The annual Maine beekeeper survey of losses and management practices is now live and ready for your input! Gathering this type of data is important for seeing trends, recognizing when and how losses occur, and determining where to focus education/outreach activities in the future. A summary report of the survey will be presented at the Maine State Beekeepers Annual Meeting in October and be made available online. The survey can be found here: 2023/2024 Beekeeper Survey .  

If you haven’t already registered your colonies, please do so. Registration is required annual and is due on June 15. Legal Notice – Registration of Bees In compliance with the Maine Apiary Law (specifically Title 7 MRSA section 2701) notice is hereby given that all owners of bees must notify the undersigned of the number and location of colonies owned by them and pay a license fee for the same. The license fee is due on June 15, 2024 in

  from New Moon Apiary rim/shim plastic queen excluder bag of sugar drill + 1/16 bit 18 gauge 3/4 nails tissue paper two 6” sticks duct tape For years now I have used a simple candy board method that doesn’t require cooking. I start with a rim or shim as some call it. A rim is used to get extra space under the inner cover for feeding and medication so this is a piece of equipment I already have. In the

What could be better than talking nonstop about bees, without any worry you’re boring people? Members of Sagadahoc County Beekeepers Association get to do just that at their club’s monthly Saturday morning Bee Breakfasts, where there’s no such thing as oversharing.   The gatherings take place at the Fairground Cafe in Topsham, when 10 to 20 beekeepers show up at 8 am for coffee, eggs and bee talk at a single long table. The informal, chatty atmosphere has helped them

December 22, 2023 It’s a good idea to take a quick peek into your hives now. If there are bees in the hole or on top of the inner cover, it means they may have run out of honey. Even if there’s some still left below, the cluster won’t move back down during cold weather. If bees are present at the top, it’s time to make a candy board (no cooking involved) and put it on during a sunny, windless

SCBA meetings are held every 2nd Wednesday of the month. Carolyn will be presenting a Pest Management workshop in March. We will be conducting Open Hives/outdoor events throughout the summer in addition to meetings. If you have any ideas for programs and/or speakers, please email to let Donna know. Updates will be sent via email and posted on this site.

The January 2024 meeting will include a short business meeting followed by a round table discussion to ask questions and share knowledge about bees. An email reminder will be sent.

A few years back, the SCBA held a “Saturday Bee Breakfast” once a month at 8:00 AM at the Fairground Cafe in Topsham Fair Mall. It was a casual and fun way to get to know other members and talk about our bees. Attendance ran from 12 to 15 people, sometimes more. We would like to start up again on Saturday, January 20th if enough people are interested.  It lasts about an hour, the food is reasonably priced and if you’re not hungry,

The 2023 MSBA Annual Meeting & Conference was held Saturday, October 21st, 2023. Speakers were Paul Kelly, manager of the Honey Bee Research Centre at the University of Guelph, and state food inspector Sierra Shaw. State Apiarist Jennifer Lund delivered her “State of the State” address. Sierra Shaw started the day talking about honey bottling rules and regulations in Maine. A recording of the meeting is available for MSBA members only on the MSBA website.