Stanly County Beekeepers Association (SCBA)

10/09/2026

Would you loved to learn about honey bees so you can help them thrive and stay alive. This is a great opportunity to learn about and help sustain these wonderful honeybees.

10/02/2026

October Meeting: Thursday, Oct. 8th @ 6pm

The Stanly County Beekeepers Association will hold its October 2026 meeting at 6 p.m. on Thursday, October 8 in the Agri Civic Center Lobby, located at 26023 Newt Road.

This month, our usual arena meeting room is unavailable, so we’ll meet down the hill at the Civic Center. We’ll enjoy a covered dish dinner, followed by a talk from Mark Case, Master Craftsman Beekeeper, on getting your bees ready for winter. Everyone is encouraged to bring a main dish and dessert to share, along with a door prize for a fun exchange. The club will provide drinks, ice, and all tableware.

October Hive Housekeeping Tips:

~Assess for varroa mites via sugar roll or alcohol wash. Varroa levels need to be below threshold by mid-October, as winter bees are developing and can be permanently damaged by varroa.

~Remove all queen excluders, if present.

~Combine hives that are weak/have failing queens.

~Feed thick syrup, if needed, for winter food stores.

~Limit frequency of inspections after mid-October: bees are sealing cracks with propolis, and waste lots of time/energy if they have to keep replacing it.

~Add entrance reducers near end of month to keep mice out.

~Plant (October through December) herbaceous perennials, shrubs and trees for future nectar/pollen sources.

See you soon!

John Ratliff
Membership Chair, Stanly County Beekeepers Association~

09/12/2026

Had great weather and a great time in the bees today at Red Barn Farm.

09/07/2026

SCBA Field Day, Sat. September 12, 2026

The Field Day is scheduled for Saturday, September 12 from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. and is being hosted by Steven Irish at Red Barn Farm, 2111 Quiet Cove Lane, Stanfield, NC 28163.

Remember to bring your hive tool, smoker and fuel to participate in the games and win big prizes.

If you plan on taking the certified beekeepers practical test, be sure to bring all your equipment you normally use to inspect and service.

RSVP to Anne Houck at [email protected] or text her at 980-322-3700 to let her know you are planning on attending our September 2026 Stanly County Beekeepers Association FIELD DAY.

Our rain date will be the following Saturday, September 19.

Below are some things to do in September:

🐝Continue measures for pest control. Varroa control should be completed by end of month!!

🐝May feed thin (1:1 or more diluted) sugar syrup for 2-3 weeks to stimulate queen laying—builds up winter population—but by last week of September, begin feeding thicker (2:1) syrup for winter stores, although thicker syrup may not be necessary if >3 supers of honey left on hive and/or heavy fall nectar flow.

🐝Consider assessment for Nosema parasites.

🐝Combine colonies later in the month if weak and/or have failing queens.

🐝Should have brood in bottom box – if not, may need to rearrange things.

See you soon!

08/16/2026

07/30/2026

Be on the lookout 👀 This is getting close. Great time to be vigilant and put some traps out. Keep them honey bees safe!!

06/04/2026

The June 2026 Stanly County Beekeepers Association meeting will be held on Thursday, June 11 starting at 6 p.m. in the Stanly County Farm Bureau Livestock Arena.

Our meal will be Potluck/Covered dish - bring an entree and or dessert with serving utensil. Beverages will be provided.

Our program speaker will be Ashby Miller, Owner of Ashby Farms in Burlington, NC. Ashby will be discussing how to use double screen boards to make splits and the importance of drones in our hives.

Rember to bring a door prize and know that we still have Association "Bees Matter" T-shirts available for purchase.

Also, if you have some pictures of your beekeeping experiences you would like to share, text or email them to me and I will get them on a jump drive to show while we enjoy our meal. Text to 704-475-3095 or email [email protected]

The Queen Rearing class presented by Nancy Ruppert and the Montgomery Beekeepers Association (MCBA) went very well on the first day, but the follow-up training scheduled for Saturday, May 23 was cancelled due to pending rain and thunderstorms.

There is another opportunity sponsored by the MCBA to get some hands-on queen rearing and grafting experience this Saturday, June 13, from 9:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. at the P*e Dee Electric facility, 9825 US-74, Lilesville, NC 28091. Refreshments will be served.

Nancy Ruppert has provided a queen-rearing resource list that our Website Manager, Karla Aldridge has added to our website in the education area.
Associations and Education, including resources for Queen Rearing – Stanly County Beekeepers Association – SCBA

The NC Extension Master Gardeners will be offering a class on how to become a Master Gardener. Andrew Pfeifer, Cooperative Extension Agent, will be teaching the class. The class is scheduled to start on Thursday, July 9, 2026. Contact Andrew at 704-219-4342 for more details.

Finally, Jerry and Donna Cotton are looking to downsize their beekeeping enterprise. You may recall from our visit to his apiary that he and Donna have their hands full!!! If you are in need of bees give Jerry a call at 980-621-6485. He plans on bringing a list of items and prices to the meeting.

Below are some things to do in June:
June
• Main nectar flow starts to dwindle—fewer supers needed, unless sourwood nearby: if in area of sourwood, consider harvesting available honey before mid-June sourwood flow to ensure more “pure” sourwood crop.
• If honey being harvested, put “wet” supers back on hives late in day to limit robbing.
• Can start late-season splits during last half of June; feed splits initially, even if there is nectar available
• Continue measures to control small hive beetle population.
• Check varroa mite levels if not done since February. (www.honeybeehealthcoalition.org)
• Keep water for bees constantly available.
• Make plans for attending NCSBA Summer Meeting in mid-July.
See you soon!

John Ratliff
Membership Chair, Stanly County Beekeepers Association

06/04/2026

05/02/2026

Scenes from the Spring field day.