Travis County Beekeepers Association is committed to educating both beekeepers and the public about honey bees.  One way we do this is by curating interesting and hosting experienced speakers for our meetings.  All meetings are free and open to the public. We hope you enjoy this year’s schedule of speakers and topics!

TCBA meetings are usually held on the FIRST Monday of each month, with a few noted exceptions below. Typically, a beekeeper lesson is offered at 7:00pm, then we may have a guest speaker, another class, or a short business meeting. Meetings are held inside the Zilker Botanical Garden Center Large Meeting room, parking is free for attendees. Please bring snacks to share when you can, thanks!

2016 Schedule:

Monday – January 4 – 7pm-9pm – Topic: Winter Feeding – How, When, & Why – John Swan

Monday – February 1 – 7pm-9pm – Ordering Bees, Queens , Hive Components, Top Bar Hives – Tanya Phillips, Journeyman Beekeeper; Setting Up Bee Yard – Chuck Reburn – Setting up a Hobbyist Apiary

Monday – March 7 – 7pm-9pm – Guest Speaker – Megan Mahoney with Bee Informed Partnership will update us on the state of our TEXAS Bees going in and out of the California Almond groves this year and tell us about the work she is doing with Bee Informed! Then we can talk about Splits & Swarm Management for Spring, and very likely tips on How to Capture and Hive a Swarm!!! Lots of exciting info for new-bees! With all the new folks coming in, it would bee a GREAT time for anyone that has used bee equipment for sale to BRING IT IN!!! If you are bringing something in to sell, come in at 6:30pm to get set up BEFORE the meeting starts, please.

Monday – April 4 – 6pm-10pm – EARLY START AT 6:00pm – BRING FOOD TO SHARE!!! Come in to learn how to ASSEMBLE Langstroth deep hive bodies with frames and how to install real wax foundations and wire.  I believe we will also have a couple of FLOW HIVES to assemble from our members.  Around 7:00-7:30, after we complete assembly, we will teach you how to catch/pick up a swarm, have a demo of bee-vac with Jack Hutchins & John Swan and end with a Q & A session on Spring Management. (note: Spring flow hasn’t quite started yet, your bees may be VERY HUNGRY, you may want to feed 1:1 sugar:water this week.)

Monday May 2 – 7pm-9pm – Making Splits and Re-Queening with Expert Panel 🙂

Monday June 6 – 7pm-9pm – Guest Speaker – Steve Butler – Catching Swarms and Guest Speaker – Chuck Reburn – How to use your honey to make Mead 🙂 (free tasting for 21 & up)

THURSDAY July 7 – 7pm-9pm – (NOTE MEETING DATE CHANGE for JULY) Summer Dearth, Bee Nutrition and Harvesting Honey & Hive Products – Chuck Reburn and Tanya Phillips

Monday August 1 – 7pm-9pm – Finding the Queen, Requeening, Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

AUGUST 19-21 – Special Public Event – 4th Annual Tour de Hives (more details soon) www.tourdehives.org

Monday September 5 – 7pm-9pm – (Labor Day) – Biology of the Honey Bee, Attracting Bees to Your Garden – Tanya Phillips, Journeyman Beekeeper

Monday October 3 – 7pm-9pm – Preparing Hives for Winter, Feeding, Survival – Afterwards we will discusss AG Exemptions in TEXAS for Beekeepers with 5-20 acres. (nominating new officers)

Monday November 7 – 7pm-9pm – Ordering Bees for Spring, Top Bar, Warre, Langstroth Hives: Which is right for me? – Tanya Phillips, Journeyman Beekeeper (Nominating new officers)

Monday December 5 – 6:30pm-9pm – Business Meeting and Holiday Potluck Celebration – Voting for new officers