The Beekeeper’s Year Attend Bee School! Rhode Island It’s more about timeliness than time: Hives need brief inspections and Sponsored by Rhode Island Beekeepers Beekeepers Association adjustments on a regular basis, although Association, classes cover everything a not a lot of time is involved overall. beginning beekeeper needs to know. Dedicated to raising public awareness of the many Here’s the general calendar: Classes begin in February and run for five weeks, located at RI College, benefits of beekeeping. March/April – gearing up for Spring: Providence and University of RI, Hive inspections every two or three Kingston. It’s a lot more than just honey! weeks as weather permits, for adding Modest tuition of $65 includes all hive bodies and performing mite and materials and free one-year membership disease treatments. in RIBA. Bring along one family member for just $10.00. May/June – busiest time: Hive inspections every week or two for For exact dates, details and registration, swarm control, adding honey supers, and please see our website: managing a rapidly growing colony! www.ribeekeeper.org

July/August – harvest time: Hive inspections every two to three weeks. Honey harvest takes part or all of one day during this period.

September through November – Beekeeping can be: winding down for Fall: Hive inspections every three to four weeks. Checking for mites, mite treatments, culling old Fun frames, and winterizing. Profitable

December through February – down Educational time: Not much to do. Repair and A Valuable Service construct equipment, order new packages and queens. Check hives www.ribeekeeper.org briefly during the first warm spell (over 60 F) of late winter.

What’s in it for you? Albert Einstein once said that if The average worker bee makes 1/12 all the honeybees were to die, mankind teaspoon of honey in her lifetime. A You may keep bees to... would follow in four years. That is how productive hive can yield over 100 important a role bees play in man’s food pounds of honey in a good year.  Produce honey for your family, as gifts to others and to sell. chain. Bees have been producing honey from

 Produce other hive products, such flowering plants for 10 – 20 million Agricultural industry relies heavily on years. as pollen, beeswax, and propolis. the pollination services of migratory  Serve as pollinators for your beekeepers. By placing their beehives in Consumption of raw local honey, which garden and your neighborhood, or the fields and orchards as the various contains grains of pollen from local to rent out for income. crops are blooming, these beekeepers plants can, over time, desensitize a ensure good pollination which results in person to the effects of local pollen.  Provide a fascinating enjoyable an abundant harvest. For the oranges of hobby for you and your family. Florida, the blueberries of Maine, the To substitute honey for sugar in recipes:  Meet other local beekeepers for cranberries of Massachusetts and the ¾ cup of honey = 1 cup of sugar. almonds of California, millions of Reduce other liquids by ¼ to ½ cup. support, ideas and social events.  Help save the bees from honeybees work themselves to death in Apitherapy is the use of bee products their in their short 6 to 7 week lifespan. such as propolis, royal jelly, and bee devastating world-wide parasites and disorders. sting therapy to treat health disorders So the next time you put honey in including rheumatoid and osteoarthritis, your tea, or drink a glass of orange juice, multiple sclerosis, chronic fatigue A Basic Beehive or enjoy a piece of freshly baked apple syndrome, bursitis, tendinitis, lupus, pie, remember that it is only possible gout and others. Outer Cover due to the tireless efforts of the

Inner Cover honeybee. And finally, “The secret of my health is applying honey inside and oil outside” said Democritus, 5th century B.C. Honey Supers Facts About Bees and Honey Greece. He lived to be 109.

Queen Bees can fly up to three miles from the Excluder hive in search of nectar and pollen. Top Brood speed is about fifteen miles per hour. Chamber All worker bees are female. Males

Bottom Board (drones) contribute nothing to the hive. They exist for the sole purpose of mating Stand with a queen bee.

Ancient Egyptian bee symbol