• Honey Bee - Colorado Beekeepers Association

CSBA Summer Bee College

June 2-3, 2023

Rifle, Colorado

Featuring:

  • A stellar lineup of speakers & hands-on sessions!
  • Bonus: Catching up with old friends and making new ones!
  • Registerating online ASAP (below!) will help us plan for enough food for everyone.

Schedule of Events:

Friday, June 2, Potluck at Colby Farm, 6765 County Rd. 214, New Castle, CO 81647.

  • 5:00 p.m. Potluck with burgers provided by CSBA & Ed Colby, CSBA President Emeritus. BYOB. Meet speakers. Free van and tent camping at Colby Farm, but RSVP for camping, please. There will be NO motorhome or RV parking near the Colby Farm this year.
    RSVP REQUIRED for potluck and/or camping: please sign up (RSVP is within the registration form below! otherwise, email [email protected] with any questions).

Saturday, June 3, Garfield County Public Library District, 207 East Avenue, Rifle, CO 81650 from 7:45am – 1pm MT, then to the Limbach/Maness Apiary for Hands-on Sessions!

TENTATIVE Meeting Agenda (Subject to change):

  • 7:15am – 7:45am – Registration – Secretary, Treasurer & Volunteers
  • 7:45am – 8:00am – Welcome/Intro – CSBA President Eric Smith
  • 8:00am – 9:00am – Opening Presentation/Keynote
    Dr. Jon Zawislak – Queens and Genes: Can we breed locally adapted honey bees?
    An overview of some scientific research on breeding honey bees to adapt to new environments,
    selection pressures acting on honey bee colonies, and the challenges associated with trying to
    breed “locally-adapted” bee stock.
  • 9:00am – 09:10am – Break
  • 9:10am – 10:00am – CSBA Master Beekeeper Awards & Research Presentations: Kathy Gill, Sue Pahl, & KT Thompson
  • 10:00am – 10:40am – Presentation – Tina Sebestyen – Mistakes Beekeepers Make
  • 10:40am – 10:50am – Break
  • 10:50am – 11:20am – CSBA Business Meeting – CSBA President Eric Smith
  • 11:20am – 12:10pm – Lunch
  • 12:10pm – 1:10pm – Closing Presentation
    Dr. Jon Zawislak – The Unappreciated Drones
    What role do drone bees play in honey bee society?  What do they do?  How important are
    they?  Learn more about this underappreciated minority of your bee colony’s population.
  • 1:10pm – 1:40pm – Networking & Socialization / Meeting Room Clean-up & Breakdown
  • 1:40pm – 2:00pm – Travel time to Hands-on Activities
    If all goes well, we’ll have a chance to see a bee beard, practice grafting with simulated larvae and royal jelly, learn queen handling skills through drone marking, learn about how to count mites and sample drones, learn how to read brood frames, and take the apprentice field exam – if you are so inclined!
  • 2:00pm – 2:25pm – Hands-on Round 1
  • 2:30pm – 2:55pm – Hands-on Round 2
  • 3:00pm – 3:25pm – Hands-on Round 3
  • 3:30pm – 3:55pm – Hands-on Round 4
  • 4:00pm – 4:25pm – Hands-on Round 5
  • 4:30pm – Official Summer Meeting Conclusion/stay for Apprentice Field Exams if yours is not complete

Cost of the Meeting/Presentations and Hands-on in the field instruction will be $30 for CSBA Members with non-Members at $40 (which will include a one-year Independent CSBA Membership).
For those attending in person that register before the deadline, the provided lunch will be sandwiches & chips catered by Capitol Deli.

For those who like to “rough it”, there are limited spaces for you to pitch a tent at Ed Colby’s farm (no RV access at Ed Colby’s farm, but there is a KOA near).

For those who prefer little a traditional roof over your head, our Host hotel is the Red River Inn, right there in Silt. It is close to Ed’s for the Bar-B-Que on Friday night and for Apprentice Field exams too. The Red River Inn owner would like us to email him at: [email protected] to make a reservation. Make sure your indicate that you are reserving for the Colorado State Beekeepers Association Summer Meeting, and ask that the Front Desk call you for credit card information. The rate is $119 per night (normally $149). Each room will have 2 queen beds, so you can share space and expenses. Other hotels in the area that have been recommended are in Rifle at the Comfort Inn (970) 625-9912 and the Hampton Inn (970) 625-1500.

Please pre-register by May 26th, so we can get a head count for catered lunch on Sat and other activities!

Use the drop down box to select the registration you prefer and we’ll handle the rest!

Registration is STILL OPEN for this event, but no longer includes lunch, as the deadline to schedule catering is passed.
Click here to submit your registration form!

[If you missed the PayPal Button in the registration form, click here to pay the registration fee.]


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