Boston Area Beekeepers Association

BABA Bee School 2025
2025-02-06 19:00 - 20:30 (America/New_York)
A Beginner’s Guide to Keeping Bees Thriving in the Boston Area
Join us for Bee School 2025, a fresh and innovative approach to beekeeping education designed with the new beekeeper in mind. Whether you’re just starting out or considering your first hive, this course will provide you with the essential knowledge and skills to raise healthy, thriving honeybee colonies in the unique conditions of the Boston area.
Learn from expert beekeepers about hive designs and setup, seasonal hive management, disease prevention, and sustainable practices tailored to urban and suburban environments. With practical advice from experts and access to a vibrant community of bee enthusiasts, you’ll gain the confidence and expertise to nurture your bees while supporting the local ecosystem.
Additionally, there will be a series of “Ask Me Anything” sessions for the students from April 10th through November 2nd, on the 2nd Thursday of each month. These sessions will be invaluable to the new beekeeper, as they can talk through their experiences and get expert ongoing advice throughout the seasons.
Embark on your beekeeping journey with BABA’s reimagined curriculum-focused, accessible, and crafted to ensure your success. Let’s build a buzz together!
Dates
Starting February 6th and running each Thursday night for 7 sessions, ending March 20th. Classes are from 7pm to 8:30pm Boston time, and are held via Zoom and a link is included in your ticket which will be sent via email.
If you have any questions, please send an email to info@bostonbeekeepers.org

BABA Package Installs April 28th 2025
2025-04-28 16:00 - 17:00 | Boston Nature Center, 500 Walk Hill Street, Mattapan, MA, 02126, United States
BABA will demonstrate the installation of two Bee Packages on Mon, Apr 28, 2025 at 4 p.m. at the Boston Nature Center. The installations will be done one after the other so that the second one will be around 4:30pm.
The Boston Nature Center is at 500 Walk Hill Rd., Mattapan, MA. As you turn off Walk Hill Rd., after passing three red brick houses on your left, look for a sign directing you to the Clark Cooper Garden. Park near the Outside Gazebo along the Garden fencing. Someone will direct you to the Apiary.
If you’re lost or confused, call 617-834-6093.

BABA: Composting Presentation
2025-06-19 19:00 - 20:30
The process of composting gives you the power to recover materials from your garden, your kitchen, and your community and turn them into rich, black gold! In this workshop, you will learn the basics of how to make and use compost to nourish your plants and rebuild soil in your community.
Speaker Olivia Golden is an Urban Agriculture Educator for UMass Extension, where she provides technical assistance and educational resources to urban farmers and urban agriculture practitioners. Her passion for food systems and agriculture was sparked while working at urban farms in Upstate New York. She has a background in urban and environmental planning, supporting community composting projects, urban agriculture education, and community engagement processes in Boston and throughout the Northeast.
Join us and Olivia on 6/19/25 at 7PM with this Zoom link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83788123350?pwd=[REDACTED]
**Please disregard the incorrect date presented in the May Newsletter. We will be meeting on 6/19/25 at 7 PM and not on 7/19/25 at 7 PM

BABA: Learn about Small Hive Beetles
2025-07-24 19:00 - 20:30
Join us and special guest Jennifer Keller at 7PM on July 24th to learn about Small Hive Beetles! The presentation goes over the basic biology, life cycle, and best management practices to minimize issues due to Small Hive Beetles.
Jennifer Keller is a member of Dr. David Tarpy’s apiculture program at NC State University. She was first introduced to honey bees while in the Peace Corps in Paraguay and was quickly hooked on the passion. She spent 20 years as the apiculture technician for Dr. Tarpy’s program, which involved coordinating all the field research for that team. Some of the multiple duties included queen rearing, instrumental insemination, and seasonal management of honey bee colonies in numerous apiaries. She has since transitioned into a position that is more focused on extension and outreach.
Zoom link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84988639089?pwd=[REDACTED]

Splits and Varroa Mites Presentation
2025-09-25 19:00 - 21:00 | Zoom link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84988639089?pwd=[REDACTED]
Join us and Bill Hesbach on Thursday, September 25th, 7 pm for a Splits and Mite presentation! This talk is for beekeepers looking for less toxic and more natural treatment alternatives, emphasizing that successful Varroa control can be aided by timing splits based on brood cycles and corresponding Varroa reproduction. Bill Hesbach is a Connecticut native with a background in engineering. He’s an Eastern Apicultural Society Certified Master Beekeeper, a graduate of the University of Montana’s master beekeeping program, and the President of the Connecticut Beekeepers Association.
There will be a $5 charge for non-members to attend this presentation
Zoom link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83399870202

Thermoregulation and Ventilation Presentation
2025-10-30 19:00 - 21:00 | Zoom link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84988639089?pwd=[REDACTED]
Join us and Bill Hesbach on Thursday, October 30th at 7 pm to learn about Thermoregulation and Ventilation. The talk starts with how bees control the internal hive temperature using thermoregulation and what effect that has on the colony. Then, we will learn about convection flows inside a colony as a precursor to understanding ventilation. In the final segment, the concept of a condensing colony versus the more common practice of adding ventilation is introduced. Participants will better understand what role ventilation plays in a natural hive environment.
There will be a $5 charge for non-members to attend this presentation
Zoom link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84988639089?pwd=[REDACTED]

Observation Hives Presentation
2025-11-25 19:00 - 21:00 | https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89559261997
Join BABA and Michael Bush on a presentation about observation hives! Having an observation hive, in addition to other hives, gives you an idea what is going on with your bees. Learn more on 11/25/25 at 7PM!
Michael Bush is an internationally recognized author and speaker on beekeeping. His “The Practical Beekeeper; Beekeeping Naturally” is an authoritative source on sustainable beekeeping without chemical treatments, and his website is an invaluable and thorough source of information on natural, chemical-free beekeeping, as well as beekeeping in general.
There will be a $5 charge for non-members to attend this presentation
Zoom Link:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89559261997

Natural Disaster Impacts on Bees Presentation 12/18
2025-12-18 19:00 - 21:00 | https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84248234784
Join BABA and Jen Keller for a presentation about how natural disasters impact bees. This presentation will dive into Jennifer’s experience with a hurricane that wiped out a hundreds of hives in North Carolina, and how the beekeepers in NC came together to rebuild. Learn more on 12/18/25 at 7PM!
Jennifer Keller is a member of Dr. David Tarpy’s apiculture program at NC State University. Her past duties include rearing, instrumental insemination, and seasonal management of honey bee colonies. She has now transitioned into a position more focused on outreach.
There will be a $5 charge for non-members to attend this presentation
Zoom link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84248234784

Adding Beeswax to Make Honeycomb Presentation
2026-01-22 19:00 - 21:00 | https://us06web.zoom.us/meetings/86515183365/invitations?signature=8-xgVPeeTZXpSogxoMVprqzMHAHZItajlCFOFUKAe58
Join BABA and Dave Wade on Thursday, January 22nd at 7 PM for a presentation on Adding Beeswax to Honeycomb!
Adding Beeswax to Make Honeycomb- A New Discovery
Add rolled-up pieces of wax foundation to your hives to get the bees to build comb or to get the bees to complete construction on partially built-out frames. Dave will demonstrate how he got the bees to build comb using this method through late-season August and September of 2024. The bees built honey frames and brood frames. Short on built-out comb and your hive is becoming honey bound late in the season? Learn how to remedy the situation by getting the bees to build comb with wax provided to them. Dave will also discuss his 2025 spring experiment using six-package hives to see if they build out stronger and faster when provided with wax rolls. Wouldn’t it be nice if the bees built out significantly more comb and made more honey because they did not need to consume their stores to make wax? Also, learn a method of giving your rendered wax back to the bees for them to build new comb.

Dave has been a hobby beekeeper in Sturbridge, MA for 19 years. His wax adding method to build comb has been seen in the June 2025 edition of American Bee Journal. That article was also recently reprinted in an Australian bee journal, named The Australasian Beekeeper Magazine. Dave has three wax adding articles in the MA Beekeepers Association newsletter. He has given a number of bee club presentations throughout New England, along with an on-line one hosted by Dr. David Tarpy, of North Carolina State University. Dave will also be presenting at the American Beekeeping Federation annual conference and trade show in January 2026, in Mobile, AL.
There will be a $5 charge for non-members to attend this presentation
Zoom link:

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86515183365

A Discourse on Queen Rearing with Bob Hickey 2/19
2026-02-19 19:00 - 21:00 | https://bostonbeekeepers.org/single-event/a-discourse-on-queen-rearing-with-bob-hickey-2-19/
Join BABA and Bob Hickey for a Discourse on Queen Rearing at 7 PM, 2/19. This presentation will discuss the importance of royal jelly in queen rearing, and how bee behavior is used to manipulate the nurse bees. Bob will walk you through the various steps of the Cloake board method, what grafting is. and the time lines to emergence.
There is no charge for this presentation.
Zoom link:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82122872997
