Blog
Resources • Past Events • Recipes • Beekeeping Information • And More!
Girl Scout Field Trip
Girl Scout Field Trip The Girl Scout Field trip was on 5/7. The Scouts were able to safely view the bees as Sandie Cecelski and Susan Warwick conducted hive inspections. We were able to find the queen bee and various other important details in the hive. The scouts...
Community Outreach at Wrightsboro Elementary School
Community Outreach- Wrightsboro Elementary School This summer we were able to host community outreach events at Wrightsboro Elementary School, First Baptist Daycare, Island Montessori and various other community schools! These are some images from those outreach events!
July Meeting- Honey Tasting Contest
July Meeting- Honey Tasting Contest For our July meeting we held a black jar honey tasting contest and a photo contest! These are our winners! The Tom Rhyne Apiary Honey at Halyburton won 1st place, 2nd place went to Lynn and Blythe Hodgen and 3rd place went to Al...
Field Day Meeting
Field Day Meeting The NHCBA meeting in June was a Field Day opportunity for our members! New beekeepers were able to work with an experienced beekeeper as they did hive inspections. We were able to see various important features in the hives-the queen bee, eggs, the...
Honey Harvest
Honey Harvest Earlier this summer we had our 1st Honey Harvest at The Tom Rhyne Apiary at Halyburton Park! This event was sponsored by the NHCBA and the City of Wilmington. Guests were able to learn about honey bees through an observation hive, various educational...
Tom Rhyne Apiary Dedication Ceremony
Tom Rhyne Apiary Dedication Ceremony On March 25, 2023 we held an Apiary Dedication Ceremony at Halyburton Park to honor Tom Rhyne. Tom served as NHCBA president 2018-2019. He worked towards our goal of having bees in a public setting. Unfortunately he lost his...
October Meeting- Fall/Winter Feeding & Electric Extractor Drawing
October Meeting- Fall/Winter Feeding & Electric Extractor Drawing For our October meeting we had the privilege of hearing from Eric Talley-Master Craftsman Beekeeper. Eric spoke on fall/winter feeding which was great information for the current season! We also had...
Halyburton Park Apiary Ceremony
Halyburton Park Apiary Ceremony We’re thrilled to announce our ribbon cutting ceremony at Halyburton Park Apiary was a success! The ceremony was to display our new public apiary to the community. An apiary is an enclosed ‘bee park’ that is maintained by a beekeeper....
Ribbon Cutting RESCHEDULED
The ribbon cutting has been RESCHEDULED for Monday, September 12, 4pm at Halyburton Park! Be sure to join us for the bee hive dedication and reception to follow.
Honey Tasting Contest
We recently had a honey tasting contest at our meeting and had members vote for their favorite honey! It was a sweet time for all. Our winner was Ellen Gurganious with her amazing Bee Kind Honey! Ellen won the Golden Hive Tool Award and bragging rights! A close 2nd...
Did You Know...
Queens that are bred and sold commercially are marked with a dot of paint to make them more visible in the hive. The paint color is different each year so you know which year the queen was bred. This color marking protocol was developed years ago and is recognized internationally. Since a queen only lives 2-3 years, 5 colors are more than enough to uniquely identify how many years old a queen is.
This spring (2020) commercially bred queens will be marked with blue paint.
White – Yellow – Red – Green – Blue
A catchy phrase to help you remember the color sequence:
Where’s Your Red Golf Ball
Year Ending
1 or 6 – White
2 or 7 – Yellow
3 or 8 – Red
4 or 9 – Green
5 or 0 – Blue