This document provides an overview of beekeeping including why keep honey bees, the types of honey bees used, equipment needed, and honey production. It discusses that honey bees facilitate crop pollination and there are three categories of beekeepers from hobbyists to commercial operations. Local beekeeping clubs are mentioned as a resource for new beekeepers.

1. Welcome to Beekeeping

2. Always start your day with your favorite
caffeinated drink!

3. A look into the art and science of keeping honey bees!
Presented today by: Bob Borkowski
• Beekeeper since 1998, started as a 4-H project with
my son.
• Student at the Institute of Applied Agriculture,
Sustainable Agricultural Business Management
major
• Veteran owner of B & B Apiaries, where our hobby
is turning into a retirement business.

5. Why keep honey bees?

7. One honey bee makes 1/12 of a teaspoon of honey in its lifetime

8. Ancient cave paintings depict humans “robbing
bee trees” for honey.
Ancient Egyptians traded honey in commerce.
Honey is mentioned five times in the Bible.
John the Baptist survived in the wilderness on
wild honey and locust!

9. And who could forget this famous honey robber of all time !

10. According to the National Honey Board beekeepers fall into three categories.
• Commercial beekeeping operations: these are your migratory beekeepers who provide
most of the national pollinations services. They run 300 + colonies in their operations.
• Sideline beekeepers: local beekeeping operations running between 25 and 300
colonies for local pollination and honey production.
• Hobby beekeepers make up 95 % of beekeepers managing up to 25
colonies at a time, usually in their backyards or other small locations.

11. Honey Production

12. Beekeeping in the Mid-Atlantic States
Honey production in the Mid-Atlantic States is mostly in flowering trees:
Black Locust Trees (Amber honey)
Tulip Poplar Trees (Dark Amber)
American Holly Trees (Water white honey)
Basswoods (an early blooming tree)
Sourwood (typically in the Appalachian areas)

13. Black Locust, Robinia pseudoacia Tulip Poplar, Liridendron tulipifera American Holly, Ilex opaca
Flowering trees for honey production in Maryland

14. Pollination of Crops

16. Honey bees facilitate cross pollination

17. Colony Collapse Disorder
• Phenomenon first discovered in 2006
• Lots of research was initiated to discover a cause
• No real hard facts as to why this occurs, a host of possibilities exist
• Top of the list is Nutrition, Parasites, and Pesticides
• Visit PlosOne.org to see some of the latest honey bee research

18. There are three species of honey bees used in Maryland
Italian Hybrid: Carniolan Italian Bee Russian

19. These species have favorable traits, mostly they are gentle to work with and overwinter well.

20. You’ll need some equipment to get you started!

21. Outer Cover
Inner Cover
Section (comb) Honey Super
Shallow honey super(liquid honey
Queen Excluder (optional)
Brood or Deep Super ( Queen egg
laying and raising young bees and
replacements
Bottom Board (solid or screened)
Hive Stand (optional)

22. Let’s Order Some Honey Bees
Three ways to obtain honey bees:
• Three Pound Packages
• Nucleus Colony
• Whole Colony
Swarms are also good way to obtain bees but a bit riskier

23. Catching Honey Bee Swarms
Not for the faint of heart!

24. LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION
You’ve ordered your equipment and your honey bees now, you need a place to put your new colonies
You first need to orient your hive entrances towards the South, Southeast
Away from areas of high winds (hill tops) and cold stagnate air (near gullies)

25. There are three caste of honey bees in each colony:
• An average colony contains 60,000 honey bees
• They are the workers, infertile females 60,000, the queen, the only fertile female, and the drones, haploid males
300-1,000

27. 300-1,000 up to 60,000 1

30. Brood area of a frame of honey bees

31. Starter Queen Cells, made by the bees

32. Artificial Queen Cells

33. An Italian Queen

34. A Carniolan Queen

35. A Russian Queen

36. Harvesting Honey

38. The beginning of the harvest, or extracting process

39. Cutting away the wax capping

42. Bottling Honey

43. Products of the Hive

44. Butterfly gardens will attract honey bees and other pollinators

46. Let’s not forget Bumble Bees

47. Need we say more !

48. Beekeeping Clubs in Maryland
There are local, county-oriented beekeeping clubs across Maryland. This is your chance to meet
beekeepers, understand beekeeping in your local area, and perhaps get some experience at
working with bees while getting early access to Spring beekeeping instruction.
ALLEGHENY MOUNTAIN BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION, President: President: Walter Shreeve,
bshreve@atlanticbb.net
ANNE ARUNDEL BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION, Lindsay Barranco, lbarranco@comcast.net,
APPALACHIAN BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION, Acting President: Hop Cassidy,
hopsshop@verizon.net
ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHERN MARYLAND BEEKEEPERS, President: Chip Whipkey (240) 925-
2196, ralphwhipkey@gmail.com
BALTIMORE BACKYARD BEEKEEPERS NETWORK, President: Beth Sherring,
bethsherring@gmail.com
BUMBA: BOWIE UPPER MARLBORO BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION, President: Robert Greenwell,
(410) 279-308, rfgreenwell@aol.com
CARROLL COUNTY BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION, President: Fred Sypher,
Info@CarrollCountyBeekeepers.org
CENTRAL MARYLAND BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION, President: Roger Williams,
president@centralmarylandbees.org
DC BEEKEEPERS ALLIANCE, Toni Burnham, dcbees@dcbeekeepers.org, (202) 255-4318
FREDERICK COUNTY BEEKEEPING ASSOCIATION, President: Rose Aurigemma,
info@frederickbees.org
HOWARD COUNTY BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION, Jason Ellis, hocobeekeepersassoc@gmail.com
HAGERSTOWN VALLEY APIAN SOCIETY, President: Mark & Sara Gibson (301) 371-0811,
mgibson@comsearch.com
LOWER EASTERN SHORE BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION, www.lowershorebeekeepers.org
MONTGOMERY COUNTY BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION, President:Tim McMahon,
timmcmahonbeekeeper@gmail.com
SUSQUEHANNA BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION. President: Harry Dutcher, bspaboy@comcast.net
BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA, www.beekeepersnova
WYE RIVER BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION, Contact: BeeGeorgehoney@hotmail.com
Beekeeping "Short Courses" in Maryland (next sessions in 2015)