2023
Late Summer/Fall – 2023
After much discussion, the SCBA wants the public to know that the “organization was founded for all beekeepers in or near Sheboygan County, for the purpose of educating ourselves and prospective members, that we may better control our colonies and our environment to help and educate people about the wonders of the honey bee”. We do not assist with other vespids (wasps, hornets, bumblebees) from unwanted locations. Please visit our BEE ID page to assist with identification. http://sheboyganbees.org/scba/bee-id/
Also, please be aware that the relocation of honey bees is not possible in late summer and fall. Honey bees need time to build up their honey stores for winter. There just isn’t enough time to move them and have them make enough honey, and they will die during winter.
July 25, 2023
Be sure to check out the Minutes from our July 25th meeting. There is some important information from this meeting, including information on American Fowl Brood and how to deal with it.
May 9, 2023 – Tomorrow (5/9/23) is our May meeting. We have a special guest, Garry Oreskovic of Honey Land Farms. Garry will be sharing a very special and timely program on Disease and American Foul Brood. Garry feels this is very important at this time. The meeting is at the Miley Barn, Nourish Farms in Sheboygan Falls, beginning at 6:30 PM. 100 Alfred Miley Ave, Sheboygan Falls, WI 53085 Everyone is welcome!!
The Introduction to Beekeeping has been rescheduled due to the storm in February. It will be held in the Miley Barn at Nourish on Tuesday, March 14th at 6:30 PM. No registration is necessary and the Intro is FREE.
I talked with Nourish, and they still have about 10 spots left for their Pizza with a Purpose. If you are interested in that, see the link below. Also, I wouldn’t wait too long, they fill up fast. https://nourishfarms.org/events/pizza-with-a-purpose-sheboygan-county-beekeepers
The BAD NEWS: Tonight’s Pizza with a Purpose/Introduction to Beekeeping has been cancelled due to the storm.
The GOOD NEWS: Nourish has offered to let us reschedule the Pizza with a Purpose (for those of you interested) and the Introduction to Beekeeping (for ALL OF YOU) during our regular meeting in March. We actually have had people asking if we would be doing another Intro meeting during the year because they could not make the one tonight. So all is good!
The March meeting is Tuesday, March 14th in the Miley Barn at Nourish. Bee meeting is 6:30 PM – No registration necessary for the Beekeeping program. I’ll post more later about registering for the Pizza with a purpose.
BE SAFE OUT THERE!!!!!
Also, please be aware that the relocation of honey bees is not possible in late summer and fall. Honey bees need time to build up their honey stores for winter. There just isn’t enough time to move them and have them make enough honey, and they will die during winter.
October 2022 – Is anyone interested in free beekeeping classes? Tim Wilbanks at Heritage Honey will be presenting beekeeping facts. You can register at the following link. Classes will be at Heritage Honey – Sullivan, WI This is a two-part class. Please only sign up if you are able to attend both classes. https://heritagehoneybee.com/pages/events
September 13, 2022 Meeting – September 13, 2022 – The SCBA September meeting will be on Tuesday, September 13th in the Miley Barn at Nourish. This will be a very informative meeting with our special guest speaker Tim Wilbanks, from Heritage Honeybee. Tim gives a great presentation and has a wealth of knowledge about beekeeping. If you are already a beekeeper, or thinking about becoming one – this is the program for you. The program begins at 6:30 pm. Everyone is welcome. Many of our beekeepers gets their bees and products from Tim.
Hello WHPA Members!
We’re on countdown to the WI State Fair August 4-14! The WHPA Honey Booth will once again be located in the WI Products Pavilion with an improved education and promotion area, a live observation hive, and honey & honey products for sale! We are seeking volunteers to help out at the Honey Booth! All volunteers will be sent an admission pass to enter the State Fair. Please consider volunteering for a shift. There are several open time slots to choose from. The ONLINE SIGN UP IS LINKED HERE
The WI State Fair Honey Booth is the Association’s only annual fundraiser. It’s also an opportunity to promote the wonderful world of bees, honey, and beekeeping!
Please contact Tracy Malterer, Honey Booth volunteer coordinator, with any questions at 920-285-1817.
Thank you & bee well!
Two years ago, Appleton became the first city in the U.S. to adopt “No-Mow May,” an initiative designed to boost the population of bees and other pollinators. The idea is to give homeowners the option of letting their lawns get a bit overgrown for a few weeks to ensure that bees that are coming out of hibernation have plenty of options for the nectar and pollen they need.The initiative, which is optional everywhere it’s been implemented, requires cities to temporarily waive enforcement of ordinances that require homeowners to maintain their lawns.How about considering taking a break from weed and feed and mowing for the Month of May? Sit back, relax, read a book! (Beekeepers for Dummies?)https://www.wpr.org/what-you-need-know-about-no-mow-may…
Just a reminder about our Introduction to Beekeeping Meeting is this Friday, February 4th at 6:30 PM. There is NO REGISTRATION for this meeting, just feel free to come. The meeting is at the Miley Barn at Nourish Farms. If you would rather watch from the comfort of your home go to the following link through Google Meet. There is nothing to download ahead of time, just go to the link shortly before the meeting. http://meet.google.com/ozt-agmp-xvx
This is the NEWS page. Anything that is newsworthy that relates to our organization will bee right here.
In case you missed our Presentation on Tuesday, February 9th, 2021, here is a link to the ZOOM meeting. Introduction to Beekeeping Passcode: 89$WVRrV It’s best to type the Passcode in rather than copying and pasting. This link will be available as of 8-11-2021.
County Beekeepers Association.
2021
Check our SCHEDULE page for specifics/topics/programs.
2021
August 10, 2021
Program by Sam Lamers will be on the Maywood Environmental Center observation hive. This program will be at our “new” location. 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM in the Miley Barn at NOURISH Farm – 100 Alfred Miley Ave, Sheboygan Falls, WI 53085. We hope to see you there!
2020
Beginning with the April 14, 2020 meeting, the SCBA will be holding online meetings. We will continue doing this during the” Safer at Home” directive issued by Governor Evers. Be sure to check your email for members with directions on how to access the ZOOM sessions.
July 14, 2020
May 19, 2020
We had a great meeting with April Kustov, (Apiary Inspector/Plant Industry Bureau /DARM Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection /Apiary). April gave the program, a great presentation on information regarding mite control. It was very detailed, and should be very helpful to all of us in this coming year.
May 17, 2020
Hello everyone,
Just a heads up for our Tuesday meeting. I won’t be actually receiving the invitation from April Kustov until tomorrow. But I wanted to remind you that we are on her schedule. Because of the mix-up last week, this meeting will be via SKYPE Business. You will need to download that app if you do not already have it. Hopefully this will all work out. The access will begin at 6:15 pm to allow you time to download if necessary, and log-in. The meeting itself will begin at 6:30 pm. We will have the business meeting first, then April will do her presentation on mite control, and take questions at the end.
May 2020
We went to pickup our bees from Garry O this weekend, and had the occasion to check out his Bee Houses that he is making. He saw this beekeeping method on his trip to Slovenia last year.
February 11, 2020
Thanks to everyone that came out tonight for our Introduction to Beekeeping. We had a great crowd, 62 people, most new to beekeeping and a few experienced beekeepers. It was a great night. We hope to see you again!
Good afternoon! We have had an Event posted on Facebook since January 24th that we will be sponsoring an “Introduction to Beekeeping” on Tuesday, February 11th. On that posting, there is a link to respond if you are attending. We have room for 50 people, and have had 7 people respond that they will indeed be attending. It says that there are 43 spots left. Because of our venue, we do need to limit to 50.
The concern with us is that we have posted the event on Facebook in a poster that has had 5,694 people reached, either through the poster itself or it being “shared”. We are concerned, as much as we would love to have a “Full House”, that our house isn’t too full and we have to turn some of you away.
If you are certain that you are attending, would you please go to the event posting on our Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/events/475471033159889/, and reply that you intend on coming on Tuesday? Or if you could send us an email at sheboyganbees.org thru our “contact us” heading, it will help us to know just how many people will be coming.
Thanks so much!
Tuesday – February 11, 2020 – Join us for a free Discussion on Beekeeping at the ADRC Building, (Aging and Disability Resource Center) Building, 650 Forest Avenue, Sheboygan Falls Wisconsin. 6:30 pm to 8:30 PM.
We will be including A PowerPoint, Q & A period, and also a display and discussion on materials needed to begin beekeeping.
2019
October, 2019
The following article, an interview with Club member Peter Dietz, was in the Sheboygan Falls News. Thanks to the Falls News for giving us permission to reprint the article here.
http://sheboyganbees.org/scba/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Honey-bees-and-beekeeping.pdf
August 8th – Volunteering at the Wisconsin State Fair
Thanks to the 13 members (Mary, Kathy, Julie, Dan, Grace, Garry, Kristin, Dan, Ralph, Mikah, and Kurt) of the Sheboygan County Beekeepers Association that volunteered today at the Wisconsin Honey Producers booth at the Wisconsin State Fair. It was a great day of fellowship. We all loved sharing knowledge of beekeeping with everyone that stopped by the booth. Unfortunately, Jan and Kathy H. were not present when the picture was taken.
March 12th Meeting – Thanks to Daniel Ziehli for his presentation on mites and foul brood. Dan’s information on treating our bees to prevent these issues was very timely. Bees that survived, and bees that are coming to the state shortly, will need to be treated soon. Thanks again, Dan.
Thanks to everyone that brought raffle items…………..
March 12 – Program – Initial business meeting – We are pleased to announce that on Tuesday, March 12th, we will have a guest speaker, Daniel N Ziehli, Wisconsin State Bee Inspector. He will be doing a presentation on mites and Foul Brood. His program will begin promptly at 6:30 PM since he will be traveling back to Madison that night. It should be an interesting program!
This meeting is open to any interested beekeepers………….
6:30 PM – 8:30 PM at the ADRC (Aging and Disability Resource Center) Building, 650 Forest Avenue, Sheboygan Falls Wisconsin.
February, 2019 – The Beginning Beekeeping meeting for 2/12 has been rescheduled for 2/19, due to weather……………………………….
On Tuesday, February 19th, we will be having an informational meeting on Beekeeping. This is for anyone interested in beekeeping. Come and hear members talk about how to get started!
6:30 PM – 8:30 PM at the ADRC (Aging and Disability Resource Center) Building, 650 Forest Avenue, Sheboygan Falls Wisconsin.
November 11, 2018 – Holiday Potluck
It was a great even of good food and Fellowship, followed by BINGO. Have a safe and fun Holiday Season. See you in 2019!
***October 9, 2018 – Please NOTE …………The October meeting will be at the ADRC at 6:30 PM as originally planned.
August 9, 2018
We had a great time today at the Wisconsin State Fair in West Allis. Members of the Sheboygan County Beekeepers Association volunteered at the Wisconsin Honey Producers Association Booth from 9 am – 5 pm. We were able to discuss beekeeping and sell a lot of honey, all to benefit the Wisconsin Honey Producers Association.
Thanks to Linda and Ray, Julie, Sheila, Wisconsin Honey Princess Lexi, Kris, Kathy, Lois, Kurt, Carl, and Anne for donating their time to discuss beekeeping. We dont have a picture of Garry and Grace, they appeared at 5 pm to cover the last shift of the day. We had a number of prospective beekeepers visit the booth and pick our brains. Always a good thing.
It was also a nice time of fellowship with our fellow SCBA members! I think that everyone had a good time. We hope to be back next year.
June 23, 2018
CALLING ALL BEEKEEPERS!
The Sheboygan County Beekeepers Association has offered to staff the booth for the Wisconsin Honey Producers Association at the Wisconsin State Fair this year.
The date is Thursday, August 9th from 9 AM to 5 PM. We need at least 7 volunteers, and if we have more, we could possibly split the time into 2 shifts – 9 AM to 1 PM, and 1 PM to 5 PM.
All volunteers receive free admission to the Fair. Parking is on your own.
We have volunteered for this in the past, and it’s a fun activity, meeting people interested in beekeeping and honey. Our booth is always busy!
We can discuss driving arrangements once we see how many people sign up. Hope you can help!
Please respond ASAP.
Thank you.
June 12, 2018
What a great evening last night. The weather was great, food was wonderful, and BINGO is always fun. Thanks to everyone that brought food and BINGO prizes. And a special thanks to Sheila, Dan, Amanda, Ken, Ralph, and others that helped to grill the meat and set everything up. Such a great group of people! We had just under 50 people in attendance.
May 16, 2018
We talked with Garry at Honey Land Farms this evening, and he is planning on going ahead with the Queen Rearing Program this Saturday, May 19th, at 10:00 AM. He’s planning on about a 2 hour program. Upon completion of this first class, he will determine any future programs with those in attendance at the program on the 19th
The first presentation will be Saturday May 19th from 10 a.m. until noon, at Honey Land Farms west of Cascade.
April 20, 2018
Join us for our May Meeting we will have a special presentation by
Next meeting, May 8th. Guest Speaker Thelma Heidel-Baker, Ph.D. Conservation Biological Control Specialist , Xerces Society. Her program, on Pollinators, begins promptly at 6:30 p.m.
Thelma will be giving a presentation, BEFORE the business meeting, at 6:30 p.m. on Pollinators. The program will be starting promptly at 6:30.
April 13, 2018
We have had a few inquiries concerning getting package bees in this chilly weather. Here are a few suggestions –
- There is no problem with keeping the bees in their package as long as they are warm enough and have enough food and water. You can keep them packaged for at least several days and possibly a week. Look for dead bees on the bottom of the package if you think there are problems developing.
- Bring the package inside, preferably inside the house.
- Feed them a syrup mixture of 1:1 sugar and water. Occasionally spray this mixture on the sides of the package.
- Also spray plain water on the sides of the package. The package probably contains food but may not contain any liquid.
- The weather forecast shows that mid to late next week temps will be in the forties daytime and above freezing night time.
- Whether in the package or in the hive, do not saturate the bees with liquid in chilly temperatures. Make sure any syrup/water you spray on the package is around room temperature.
Good luck.
November, 2017
Our Annual Holiday meeting, and final meeting for 2017 was this past week. It was an enjoyable evening good friends and good food. We wish everyone a most wonderful season coming up. We look forward to seeing you all in 2018!
Enjoy some pictures of the evening, thanks to Debbie!
September, 2017
Special thanks to John L for putting together a wonderful display on beekeeping for the Sheboygan County Fair. The Fair was held Labor Day Weekend, and John had many visitors buzzzing around his exhibit.
Sheboygan County’s Fairest of the Fair for 2017, Ashley Miller, with a future beekeeper!
August, 2017
Our August 8, 2017 meeting was held at the SoLu Estate Winery and Meadery in Cascade, WI. We had the opportunity to visit one of their vineyards, their apiary, and also observe their wine and mead operations. It was very interesting! If you didn’t get to attend, you might want to check their schedule for another tour. Thanks to Debbie for pictures of our evening!
July, 2017
Our July meeting was very interesting, It’s been a while since we had an actual presentation, and last night’s program – presented by Garry S on mites and the control of, was of great interest. We had a lot of discussion with various ideas presented. Also, it was mentioned the the American Bee Journal, both the May and July issues, have some great articles on mite control, written by Randy Oliver. Randy is considered on of the best writing about bees today.
We have also been invited to Honey Land Farms September 16th to observe a special program on “Rearing Queens”. Please visit our “Schedule” page for information regarding the trip.
June, 2017 – SCBA Picnic at River Park in Sheboygan Falls
Our Annual June picnic was a great time, with wonderful food, fellowship, and of course, BINGO!
May, 2017
Our May meeting was held at the Christopher Farm and Gardens in Sheboygan. Keith set up the visit, thanks! We had the opportunity to listen to guest speaker Sue Dompke from Sweet Mountain Farm on Washington Island. Sue’s specialty is raising Russian bees and she spent an enjoyable hour sharing the unique aspects of the bees and raising them. Thanks to Debbie S for the pictures!
April 11, 2017
Presentation on AZ Hives
Ralph W and Dan P did a presentation on AZ Hives. The hive on the left is one that Ralph purchased from Europe. The one on the right is one that Dan and Ralph have been building, changing the dimensions so that the supers will fit in an American extractor. These types of hives are meant to be kept in a building, where they are protected from the cold winters, and must have access through a wall to the outdoors.
It was a very interesting program, and gave everyone another perspective on beekeeping!
April, 2017
National Beekeeping Survey Participants Needed!
Wisconsin has the opportunity to be part of an online national beekeeping survey on winter losses and management practices. The goal of this survey is two-fold; to identify management practices that keep colonies alive and to share those findings rapidly, transparently, and in ways that will enable beekeepers to make informed individualized decisions.
The survey is open for participation the entire month of April and is for all beekeepers in Wisconsin and around the country. Go the the website www.beeinformed.org to take the survey. All prior year’s survey results can also be viewed on the site. The survey is completely anonymous, so no need to hold anything back. For this survey to work, beekeepers need to participate, and the more the better. Affected beekeepers span the entire spectrum of the industry: migratory and commercial beekeepers, honey producers, sideline beekeepers and backyard beekeepers; if everyone participates then everyone can be part of figuring out the solutions.
Please spread the word and encourage other beekeepers to participate in the survey! And as an added incentive, if Wisconsin has 300 or more beekeepers participate, we will get a state-specific report and data analysis to help us figure out what’s going on with our bees, what’s working and what isn’t working.
March, 2017
After some discussion at our meeting last night (March 14th), the membership has decided to change the start time for our meeting. Starting with the April 11th meeting, the SCBA meetings will start at 6:30 pm and end at 8:30 pm. Please make note of the time change.
We had a nice turnout for our first meeting of the 2017 Season, with a number of new beekeepers joining the club. WELCOME!
February, 2017
Things are starting to buzzzzzz……………………….. join us Tuesday, February 14th, for an informational meeting on beekeeping. What you need to know to get started. You will also be able to ask questions of “seasoned” beekeepers. See our flyer at the link below! Hope to see you there.
October 11, 2016
Jeff and June Cole gave a most interesting program this evening on using Bee Venom Therapy for Lyme’s Disease. After doing much research, June has been using Bee Venom Therapy for about a year, and feels that she has been getting wonderful results. Three times a week, her husband, Jeff, stings her 10 times along her spine. There are 5 stings on each side.
Here are 10 bees that are awaiting Jeff. He uses them one at a time, to sting and introduce venom along June’s spine.
It was a very interesting evening! Thanks to June and Jeff for their presentation to the club.
August 11, 2016
Kurt and Kathy Petersen had the opportunity to volunteer at the Wisconsin State Fair with the Wisconsin Honey Producers. We would like to encourage our membership to help out and volunteer part of a day in 2017. You get a chance to share your knowledge and love of beekeeping with many people. There is a great interest in beekeeping, and of course, purchasing honey, from the people that you will interact with there. You also get to work with a great group of beekeepers from around the state, and each receives a free ticket to the Fair for that day!
Kurt sharing samples.
Closing Time!
June 14, 2016
Sorry, forgot to take pictures – but we had a great time at Rochester Park in Sheboygan Falls for our annual SCBA Picnic. We had over 60 people in attendance. It was great to see family members come with SCBA members. A fine time was had by all!
Bookworm Gardens’ Presents the Pollinator Picnic –
Saturday June 18, 9 AM – 1 PM
Fly like a butterfly and buzz like a bee during this pollinator celebration!
- · Stretch your wings during Pollinator Yoga with Barb from the Yogaloft
- · Create a mason bee or bumblebee house with the Sheboygan County Beekeepers Association
- · Explore the Sensory Garden and learn more about birds, bats, moths, and beetles
- · Enjoy storytimes and the annual ladybug release
$3 per person, members free. Tickets available at the door.
More information available at: http://www.bookwormgardens.org/
May, 2016
Kurt Petersen paid a visit to Sheridan Elementary School in Sheboygan on May 11th, and shared his knowledge of beekeeping with students there. They are studing Plants/Pollination/Honey Bees in their Plant Science kit. They were a great group of kids, and Kurt picked up a new “beekeeper” while he was there.
April, 2016
We just received The Scoop, a newsletter from Meals on Wheels of Sheboygan County, Inc. I thought that I would share this article mentioning George Quiriconi, head chef at Christopher Farm & Gardens with his recipe for Cinnamon, Honey Applesauce.
Also, Dan Pitsch from the Sheboygan County Beekeepers Association is mentioned. Dan will be tending to a beehive at the Meals on Wheels garden this summer.
March 8, 2016
The first meeting of 2016 was March 8th. We had a great turnout, over 60 people! The room was packed. We did our registration process differenty this year, and it seemed to go very well and didn’t take as much time as it did in past years. That enabled us to actually have a PROGRAM, which there was never time for at previous first meetings. George, the chef from Christopher Farms, shared his canning techniques using honey.
We also were able to go over lists of beekeeper questions for starting new hives, and had a great time of fellowship after the meeting. Feel free to come to our next meeting, April 12th. We will have a program on building Wasp Traps. Wasps can do a lot of damage to a hive.
March, 2016
March 8th is our first meeting for 2016! We will meet at the ADRC (Aging/Disability Resource Center) in Sheboygan Falls at 7 PM. Check out the new link on the Honey Bee ID tab, it explains different types of bees that people might want to order for spring.
December, 2015
It’s coming!
Have a safe season, and Happy Holidays!
November 10, 2015
The annual Holiday Party had a nice turnout. Good food, good conversation, and BINGO. The last meeting is in some ways a sad event, because we won’t see you until Spring. See you all in March, 2016!
October 13, 2015
Thanks to Debbie S. for contributing 2 cute bees to include in our educational programing materials!
Last night’s meeting was interesting and a lot of fun. We had some great discussion regarding what to do to prepare your hives for WINTER, and also a great program of Honey Tasting. Not only did we have many different types of honey from all around the United States, (including Florida and Alaska), but we also had honey from different countries (Spain, Italy, Mexico, Switzerland, Nova Scotia, Israel, Puerto Rico, Germany, Kazakhstan, and Costa Rica).
We have added a new tab to our website, Winterizing Hives. If you have any tips for winterizing that you would be willing to share, please send it to us and we’ll post it. We posted Terry’s Honeybee Winter Box directions.
September 29, 2015
Last year the family of Eugene Bemis, long-time member of the Sheboygan County Beekeepers Association, donated many plants in rememberance of him to our June picnic for BINGO prizes. I happened to take one of the Asters that were there as a prize. I just wanted to share with you how pretty those flowers are this year, growing in sand by our cottage. Things were buzzing this week with many bumblebees visiting those asters.
September 5, 2015
The SCBA helped out at the Sheboygan County Fair this year. We were on hand to help out on Saturday, September 5th, at the new Ag-Venture Tent. The Ag-Venture Tent was a Family Tent, with a special emphasis on interactive displays for children. Sheboygan Press Article on the Ag-Venture Tent Special thanks to Laura Sauermilch for inviting the SCBA to be a participant this year.
We had a display with an observation hive belonging to Garry Sydow. The Fair goers were very interested in the hive and the displays that were set up. Special thanks to Sheila Wettstein for all her hard work developing the displays. I especially liked the cute bees. Enjoy pictures from the day, and also pictures of our Honey Queen, Jennifer Gross, as she is visiting with the “little people”!
August, 2015
Kurt and Kathy recently had a request from the Sheboygan Press for an interview about beekeeping. Their “intern” reporter, Rachael Lallensack, came to their home and also visited Kurt’s bees while in Kathy’s suit. The link below goes to the article. Rachael did a wonderful job explaining what is going on with bees from a number of local perspectives. Thanks Rachael!
Sheboygan beekeeping interest rises as hives fall
July, 2015 – Meet the new Sheboygan County Honey Queen!
The Sheboygan County Beekeeper’s Association is sponsoring a new Honey Queen for Sheboygan County. Jennifer Gross, daughter of Beekeeper’s Mary and Bill Gross, is the new Honey Queen. She is presently in high school, and will be available to make some appearances and share her knowledge of beekeeping and honey. She has already made appearances at Camp Y-Koda and Maywood to help children get to know beekeeping!
June, 2015
We had a great turn-out for our June Picnic Meeting. Great food, great people, wonderful conversation, and of course……………….. BINGO! We estimate that there were about 65 people there. It was nice to see new member faces and their families. We even had a new family sign up for their membership just before the festivities began.
May, 2015
Here is a link from Jamie with 2 interesting videos. One is on the 21-day development of the honey bee, and the other is on mite control. Check it out!
21-day Bee Development and Mite Control Videos
April, 2015
Feeding the Bees!
We had some inquiries about the making of sugar syrup to feed the bees.
There are times during the year when the bees just need a little extra help with feeding. Spring feeding usually has a 1:1 ratio of sugar to water. This comes out to 8 pounds of sugar to 1 gallon of water. In the fall the ratio should be 2:1, or 16 pounds of sugar to 1 gallon of water. The difference depends on the objective. In the spring a thinner syrup simulates a nectar flow and can stimulate the bees to an increased brood rearing. In the fall you may want to build more up winter stores, and a thicker syrup is more efficiently processed by the bees.
April 14, 2015
The April meeting had a very nice turn-out. Minutes are available on the “Meeting Minutes” tab above. The Sheboygan County Beekeepers Association will be sponsoring our first “Honey Queen” for 2015! Jenny Gross will be representing SCBA at various activities in Sheboygan County. Watch for more information on just what her schedule will be.
Ralph Christianson gave two presentations. The first was on the installation of bee packages into the hive, and then he gave an interesting presentation on making your own frames with a template that he made.
Jean Wilke recommended the book, Beekeeping for Dummies.
March 10, 2015 –
Our initial meeting for 2015 had a great turnout. We had over 50 people, some new, some regular members. It was great to see everyone after a COLD winter, and hive reports seemed optimistic. Now if we can just get those girls to hang in there until pollen and nectar season begin!
November 12, 2014
We had a very nice turnout last night for our last Sheboygan County Beekeeper’s Association meeting for 2014. A great pot luck, BINGO, and some wonderful socializing. We wish everyone a healthy and safe season coming up, and look forward to seeing everyone back March 10, 2015!
First Annual Holiday Bee BINGO
November 11, 2014 is our final meeting. Please come to our Holiday Pot Luck, starting at 6:30 p.m. Bring a voluntary gift ($5) for our first Annual Holiday BINGO game!
October 1, 2014
Sad news. Mary Lammers passed away on September 26, 2014. Mary and her husband, Don, have been members of the SCBA for some time. Our condolences to Don and her children. A celebration of Mary’s life took place Monday, September 29, 2014 in Oostburg.
Please see Mary’s obituary
October 1, 2014
Updated picture from the Above and Beyond Children’s Museum. The bees are humming away. While in Sheboygan the other day, I parked out on the street and was able to observe the bees coming and going. The hive is on the south side of the building, upper west window.
August 8, 2014 – The Sheboygan Press has an article today on the Observation Beehive installation at Above and Beyond Children’s Museum in Sheboygan. Take a peak at the link to view their video and see the article.
Thousands of honey bees find new home at children’s museum
August 6, 2014 – Last night was the installation of the long-awaited observation hive at Above and Beyond Children’s Museum in Sheboygan. The observation hive has been the project of SCBA member Dennis Wettstein, who also built the hive.
Gary Oreskovic of Honey Land Farms donated and installed the hive. Jeff Mehn, director of Above and Beyond Children’s Museum in Sheboygan, was on hand along with a number of SCBA members for the “bee installation”. It should be an exciting experience for children and their families to watch the bees and learn about honey bees and beekeeping!
Thanks to Kurt Vollmer for the pictures!
Jeff Mehn (Above and Beyond Director), Dennis Wettstein (SCBA member and observation hive builder), and Gary Oreskovic of Honey Land Farms.
Installation of the Bees – OUTSIDE! 
Dennis checking things out!
Director, Jeff, spots the queen!
HOME, SWEET, HOME!
August 2nd and 3rd, 2014 – Bee Club members, Kurt Vollmer and Kurt and Kathy Petersen, volunteered time with the Wisconsin Honey Producers at the Wisconsin State Fair in West Allis. Kurt V. worked Saturday night and Kurt and Kathy worked the day shift on Sunday. It was very busy with lots of people asking lots of questions. There were many varieties of honey and honey products available, with lots of sales. The sales benefit the Wisconsin Honey Producers Association! Their booth will be at the fair through August 10th, at the Wisconsin Products Pavillion!
Check out their website! Wisconsin Honey Producers
June 11, 2014 – A NEW TAB! – A tab has been added, “Club Library” that has a listing of all of the materials that are available for members to check out. Take a look at the books, periodicals, dvds, and the Demonstration Hive Kit. This will be updated periodically, so keep checking for titles that might be of interest to you!
****June 10 – Annual Picnic! – The picnic was a HUGE success! We had a large crowd. I heard several people say how nice it was to see families at last night’s event. Especially the children. Thanks to everyone that brought food and items for the BINGO table.
The club would especially like to thank Eugene Bemis’ family for all the wonderful plants in memory of Eugene! He was always so generous in bringing plants from his greenhouse for the BINGO game. We will all remember Eugene when we see our plants flourishing this summer.
Also, thanks to the picnic committee for all your hard work in frying those burgers and hotdogs. And, setting up all the tables. It was a great evening!
6/2/14 – Member Kurt Petersen did a presentation at Sheridan Elementary School in Sheboygan. The students have been studying bees and pollination in their Science Unit on Plants. Check out pictures on the “Photos” tab.
May 24, 2014 – We have sad news. Longtime member Eugene Bemis passed away on Thursday. We will miss his smile, humor, and knowledge of beekeeping. Please visit the link from the Sheboygan Press Obituary page for information on his upcoming service.
May 20, 2014 – We were at Fleet Farm (Plymouth) this evening and visited their new Beekeeping Supply area. They have restocked some of their inventory. Also, they have been gracious enough to include the SCBA website on their shelving so that members and non-members can see the site address and hopefully give us a “visit”! They have some informational sheets from Little Giant that have some good tips on beekeeping. I have included a copy of those forms on the new “Beekeeping Tips” tab. Check it out!
5/1/14 – Club Member, Kurt Vollmer, does a presentation for pre-schoolers at St. Paul’s Pre-school in Sheboygan Falls. Visit our “Photos” tab to see future beekeepers!
4/24/14 – The WDNR does classes at the Ice Age Visitor Center in Dundee, Northern Kettle Moraine Forest. The one shown below is on pollinators and takes place before our next scheduled SCBA meeting in May, so that is why it is being posted now.
Bring Back the Pollinators
May 8, 7:00 – 8:30 pm (Thursday)
Ice Age Visitor Center
Presenter: Carrie Caselton Lowe, Ecologist and Organic Farmer
Did you know native pollinators are essential for worldwide food production? In some cases, wild pollinators improve fruit set of plants at twice the rate of honey bees. But native pollinators face serious declines with some on the brink of extinction. Whether you are a gardener, farmer, beekeeper, or just interested, find out ways to help bring back the pollinators. Plan to build and take home a simple bee nest to start building pollinator habitat in your community.
4/16/14 – One of our long-standing members just did presentations at Cedar Landing in Elkhart Lake and at the Elkhart Lake – Glenbeulah Elementary School. Check out pictures at our new “Photos” tab!
*** 4/8/14 – The Club has now ordered (and received!) 2 “bundles” from the American Farm Bureau for the book The Beeman. We will have 2 hard copies of the book, two Educator Guides , and 60 Copies of their magazine Bee Ag Magazine for children. “The Beeman” was awarded their coveted 2014 Book of the Year award. This may be used by SCBA members for educational presentations.
If you would like to order your own copy visit their site – http://www.agfoundation.org/ – go to the tab for “Resource Orders”. Then enter the name “The Beeman” into the search engine on that page. The magazine Bee Ag Magazine is also available in Spanish.
TED talk – Why the bees are disappearing:
http://www.ted.com/talks/marla_spivak_why_bees_are_disappearing.html