Missed sign ups for our Beekeeping 101 series? Back by popular demand, sign up for our one-day crash course!

This course six-hour condensed course will cover everything you need to know to safely start and maintain a beehive in an urban, suburban, or rural environment. You may not be a master beekeeper by the end, but you will know enough to begin or deepen your fascinating love story with honeybees.

This theoretical class will be taught in a state of the art smart classroom at NYIT, replete with films, equipment instruction, and several expert volunteer beekeepers as your instructors. We will cover basic honeybee science, hive construction, regular hive inspection, swarming, harvesting, disease, and winterization.

Become a beekeeper. It is easier than you may think, and more rewarding than you might imagine.

Tuition: $200 via Eventbrite
There are no make-up classes. Refunds are available up to 30 days prior to the start of the class.

Questions? Ask! info[at]bees.nyc

Beekeepers and honey lovers of all stripes - celebrate the end of the year with the NYCBA!

Bring in a minimum of one pound of your finest honey to test your nectar against other New York City (and surrounding areas) beekeepers’ own caramelized sunshine. Bring samples of both spring and fall harvests for twice the chance to emerge victorious. Or just bring your distinguished palate and an appetite for voting!

Categories will include but are not limited to:

Best Tasting Spring Honey

Best Tasting Fall Honey

Best Label

There will be prizes. There will be bragging rights. There will be a lot of honey to taste. 

AND THERE WILL BE BEE MOVIES ALSO! RUNNING THE ENTIRE TIME.

We have secured some wonderful and rare films about - you guessed it - beekeeping!

Films from the 1930's, 1940's, and 1950's. Several short films on bees and beekeeping. Instructional, informative, whimsical, wonderful beekeeping films through the ages. Some real oddball stuff, too. 

These films are remarkably high quality and are NOT readily available in the public domain. Making a short film was an expensive endeavor many years ago, before every primate with a weak pulse could make one on her/his phone.  These are great and fun and funny films. All bees!

ADMISSION: $5 in advance through Eventbrite
$10 CASH ONLY at the door

Join the NYCBA and Mutiny Distribution for a revelrous night of mead sampling!

Founded in New York City in 2017, Mutiny Distribution is the world's first exclusive mead distributor. In celebration of the end of the season, Mutiny Distribution is hosting local beekeepers at its warehouse for an intimate introduction to the world's oldest and most diverse alcoholic beverage: mead. At the tasting, attendees will learn more about this storied libation and the budding industry behind it, sample the most comprehensive mead and honey varietal portfolio ever put together (with roughly forty meads on tap), and meet some of the honey enthusiasts behind the world's leading meaderies. Put winterizing your hives on hold for an evening - this will surely be a night to remember! 

$25, attendance capped at 50. Buy tickets on Eventbrite.
21+ only.

Join the NYCBA for our monthly meeting in conversation with author Leslie Day.

In her newest publication, Honeybee Hotel: The Waldorf Astoria’s Rooftop Garden and the Heart of NYC, Day tells us of the garden’s development, shares delectable honey-based recipes from the hotel’s chefs and mixologist, and relates the fate of the hotel in the wake of the Waldorf’s change of ownership. During our journey, we learn about urban apiaries, as well as insect and flower biology, through the lives of the bees that travel freely around the city in search of nectar, pollen, and resin. This absorbing narrative unwraps the heart within the glamour of one of the world’s most beloved cities, while assuring us that nature can thrive in the ultimate urban environment when its denizens care enough to foster that connection. Through her meticulous research and interviews with culinary glitterati, entomologists, horticulturists, and urban beekeepers, Leslie Day leads us on a unique insider’s tour of this little-known aspect of the natural world of New York City. 

Dr. Day will remain after the talk to sign and sell copies of Honeybee Hotel.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Leslie Day is a New York City naturalist. The author of Field Guide to the Natural World of New York City, Field Guide to the Street Trees of New York City, and Field Guide to the Neighborhood Birds of New York City, Dr. Day taught environmental science and biology for more than twenty years. Today, she leads nature walks, gives talks, and teaches at the New York Botanical Garden.

Learn about the life of urban honeybee colonies and the vital role they play in the environment with the NYCBA at Bryant Park’s apiary. We will gather in Bryant Park's Reading Room, just steps away from the urban hives in the northwest corner of the park, for a talk and demonstration, weather permitting.. No registration required.

This class will be held monthly throughout the beekeeping season, on May 11, June 8, July 13, August 10, and September 14.

For more information on how to find the Reading Room, please visit Bryant Park’s website.

Learn about the life of urban honeybee colonies and the vital role they play in the environment with the NYCBA at Bryant Park’s apiary. We will gather in Bryant Park's Reading Room, just steps away from the urban hives in the northwest corner of the park, for a talk and demonstration, weather permitting. No registration required.

This class will be held monthly throughout the beekeeping season, on May 11, June 8, July 13, August 10, and September 14.

For more information on how to find the Reading Room, please visit Bryant Park’s website.

Learn about the life of urban honeybee colonies and the vital role they play in the environment with the NYCBA at Bryant Park’s apiary. We will gather in Bryant Park's Reading Room, just steps away from the urban hives in the northwest corner of the park, for a talk and demonstration, weather permitting.. No registration required.

This class will be held monthly throughout the beekeeping season, on May 11, June 8, July 13, August 10, and September 14.

For more informationon how to find the Reading Room, please visit Bryant Park’s website.

Learn about the life of urban honeybee colonies and the vital role they play in the environment with the NYCBA at Bryant Park’s apiary. We will gather in Bryant Park's Reading Room, just steps away from the urban hives in the northwest corner of the park, for a talk and demonstration, weather permitting.. No registration required.

This class will be held monthly throughout the beekeeping season, on May 11, June 8, July 13, August 10, and September 14.

For more information on how to find the Reading Room, please visit Bryant Park’s website.

Due to demand, this year we've added a one day, intensive class that covers all the ground of our full 101 course. This comprehensive course will teach you everything you need to know to safely start and maintain a beehive in any environment, particularly an urban one. By the end of the course, though you won’t be a seasoned expert, you will know enough to get started and to enjoy a fulfilling season as a bona fide beekeeper. 

Learn more on our Beekeeping Classes page.

Tickets available here.

The enduring relationship between humans and bees is well documented since ancient times, but it’s difficult to imagine a period where our relationship with these insects has evolved and been challenged as in the past 100 years. Rich in literary and artistic symbolism, the honey bee has stood for industry and teamwork, sweetness and pain, and so much more. From a time of endless prosperity of beekeeping in the early 20th century to today’s complex challenges with CCD and other factors leading to nationwide bee decline, this talk explores the story of our shifting relationship with bees, as well as with one another, as told through commercial print, television and nontraditional advertising. 

Presented by Molly Conley of Molly Conley Design and Andrew Coté of Andrew's Honey.

Following the presentation will be a special honey tasting, featuring an assortment of honeys from around the world. 

Tickets available here

Note for NYCBA Members:
We are offering admission discounts for NYCBA members who have renewed their membership as of January 2016. This discount applies only to individual members, not members' guests. Send us an email at info@bees.nyc for a $15 discount code.

Event Description

In a delightful, double feature evening, the New York City Beekeepers Association will host a talk by NYPD's beekeeping team as well as present two additional vintage beekeeping short films from our library.

Part One: Swarms in the City
When the NYPD is notified about bee swarms in New York City, they turn to their internal experts. In addition to serving the people of NYC, Detective Dan Higgins and Officer Darren Mays are on call when our apis mellifera friends needs help as well. This time of year, they are often called out to rescue bee swarms in the New York City area, a truly unique environment to exercise this special skill. Hear their experiences in this entertaining presentation!

Part Two: Bee Movie Night: The Sequel
If you missed our April meeting, here is your chance to watch vintage beekeeping films. And if you were able to join us in our April meeting, you'll be happy to know we have two additional films to share (these will be different short films than what were presented at our last meeting). The charm of the projector and the company of your fellow bee lovers--what could be sweeter?

As always, our meetings are also an opportunity to ask and discuss your beekeeping questions. Please join us for a fun and educational evening with your fellow NYC beeks!

Join us for an evening in film. Yes, actual film.

We have secured some wonderful and rare films (not DVDs, not VHS, not digital, but actual 32 frame per second film) of beekeeping.

Films from the 1930's, 1940's, and 1950's. Five short films on bees and beekeeping. Instructional, informative, whimsical, wonderful beekeeping films through the ages.

Come hear the clatter of the projector, come see the flickering lights and in between, hear our team of experts talk about bees and beekeeping, getting started in the spring, and have all of your questions answered. We are working on securing a popcorn machine (seriously).

Cost:

FREE for 2016 paid members/supporters (You can join NYCBA here for a mere $25)
$10 for nonmembers. Please purchase tickets here.

In our last meeting of 2015, we are delighted to welcome Honey Bee Biologist Dr. Tom Seeley. Dr. Seeley is well known for his scientific work focusing on understanding the phenomenon of honey bee swarm intelligence (SI), as researched in his book The Honeybee Democracy.

Our meeting will be a double feature! Dr. Seeley will present two back-to-back talks, which cover topics in his upcoming book release, Following the Wild Bees:

House hunting by honey bees: Part one, choosing the new home site
House hunting by honey bees: Part two, moving to the chosen site

Dr. Seeley received his undergraduate degree in chemistry from Dartmouth College. He received his PhD in 1978 from Harvard University, where he studied with Bert Hölldobler and Edward O. Wilson.  He held a postdoctoral fellowship in the Society of Fellows at Harvard until 1980, when he accepted a faculty position at Yale University.  He remained there until 1986, when he joined the Department of Neurobiology and Behavior at Cornell University.  

In recognition of his scientific work, he has received the Alexander von Humboldt Distinguished U.S. Scientist Prize, been awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship, received a Gold Medal Book Award from Apimondia for The Wisdom of the Hive, and been elected a Fellow of both the Animal Behavior Society and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.  His most enduring honor, though, is to have had a species of bee named after him: Neocorynurella seeleyi

Stephen Repasky is a second generation beekeeper, EAS Certified Master Beekeeper, author and lecturer.  He is a sideliner beekeeper, keeping many hives in and around the city of Pittsburgh, PA.  He keeps busy with everything from mentoring new beekeepers, teaching classes, collecting swarms and extracting feral honeybee colonies from structures as well as working with local communities developing regulatory code to allow the keeping of bees in urban areas.  He is a member of the Eastern Apicultural Society, Beaver Valley Beekeepers Association, Board Member for the American Beekeeping Federation and the 1st VP of PA State Beekeepers Association.  Steve is also involved in raising local survivor queens.  Stephen has a B.Sc. degree in Wildlife Management from Penn State University and has recently written a book entitled “Swarm Essentials:  Ecology, Management and Sustainability”.

As part of New York City Honey Week, NYCBA will be giving a special presentation about urban beekeeping.

While it may seem like a modern idea, humans have keeping bees in urban environments since ancient times. As pollinators, honey makers In this engaging presentation, New York City Beekeepers Association founder and president Andrew Coté explores the origins, quirks and unique benefits of keeping bees in New York City and in other urban environments around the world.

Tickets for this event are $8 in advance, $10 at the door. Seating is limited. Purchase your tickets here.

Banner photo by Peter Heck

Our June meeting features Dr. Dewey M. Caron, Emeritus Professor of Entomology & Wildlife Ecology, University of Delaware, & Affiliate Professor, Dept. Horticulture Oregon State University. Dr. Caron will be giving a talk entitled Communicating with Bees - Reading the Brood Frame.

When we enter a bee colony we wish to learn what the bees want to determine what is going on and we are seeking to communicate our desires and wishes for our bee colony.  What can we learn by entering the apiary and with minimal intervention open our hive to learn the status of our bee colony? We should, by looking at 2-3 frames of the brood area, READ THE COLONY, determine what the bees are saying and what we, as colony stewards, might do for management before we close the colony 'till the next time? 

Dr Dewey M. Caron is Emeritus Professor of Entomology & Wildlife Ecology, Univ of Delaware, & Affiliate Professor, Dept Horticulture Oregon state University. He has spent 45+ years teaching, doing bee extension and bee research at Cornell (1967-70), University of MD (1970-1981) and University of DE (1981-2009). He moved to OR in 2009 to be closer to grandchildren and continues bee extension activities with Oregon State Extension and bee associations. He serves as Master Beekeeper advisor to EAS and does the same for Oregon. He will be program chair for 2016 EAS (NJ) and 2017 (DE).  He spends 4-6 months each year in Bolivia where he keeps Africanized bees. He also has a bee project among coffee cooperative members in Southern Mexico and Central America. He keeps 5 backyard colonies in Tigard OR.

Join us Tuesday, (not Monday!) May 26th as we learn about the terroir of varietal honeys and how to identify diverse flavor profiles. Our meeting will be lead by honey expert and author Marina Marchese.

Attendees are invited to bring a sample of honey to taste and learn about, and all will receive a free copy of the Honey Aroma and Flavor Wheel from Marina's book, The Honey Connoisseur. Copies of both Marina’s books will be available for purchase with cash or check.

Marina Marchese is the designer and beekeeper behind the beloved brand, Red Bee Honey and the author of The Honey Connoisseur: Selecting, Tasting, and Pairing Honey. She is a leading expert on single – origin honey and the founder of The American Honey Tasting Society (AHTS).  Her best selling memoir, Honeybee Lessons from an Accidental Beekeeper chronicles Marina’s entrepreneurial journey into the world beekeeping.

Marchese is the only American to complete the training and be accepted into the Italian Registry of Experts in the Sensory Analysis of Honey (L’Albo degli Esperti in Analisi sensoriale del Miele). She has also trained in the Welsh Method of Honey Judging at the University of Georgia. She has taught honey tasting courses at Eataly, Slow Food Metro North, Murray’s Cheese Shop and Artisanal Premium Cheese Center. Recently, Marina was invited to lead the inaugural honey tasting panel for The Good Food Awards in San Francisco and this year with the AHTS lead the honey judging for NYC Honey Week. Marina’s Red Bee Apiary has been featured on ABC-TV’s The Chew, and she is the past president of the Back Yard Beekeepers Association of Connecticut and proud recipient of the Slow Food Snail of Approval.

For our April meeting, NYCBA is pleased to welcome Howland Blackiston as he shares  "A Bit of This and That" about bees, beekeeping and branding!

Come join us for a lively and informative evening with Howland Blackiston, author of Beekeeping for Dummies and Building Beehives for Dummies.  In a relaxed and informative way, Howland will share a bevy of beekeeping information designed to inform and entertain.

For new beekeepers, he'll share the answers to most frequently asked questions he gets from newbees.  Howland will also toss out a few "bettcha don't know" questions to the audience -- and for those of you with the correct answers, you just might win you a prize!

Finally, as the owner of one of the oldest and most prestigious branding firms in the USA, he'll share some best-practice tips on how to best to brand your honey. Bring your label and get some pointers.

This free event, designed for kids and adults alike, will teach about the importance of honey bees in an engaging, interactive environment. Get up close and personal to live bees in a observation hive, meet a few of New York City's finest beekeepers, and enjoy a sampling of some seriously local honey. 

Meet the Bees will be hosted at Whole Food's UWS location. To sign up, email UWSevents@wholefoods.com.

Our March meeting features Noah Wilson-Rich of Best Bees, who will be giving a talk called “Our Future with Bees.”

The world’s bees can create economic and ecological sustainability, if only we let them. We know the vital importance of bees, yet we also know that they are dying off. What does the future human condition look like in a world that incorporates bees into our architecture, healthcare, and every day lives?

Noah Wilson-Rich, Ph.D. is a behavioral ecologist, a beekeeper, and the founder of The Best Bees Company™. He is a 2007 graduate from the Bee School at the Essex County Beekeeper’s Association in Topsfield, MA. Noah earned his B.S. in Biology at Northeastern University (2005) and his Ph.D. in Biology at Tufts University (2011) at Tufts University. 

Noah lives in Boston where he continues to be inspired by the community gardens around the city. Growing up in Fairfield, CT, Noah was not fond of insects as a kid. This changed in high school when he participated in Project SEARCH, a state-run program using aquatic invertebrate species as bio-indicators for water pollution.

As an undergraduate at Northeastern University, he continued his involvement in research and produced three publications during this time. As a graduate student, he continued his investigations into the mysteries of the social insect world. Noah’s efforts as a graduate student have produced nine additional publications to date. Noah is currently researching the efficacy of three different vaccines for honey bees, for which a U.S. Patent is pending. As an academic scientist, Noah has published over a dozen articles relating to disease resistance in social animals and is the author of the new book The Bee: A Natural History (Princeton University Press 2014).

The last of four sessions, our beginner's beekeeping class continues with more beekeeping basics. Read more about the class and register here.

Our February meeting features apitherapy expert Dr. Patrick Fratellone. Apitherapy, or the use of bee venom, is widely used in other countries for a multitude of diseases. The discussion will include who is an appropiate referral for therapy as well as the conditions that apitherapy is used for. Dr. Fratellone will focus on different disease states which have shown beneficial results.

Dr. Fratellone is an internist/cardiologist as well a registered herbalist with the American Herbal Guild (AHG). He completed a Fellowship of Integrative Medicine under the direction of Andrew Weil, MD at the University of Arizona. He is also a board member of the American Apitherapy Society (AAS)

The third of four sessions, our beginner's beekeeping class continues with more beekeeping basics. Read more about the class and register here.

The second of four sessions, our beginner's beekeeping class continues with more beekeeping basics. Read more about the class and register here.

The first of four sessions, our beginner's beekeeping class launches today with an introduction to honeybee anatomy, a history of beekeeping, and a first look into urban beekeeping in New York City. This is also the first meeting for the 2015 Urban Beekeeping Apprenticeship. Read more about the class and register here.