The North Central PA Beekeepers Association, which covers Potter, McKean, Tioga, Cameron and Elk Counties, was founded in January 2013. The association is open to members from other counties in PA and NY and meets once a month from February through October. Meetings are held at the Penn State Cooperative Extension building in Coudersport or at member’s apiaries.
Monthly meetings are a forum for transacting business, facilitating training, discussions, and demonstrations and for coordinating visits to apiaries. Members range in knowledge from little to no beekeeping experience to those who have been keeping bees for more than 40 years.
At the meetings, members have learned, among other things, how to identify queens, drones and workers and what to look for regarding eggs, larvae, brood cells, capped cells, uncapped cells and honey stores for winter. They discuss purchasing bees, supplies and equipment. Did you know that pollen from different flowers can be in an arrange of colors? Did you know that the honey’s taste depends on the plants from which the bees choose to gather their nectar?
Many members of The North Central PA Beekeepers Association are very concerned with the recent loss of honey bees in the United States. They are working toward understanding the honey bee and how to encourage their return. Without honey bees, which pollinate our plants, we would not enjoy as many of the delicious fruits and vegetables that we eat. It is not uncommon today to see bee hives in towns or in cities on the tops of buildings in addition to the farms and rural areas where we expect to find bees.
Are you interested in learning more about bees? Do you own bees and are interested in helping others? Come to our meetings held on the 3rd Wednesday of each month between February through October. Meetings are held at the Penn State Cooperative Extension building in Coudersport or at member’s apiaries. For questions or more information about bees please click on a menu item at the top of the page or contact us directly via email or facebook.