended to be a quick fix to improve your bees and that is it. Bee improvement is an ongoing part of beekeeping in the same way that honey production is.
We believe that beekeeping should be fun, not a chore. We don’t give attendees loads of information that is based on narrow thinking and difficult to absorb, but tried and tested methods that are simple to understand.
The order in which the course is presented may be adjusted to suit the weather (or the forecast!). If we expect our bees to make the best of our unpredictable climate, then so should we!
These courses are held in a number of locations. Local conditions, apiaries, bees, equipment, personnel and facilities may vary considerably. Please accept and respect that hosts may not keep bees in the same way that you do.

Although not part of the course it is hoped that attendees will meet up for dinner on the first evening, so they can get to know each other and have a chance to relax in the company of others with the same interest.

Course etiquette

In order to present this course, we rely on bees being provided by the hosts. It is therefore reasonable they are treated with the utmost respect.
All colonies are to be handled with care and by using the appropriate quantity of smoke to control them.
No smokers or hive tools are to be used, other than those supplied.
In order to identify stocks to raise queens from or for queen culling (we don’t expect to kill queens!) we will place them in order of preference. This is for instructional purposes only and not to be seen as criticism of the bees kept by our hosts.

"Opportunity is missed by most people because it comes dressed in overalls and looks like work." - Thomas Edison