Beekeeping News & Events
Welcome to our beekeeping community! Here, you can find the latest buzz in the world of beekeeping.
Our next monthly meeting is January 14th at 7:00. Program TBA
First United Methodist Church, 1 Gilligan Road, East Greenbush
Annual dues for 2026 are due.
Preferred method-Pay by check to Capital Area Beekeepers and mail to
CAB c/o Masters Treasurer
1214 Burden Lake Rd.
Averill Park, NY 12018
Alternatively you can use the link to pay through our website.
The check out page requires you to first select the United States in the phone field and then enter your phone number. If you use the website you will automatically be charged every year making it very convenient for ongoing memberships.
Dues are $15.00 for an individual or $25.00 for a family.
November 12th Meeting featured our guest speaker Jack Rath, DVM along with Sara Gibbs Rath, both graduates of St. Lawrence University.
The November meeting was well attended and fascinating, we had the chance to see beekeepers from Jack and Sara's travels in Europe, we even learned a little about sleeping with bees and raising queens.
Jack started keeping bees in high school, purchasing his first hive by mail order from Montgomery Ward in 1968. He graduated in 1974 from St Lawrence University with a BS in Chemistry and continued at Cornell, getting his veterinary degree in 1978. His first career was as a large animal veterinarian in Granville, NY where he worked primarily with dairy cattle and horses.
After selling his veterinary practice, he embarked on a second career as an owner at Betterbee. He started raising honey bee queens about 15 years ago and continues raising queens. Jack's goal is selection of productive stock and his dream is to produce queens that can manage mites without chemical treatment. He is very interested in testing and selecting colonies that show the ability to detect and remove mites from their colonies. He has been using artificial insemination of queens in an attempt to concentrate the most desirable genetics for the next generation. Jack lives in West Pawlet, VT with his wife Sara.
Beekeeping and Bears virtual presentation, hosted by MassWildlife with support from the Franklin County Beekeepers Association. For those that were able to join us live, we hope you found the program useful and informative. Here is a link to the recording of the presentation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jn-8GGCL6Gs
(Click skip to get past the advertising)
Below are links to resources (these links are available through once you are viewing the program) about black bears and ways to prevent bear damage to your beehives, chickens, and other small livestock. We encourage you to share this information with your fellow beekeepers, family, friends, and neighbors so we can all take steps to prevent conflict with bears.
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Protect your chickens, bees, livestock, crops, and orchards from black bears
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Electric fencing guide to protect coops, beehives, and other livestock from bear damage
News from some of our neighboring bee clubs can be found Here
