Hands-On Fall Beekeeping Class with Master Craftsman Beekeeper Bo Sterk
About this Event
This Isn't a Classroom Beekeeping Class
You can read about beekeeping. You can watch videos about beekeeping.
But eventually, you have to open a hive.
Join Bee Augustine Honey Co. and Master Craftsman Beekeeper Bo Sterk, founder and president of Bees Beyond Borders, for a two-hour, hands-on beekeeping experience designed to take what you've learned about honey bees and put it into practice inside a working colony.
This entire class takes place at the hives.
You'll open colonies, pull frames, inspect brood, evaluate colony strength, look for signs of queen performance, identify potential problems, and learn how experienced beekeepers make management decisions based on what they actually see inside the hive.
Rather than simply telling you what to look for, we're going to show you.
Learn Beekeeping by Doing It
With Bo Sterk and the Bee Augustine Honey Co. team beside you, you'll learn how to approach a colony, open it properly, remove and handle frames, and begin reading what the honey bees are telling you.
Depending on what we find inside the colonies that morning, we'll work through real-world topics including:
- Safely opening and working a honey bee colony
- Properly removing and handling frames
- Identifying eggs, larvae, capped brood, pollen and honey
- Reading brood patterns
- Evaluating queen performance
- Assessing colony population and strength
- Recognizing healthy versus concerning conditions
- Understanding food and honey stores
- Identifying Varroa mite concerns
- Identifying and managing small hive beetles
- Recognizing signs of nutritional stress
- Evaluating fall feeding needs
- Understanding robbing behavior
- Preparing colonies for the coming winter
- Making management decisions based on what you actually find
And because we're working with live honey bee colonies, no two classes are exactly alike.
The honey bees help determine what we learn that day.
Learn Alongside Bo Sterk
One of the highlights of this class is the opportunity to work directly with Master Craftsman Beekeeper Bo Sterk.
Bo is the founder and president of Bees Beyond Borders and has spent years teaching, mentoring and helping beekeepers better understand honey bee colony management.
Rather than listening to Bo give a presentation from the front of a room, you'll be standing beside him at the hive—watching how he evaluates a colony, asking questions, and learning how an experienced beekeeper interprets what is happening frame by frame.
That kind of experience is difficult to get from a book, video or traditional classroom.
Hosted by Bee Augustine Honey Co.
Bee Augustine Honey Co. manages nine apiaries throughout St. Augustine, Florida, giving our team firsthand experience managing honey bee colonies across different environments and throughout Northeast Florida's changing seasons.
This class brings that practical local experience together with Bo Sterk's extensive beekeeping knowledge for an opportunity to learn colony management where it matters most: Inside the hive.
Where is it happening?
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
USD 115.61
