apoidea apiary

Happy Summer Solstice! Lots of fun events with Apoidea Apiary planned for National Pollinator Week! Details in the newsletter here:
http://eepurl.com/h4ij7L

Thanks to NEXTpittsburgh for a nice article on the new "bee space" we are developing.

CoNectar, a honey shop, cafe and education center, makes a beeline for Millvale Opening this summer, the space will feature a retail area, art gallery, a bar and café, where customers can enjoy drinks and small plates.

Celebrating valentines with the orchid bees here at apoidea! Limited edition gift sets are available until the weekend for local pickup!

Orchid 💖 Bee Gift Box — CoNectar Custom Gift Box Contains: Good Food Award winning Damiana Rose Honey Elixir. This Apoidea Apiary honey is infused with organic rose petals, vanilla bean, damiana leaf, cinnamon and chili pepper. Damiana leaf is considered an aphrodisiac herb, particularly in Mexico. Two 7oz. Certified Organic

Happy Earth Day!

Here are links to some amazing online bee education resources that help celebrate their role in healthy ecologies:

LEARN TO DISCERN HONEY ORIGIN!
The American Honey Tasting Society is now offering on-line courses from helping you to improve your skills for tasting to general education about honey. American Honey Tasting Society

www.americanhoneytastingsociety.com/sensory-training-on-line

GET UP TO DATE ON PESTICIDES!
Pesticide Program Specialists at the Xerces Society discuss how pesticides are widely used in many landscapes, but can cause harm to pollinators and other invertebrates. This webinar will include common pesticide information and how they impact ecosystems. The Xerces Society

https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_mpkhLs_QTpGybWvNCjsHzg

FREE BEEKEEPING 101 COURSE!
This online course from Penn State University Extension is about the science and practice of beekeeping is for beginning beekeepers. It covers bee biology and behavior, hive management, equipment, bee products, and more.

https://extension.psu.edu/beekeeping-101

Happy Summer Solstice and National Pollinator Week 2018! The Helianthus ... aka “sunflowers” ... are beginning to bloom! It’s been a busy Pollinator Week so far but there are some fun events coming up this weekend!

Taste Spring Tree Blossom Honeys at Tree Pittsburgh 's Summer Solstice Party at their new Allegheny Riverside Educational Campus tomorrow evening from 5:00-9:00 pm!

Saturday evening, join Burgh Bees for a seed bomb hike at 6:30pm at Beechwood Farms (DM for RSVP) and then grab a beer at Strange Roots Experimental Ales afterwards.

If you’re looking to create backyard pollinator habitat then stop by Garden Dreams Urban Farm & Nursery urban farm this weekend and get 20% off of bee-beneficial native perennials!

June 29, we’ll be I Made It! Market Farmers Market at The Block at Northway with some summer-inspired 100% local honey infusions including our organic fire honeys and creamsicle, too!

So, I was going through my 2017 bloom sequence records to get ready for this coming season. Thought it’d be fun to post some of bloom record here and pair them with honey happenings from last year. (There’s is an April Fools Easter Egg in here somewhere, if you can find it)

Weather last season definitely had its share of extremes but the bees have been coming through this winter with no major mortality to report. 50 out of 54 hives have currently made it through the winter and will likely split to between 70-80 hives in the coming month. Three of the hives that died this winter were no surprise as they always struggled to gain weight likely due to lack of varroa mite resistance.

Just mentioning too that we’re honored that our Fall Fallopia Wildflower Honey won a 2018 Good Food Award in January! I gave a talk on behalf of the Honey Category at the Awards Ceremony. You can read or listen to the talk at the Apoidea Apiary website: www.apoidea-apiary.com.

After major apiary remodel last year that took 7 months, I’ve been super busy on 2 long-term projects that will continue through this year. Will try to post bloom updates this season. So far a crazy warm February has turned to uncomfortably cold March. The prolonged cold has suppressed the normal March bloom. As soon as it warms up things are going to explode! As always, Bee Prepared!

Here's the recent apiary update if you didn't catch it direct via our newsletter yesterday.

Valentine's 2018 update

March for the Climate today! When I was in DC for the Women's March back in January, the winter had been so abnormally warm that that the cherry trees around the Washington Monument were starting to bloom two months early. The National Park staff I talked to were very concerned.

If the health of your plants or livestock is dependent on consistent climate patterns and healthy balanced ecology, like us beekeepers, the threat of weather extremes is a very real concern. How coal mining jobs can trump agricultural jobs in this county just further proves the sad disconnect some Americans have from whoever makes their food ... which, by the way, is the most fundamental energy source for us.

Ever tried honey drizzled on Mandazi (aka. Kenyan Donuts) ??? Explore the flavors of Kenya and Kenyan beekeeping traditions with various demonstrations in Millvale tomorrow from 11:00am - 3:00 pm at Tupelo Honey Teas and the Millvale Community Library! All ages welcome. See attached brochure for details. Tupelo Honey Teas Millvale Community Library

This recipe creation thanks to Susan Barclay, one of the co-leaders of Slow Food Pittsburgh with Virginia Phillips ! This is a great group to join if you want the scoop on the artisan food scene in Pittsburgh from restaurants, to foragers to producers.

Vanilla Lavender Honey Drizzled Figs This simple and elegant recipe has three components : fresh figs, mascarpone cheese and organic vanilla bean + lavender infused honey. It's very quick to assemble and makes for a light but satisfying holiday dessert option.