Join, attend and be entered to win $50
All 2022 memberships have expired
Our 2023 club membership drive is off and running. This year we're holding a drawing to win a $50 gift card. To enter, all you have to do is join the club and attend our January 8 kickoff meeting. The winner will be drawn and announced at the end of the meeting.
To renew or join for the first time, all you need to do is join as a new member. We have a great year planned: a full-flight of classes, bees for sale, and monthly meetings with prominent speakers and researchers from across the nation. Joining the club is a great way to meet and network with other beekeepers, get help and answers to your questions and to have a good time.
Join us for our 2023 Kickoff Meeting
Sunday January 8, from 4 – 6 pm
Cameron Park Community Center, Classroom B
We are super honored to have guest speaker Marla Spivak join us as our opening presenter of the year.
Honey bees have a remarkable health care system, called social immunity. Marla will discuss two components of social immunity — propolis collection and hygienic behavior — and how they improve colony health. She will also discuss her continued progress in selecting honey bee colonies for resistance to Varroa mites and viruses.
Marla Spivak is a MacArthur Fellow and McKnight Distinguished Professor in Entomology at the University of Minnesota. She obtained her Ph.D. in Entomology at the University of Kansas in 1989, on the ecology and identification of Africanized honey bees in Costa Rica.
She is particularly well known for her work breeding lines of honey bees that detect and quickly remove diseased larvae and pupae, called hygienic behavior. She was instrumental in setting up the first bee Tech-Transfer Team in the United States, which continues to help honey bee queen breeders select for disease resistance traits. More recently, her research efforts have focused on protecting and enhancing the health of bees through social immunity and bee breeding. Her lab also studies the effect of the surrounding landscape on the health and nutrition of both honey bees and native bees.
Don't know Marla? Check out her 2013 Ted Talk, 2014 State of the Bees, and some of her recent lectures here.
Beginning Beekeeping class starts February 11
This two-part introductory class is comprised of one classroom day and one afternoon in the field. Taught by experienced club members, many in the CA Master Beekeeping Program. We teach what you need to know to succeed in our area. Sign up today.
2023 Hive registration reminder
To register, visit our Resources page and click on the "register your hives" button in the lefthand sidebar to register with BeeWhere, the statewide website for hive registration. This is a yearly requirement for all beekeepers, plus the fee has been waived for El Dorado County beekeepers. BeeWhere is a great resource, bringing beekeepers and pesticide applicators together to protect bees.
Questions about your bees? Try our Facebook group!
If you can't figure out what the heck's going on in that hive, ask our Facebook group, where club members post questions, answers, and many opinions. You can also post photos of your beekeeping successes!
Hungry Bees?
It's a good idea to have pollen patties on hand, so you have them when necessary. The club has pollen patties for sale, $3 each. Placerville area, contact John Havicon at 916.996.8371, or for the Cameron Park area, contact Bernie Ruzicka at 916.719.6708. They are also available at our club meetings.
Join us for our kickoff meeting, Sunday, January 8, 4-6 at the Cameron Park Community Center.