The NCSBA is proud to present Born & Bred 2024 in cooperation with the NCSU Apiculture Program and the NCDA&CS Apiary Inspection Service.
There is no better way to expand your beekeeping hobby or business than to know how to produce your own honey bees and queens. To purchase five nucs can cost up to $1,000 but to raise five honey bee queens cost can cost relatively little; but you have to know how to make it happen. The steps for raising queens are simple but you must know all of them to have success. The Born and Bred team will conduct a queen rearing workshop to instruct and demonstrate the methods and processes of successful queen rearing. The workshop will feature a hands-on and demonstration format and will be an opportunity to experience first-hand the processes and methods required for basic queen rearing. Learn this valuable skill to maintain and improve your stocks of bees.
Registration is ongoing for the 2024 queen rearing workshop will be held on April 20 at the Mountain Horticultural Crops Research and Extension Center, 455 Research Drive, Mills River, NC, 28759. On-site check-in will begin at 8:00 A.M.
The cost of the workshop is $95 which includes a copy of the Born and bred manual. The manual will be mailed in advance to those who register by April 5. Please make sure your mailing address is entered correctly on the registration form. An on-site lunch may be purchased for an additional $12. The lunch menu features your choice of a 7” sub, a bag of chips and bottled water or soda. Registration is limited to 90 persons so register soon if you plan to attend.
The workshop schedule will be:
8:30 to 10:00
- Five conditions for queen production
- Environmental effects of queen rearing
- Timing and time management
- Mechanics of cell production
10:15 to 12:00
- Mating colony management
- Stock selection and breeding
- Grafting
Lunch
1:00 to 4:00 Hands-on and demonstration
Note: Basic protective gear (hat and veil) is required to participate in the outdoor demonstrations.
- Cell building and related equipment demonstration- see cell builder hives in action
- Hands-on grafting workshop – learn the techniques of grafting with instruction and practice
- Mating yards and related equipment demonstration- see mating nucs in operation and learn how to handle and cage workers and queens, learn how to mark queens
4:00 to 4:30 questions and conclusion