Pennsylvania - Montgomery County Beekeepers' Association

MCBA Wins 1st Prize for Booth at 2013 PA Farm Show!

Who says that the number “13” is unlucky? MCBA has won first place at the 2013 PA Farm Show for the best ‘County or Association Collective Exhibit (Class 33)’ in the Miscellaneous category of the Apiary Products competition!

The exhibit explained the varied roles that a worker bee has throughout her short six week life.

This first place win marks the fourth time in six years that MCBA has brought home a blue ribbon in the Association Exhibit class. This year, the first place premium ($500) was sponsored by the generous Dutch Gold Honey company in Lancaster, PA. Congratulations to this year’s Farm Show team: Priscilla Bonsell, Harold Jenkins, Joe Duffy, Walt Fitzgerald, Jim Bobb, Chris Gouldey, Deb & Bruce Gibby, Ronni Menard, Vince Aloyo, Jim Bobb and Brian Marcy. (Please let me know if I missed anyone!)

A special thanks to all MCBA members who supplied the beautiful examples of hive products to display at the Farm Show.

EAS to be in PA in 2013

The Eastern Apicultural Society Annual Conference will be in West Chester, PA August 5-9, 2013,  http://www.easternapiculture.org/conferences/eas-2013.html . We expect there to be a great need for local volunteers at that event, so we are not planning to hold Bee Fest in 2013.  We hope to see all of you in West Chester at EAS in 2013 and again at Bee Fest in 2014.

Can You Tell Them Apart?  Part of the fear that gives rise to hysteria in communities about backyard beekeeping is the simple inability to tell the honeybee apart from more agressive insects like wasps and yellow jackets.  The honeybee is so busy collecting pollen, this lowly vegetarian has no time to visit your picnics or bother you when you are mowing or landscaping.  See the facts here.

Did You Know?

Many people claim to be allergic to bees based on local swelling that occurs based upon stings that have often come from other insects and NOT from honeybees.  While life threatening reactions to stings are possible and should not be taken lightly, most people who claim to be allergic are actually just experiencing their body's normal reaction to the venom from a wasp or bee sting -- local swelling and heat.  Did you know that you can get tested?  Your local allergist can arrange for testing to confirm not only whether you are allergic but also which species you might have allergies to.  The scratch tests are administered much like environmental allergen scratch tests where the venoms of a wide variety of stinging insects can be tested to judge the reaction strength.  If you are found to have a high sensitivity, you can get allergy shots that will help to boost your immune system and prevent the undesired response upon encountering a sting.  More importantly the allergist will help you put in perspective what kind of insect you might be sensitive too, so that you don't blame the beneficial insects that are all around us.