Bloom Chart for Plants

A very useful tool for predicting the honey flow is knowing when plants in your area are in bloom. The following chart was provided to us at the BUMBA Short Course and I refer to it often, such as why we were seeing pollen being brought in when the bees were flying in February. :-)

Blooming Date Chart for Northern Maryland Wild Plants (Native or Introduced) FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV Skunk Cabbage Red Dead Nettle Common Dandelion Field Mustard Red Maple Redbud Bush Honeysuckle White or Dutch Clover Black Raspberry Blackberry Tulip Poplar Black Locust American Holly Common Motherwort Vipers Bugloss Privet Poison Ivy Canada Thistle Intermediate Dogbane Butterfly Weed Common Milkweed Mountain Mint Smooth Sumac Shiny Sumac Jewelweed Japanese Knotweed Goldenrod White Heath Aster

Class #4 of BUMBA Short Course

This very interesting class covered diseases and pets and how to recognize which is which.

American Foul Brood (effects pupae), European Fool Brood (effects larva), varroa mites (begins with pupa), tracheal mites (cough, cough), and the like... Out of the bazillion things one needs to know about keeping bees, I found this easiest to learn.

Class #3 of BUMBA Short Course

The 3rd class covered fall and winter management as well as queen rearing.

Hopefully, the new colony will be well established and strong for the spring honey flow so that it will have adequate food for the winter. Feeding fondant (bee candy) will be necessary if they don't.

Most of the activity in a bee colony is aimed at surviving the coming winter. Winter bees have a live span of 120 days enabling them to live clustered within the hive. Enough food and good ventilation are keys to successfully wintering a hive.

I was most fascinated with the queen rearing presentation having no prior knowledge of what that entails. I have studied the supplies in the catalogues and now I understand how they use queen cell cups.

Class #1 of BUMBA Short Course

Really enjoyed the first class. I ride to the course with my co-worker Jonathan. He and his wife, Brenda used to keep bees. With Becca back in Texas and Anna heading back to Michigan this spring, Jonathan will be taking over the hives at Hard Bargain Farm. Jonathan is so much fun and a wealth of information and practical experience!

No knowing what to expect at the first class, we found the room full of students and the folks at BUMBA are so much fun! Dave Polk of Free State Bees did a presentation of the parts of a hive, giving lots of tips on what you need to get started as well as what things you don't really need even though the catalogues try to convince you that you do! :-)

The talk on bee biology was extremely amusing as the presenter had a great speaking style but she also wore a bee costume which made for such fun! Did you know that bees will not 'go' while in the hive? I knew that bees are very tidy but I didn't give a thought to their 'potty' habits. They manage to hold it through the winter while clustered inside. Warmer late winter days will find the bees taking 'cleansing flights' to take care of 'those' needs.

BUMBA Short Course

Signed up for the Short Course offered by BUMBA - The Bowie-Upper Marlboro Beekeepers Association. A short course is a volunteer-taught introduction to beekeeping basics and bee biology held each Spring.

Membership to BUMBA is included with the class fee so attended a meeting the other night. The crowd is lively and there was standing room only! I didn't know what to expect but I didn't expence such a fun crowd. The program was interesting. I know I'll have many mentors to lend a hand should I ever need anything.

If you are interested in learning more about bees, I recommend you get to know the folks at BUMBA.