Swarm season is upon us! 

If you see a swarm of bees do not panic!

Swarms are the way honeybee colonies reproduce naturally. Typically the bees in a swarm are very gentle, even though there can be a lot of commotion. The swarm will normally converge on a branch or bush about 10 feet off the ground and remain there from a few hours to a few days as the bees scout for a new home. Because they have no home to protect, they normally will not sting. 

We have many volunteers that will come out, remove the swarm safely, and give it a new home. Please click here to send a swarm alert email

 

The benefits of participating in the Fairfax Beekeepers club comes with the price of annual dues.  (Register here:  Registration) 

With these funds, we pay for administrative costs (like Insurance), the cost of extraction equipment and mite treatments made available to members, and our annual extraction party.  The income from classes we do and donations received also help to give us discretionary funds to pay for speakers and additional events, and to invest in more expensive equipment, such as motorized extractors or battery-operated Oxalic Acid vaporizers.

Thank you to every member (past and present) that helped form and expand this club. We appreciate your participation and your beekeeping passion!  Please consider joining the club or renewing your membership so we can continue delivering beekeeping expertise, equipment and fellowship in 2023.

Our club has grown from a fledgling, handful of local beekeeper enthusiasts, to a robust, active group that spans the County.  We owe our roots to the efforts of Jim and Pat Haskell, master beekeepers who encouraged, supported, and promoted the formation and evolution of the Fairfax Beekeepers organization.

The club would not have come in to existence without their tireless support financially, keeping the original group together, and encouraging us to form a legitimate club.  They gave of their expertise and time, and opened their beeyard for instruction to new beekeepers.  

We were saddened by Pat's passing last year; she is now followed by her life partner.  Both were dear friends of many members of our organization - and to beekeepers across the Commonwealth.  

We thank you, Pat and Jim, and will always remember your contributions to apiculture.

James Haskell's Memoriam

Pat Haskell's Memoriam

 

Everyone knows that the European honeybee has taken terrible hits in recent years. What is less well known is that the 400+ species of native bees in Virginia are under serious threat from the actions of human beings. Not only are native bees important pollinators of many food crops, they play an essential role in our ecosystem as a whole. Bees and a whole array of less noticeable animals - including many species of flies, ants and beetles - pollinate the majority of the plants we see around us. In other words, they ensure the survival of most of the plant kingdom.

Want to save the bees? This task is far more complicated than you might guess.  We have the Gardening for Bees guide (prepared by plantnovanatives.org) and other tips and tricks on our  Resources tab.

 

The Eastern Apicultural Society hosts a Honey Show as part of the annual conference.  The following link contains Honey Show Tips & Tricks that gives alternative methods (with pros and cons) of how to pull and extract honey.  It's never too soon to start planning for our honey crops!

Honey Tips and Tricks

Fairfax Beekeepers is a group of beekeepers mainly from northern and western Fairfax County that meet monthly to promote responsible honey bee keeping in our urban and suburban environment.

Our goal is to maintain a local group of beekeepers, both new and experienced, that can assist each other in continuing their education. Experienced beekeepers mentor new ones; we share resources including honey extractors, equipment, bees, queens; and encourage each other to grow as beekeepers.

Most of our members are from Reston, Herndon, Great Falls, Sterling, Chantilly, Centreville, Vienna, and Oakton. We mix meetings of open discussion with guest speakers and demonstrations that focus on hive health and management. Our members often contribute volunteer time to local outreach endeavors, as well as the 4-H Bee Club.

As a small group, our focus is primarily on individual beekeepers supporting each other.  However, if you want more involvement in the NOVA beekeeping community, there are other larger organizations in the area that are listed on our Resources page. Many of our members are members of those organizations, as well. Please check them out; these larger clubs offer excellent speakers, educational opportunities, and a significant amount of community outreach.