Join the Pesticide Monitoring Project!

Thursday, April 30th

12-1:00 pm

via Zoom

Hi VT Beekeepers!

Are you interested in participating in the 2026 Pesticide Monitoring Project? Started in 2021, this effort represents the most comprehensive pesticide sampling of bee colonies conducted in Vermont to date. Huge thanks to all the volunteer beekeeper community scientists who have collected and submitted samples in the past!

Want to get involved? In order to participate in the pesticide monitoring program, you must receive training on how to collect, store, label, and submit your samples. You have two options:

1. Attend a live webinar on April 30th via zoom at 12 pm.
2. View a recording of the webinar.

With either option, you will be asked to submit a short follow-up 'quiz' by May 4th to confirm you understand the protocols and are ready to begin collecting pollen.

To get started, let us know you are interested by the form on the VBA website. Only respondents to this form will receive a meeting link to the live training webinar and recording.

Thanks for your consideration!

Samantha Alger

Vermont Bee Lab

 Honey Bee Deadout Diagnosis

Monday, April 13, 2026 at 7:00 PM Eastern Time (US & Canada) (UTC-05:00)

Virtual Event information will be provided after registration.

Your colony(ies) died. You're not sure why. Do you need to change your management? Can you still use the frames? What do you need to do to them? If this has happened to you and you're asking questions like these, this workshop might help diagnose what happened, how to deal with it, and possibly reduce the chance of it happening again. The presentation includes dozens of diagnostic pictures. Join Fred Putnam and Andrew Munkres for this informative workshop. Check the VBA website and calendar for future events, schedule changes, and cancellations.

 Meeting April 9 at 6:30pm in Bennington Free Library

Our April meeting on Thursday, April 09, from 6:30--9:00 p.m., in the Rotary Room of the Bennington Free Library (upstairs). The library is located at 101 Silver Street in Bennington, and on-street parking is available.

This month's meeting will feature speaker Jeff Battaglini, who will talk about conducting hive necropsies---that is, how to do a post-mortem diagnosis of what caused a winter dead-out.

In addition, the April meeting calls for officer elections. You may nominate yourself or others (who must accept the nomination) for any officer position. In particular, the current Club secretary is not going to be available to serve in this role for the coming year, so please consider running for that position! Only dues-paid club members can vote in the election.

The first half-hour of the meeting will be a potluck dinner: while it's not required that you bring anything, we encourage you to bring a dish to share with the group, as well as a cup, flatware and a plate/bowl for yourself, if possible, to cut down on waste (there is a kitchen sink where you can wash your dishes before bringing them home). At the conclusion of the meeting, there will be a raffle of donated items: should you wish to donate raffle items, please bring them (items need not be directly related to honeybees or beekeeping). Raffle tickets will be sold during the potluck dinner ($2 each or $10 for 6), and during the raffle, stubs will be drawn until all items have been claimed. Any dues-paying Club member who brings one or more items to donate to the raffle will be given one free raffle ticket.

While the potluck begins at 6:30, the Library building's doors will be locked at 7 pm. If you intend to arrive after 7, you will need to notify someone who is at the meeting to come downstairs and let you in.

A full agenda, including timely announcements and Club business, will be provided at the meeting on Thursday.

 

Basic Hive Inspection Techniques Workshop

April 29th 2026

7 to 8:30 P.M.

via Zoom

Hive inspections tools and equipment, using the smoker, how to remove frames without crushing your queen, documenting inspections, and more tips.

Register on the VBA Calendar VBA Membership required

 

Spring Management Workshop

April 16th 2026

7 to 8:30 P.M.

via Zoom

Making reverse/swarm splits, making nucs, preventing swarms

Register on the VBA Calendar 

 

Pysanky - Ukrainian Easter eggs

using traditional batik method

Thursday, April 2nd

7-8:00 pm

via Zoom

Vermont Egg artist, Shannon Wallis, will demonstrate how she uses beeswax to create stunning miniature batik artworks on eggs.

Shannon will show two different techniques from Ukraine: traditional folk pysanky using a kistka/ pysachok and the Lemko style or drop pull pysanky, and talk about the history of the art form in eastern Europe and its evolution in North America

Register on the VBA Calendar 

 

VBA Beginning Beekeeping Class 

Registration closes March 31st

April 4th & 11th, 2026

10:30 A.M. to 2:30 P.M.

Rutland Free Library

10 Court St

Rutland, VT

There will be a third, outdoor, in-hive workshop at a date, time, and location in early May

This is a 3-day class for new Vermont beekeepers who have just gotten honey bees or will have them soon. First and second year beekeepers are also welcome to attend.

The class will cover these subject areas:

• Introduction to Beekeeping – History, Value, Health Issues in Beekeeping

• Basic Honey Bee Anatomy, Biology, and behaviors as they relate to seasonal management

• Basic Honey Bee communications and roles in the colony

• Vermont Apiary Law and Beekeeper Responsibilities - Health Certificates, Varroa mitigation plans, etc.

• Beekeeping Equipment, Tools, PPE, and options for bees

• Siting the apiary – Apiary siting factors, electric fencing

• Colony health – Protecting against pests, diseases, pesticides, and predators

• Seasonal hive and colony management – Inspections and frequency, reading the frames, splits, dearths, swarms, pollen and nectar sources, winter prep., colony health, and more

• Honey - What is it? How it is a “fragile” product, extracting honey - tools and equipment, Vermont honey labeling requirements.

Cost: $60, includes book: The Backyard Beekeeper, 5th Edition: An Absolute Beginner's Guide to Keeping Bees in Your Yard and Garden by Kim Flottum

Register on the VBA Calendar before March 31st

Space is limited