How many pounds of honey can one bee colony produce in a year? Prospective beekeepers will be buzzing with questions like this at the Fall Bee School starting on October 18, at the Anderson Learning Center in Springvale. The five-week introductory beekeeping course is sponsored by the Maine State Beekeepers Association and the University of Maine Cooperative Extension in York County.
Classes run on Tuesday evenings from 6:00 to 8:30, October 18 through November 15. Larry Peiffer, Vice President of the Maine State Beekeepers Association and Richard McLaughlin, President of the York County Beekeepers Association, will instruct students on such topics as the Honey Bee Colony, Constructing Hives, Pests and Disease, Medications and Honey Production. Students will also have the opportunity to visit local hives at a later date for observation and hands-on experience, through the York County Bee Club.
Enrollment is limited, and the class usually fills quickly. Participants must register by October 11. The course fee is $90, which includes a beginning beekeeping textbook, related materials and a one-year membership in the York County Beekeepers Association. If a pair of students wishes to share a textbook and other printed material, a reduced fee is available. For more information and to request a registration form, contact UMaine Extension in York County at 1-800-287-1535 (in state) or 207-324-2814 or email: rebecca.gowdy@maine.edu. And in case you were wondering, one bee colony can produce from 60 to 100 pounds of honey in a year.
York Maine Bee School Registration Fall 2011 (PDF)
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For more than 90 years, University of Maine Cooperative Extension has supported UMaine’s land-grant public education role by conducting community-driven, research-based programs in every Maine county.
