Saturdays: Jan 5, 12, 19, 26, Feb 2 (snow make up class if needed) 9:30 am -12 pm

This four-part workshop for adults on Saturdays or Mondays takes participants through the steps of keeping a bee colony and will be led by Stuart Woronecki, owner of Stonewall Apiary in Hanover, CT. Stonewall Apiary has approximately 240 colonies located throughout eastern CT. During this course, you’ll have the opportunity to visit a Stonewall Apiary bee yard to purchase equipment. Package bees can be reserved. All sessions meet in the J.X. Barn at Coogan Farm.

Member and Nonmembers: $110 per session

Session 1: Getting Started with Equipment Basics – wooden ware, frames, tools, protective clothing, ordering and assembling equipment.

Session 2: The Honey Bee: The Queen, Workers and Drone – changes throughout the season; the brood cycle.

Session 3: Pests and Diseases – mice, wax moths, small hive beetles, foulbrood, chalkbrood, nosema, tracheal mites, varroa destructor; integrated pest management.

Session 4: Odds and Ends – wrap up unfinished topics; pollinator friendly plantings, honey harvest and processing, time permitting.

Member and Nonmembers: $110 per session