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Youth in 4-H Polk County Bee Keeping Club

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Youth and adults interested in bee keeping are invited to join 4-H Polk County Bee Keeping on October 11, 2014 from 10 a.m. – 12 noon.

4-H Polk County Bee Keeping will be meeting at the Chapter House at the Ankeny Izaak Walton League, located at 4857 NE 110th Ave, Elkhart, IA 50073

We plan to build a couple more hives, butterfly houses, mason bee houses, plant flowers in the spring, put in flower beds, how to properly keep honey bees, and lots of fun stuff.

4H registration is $30 a year per child plus $20 club fee  (if your child is in k-3rd then they are a Clover Kid; 4th – 12th is 4H). To register and pay, you will need to do this with ISU Extension, either online (link here) or in person (1625 Adventureland Drive, Suite A, Altoona, Iowa 50009 (515) 957-5760
Hours: Monday – Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.). If you’re unable to pay a club fee, consider if sharing your tools, supplies, knowledge, etc. — we’ll work something out! Families who are curious about 4-H can attend Find-Out Night this Thursday evening: click here for more information .

Thanks everyone!

Jen
515-490-0695

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What we do

We support each other wherever we happen to be on our beekeeping journey.

  • If you want general support, our monthly meetings are a great place to start. Put your shyness aside and ask away!
  • If you want to ask questions outside of our meetings, we have a Facebook Page.
  • If you want to see a bee vacuum, ask for a show and tell meeting next month and make sure you’re there to see it.
  • If you want to catch a swarm, use the Contact Form to get your name on the Swarm Page.

 

 

education

Upcoming events

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Our club

The Des Moines Backyard Beekeepers meet generally on the third Thursday of the month. Check the Events Page for more locations and other information.  

Other clubs

The Friendly Beekeepers of Iowa (FBI) meets on the fourth Thursday of each month from March through October at 6:30 pm. with a speaker or a roundtable discussion. Meetings are held at Calvary Baptist Church,  2708 N Jefferson Way, Indianola, IA 50125. Contact is Judy Spence.

Central Iowa Beekeepers Association (CIBA) meets on the third Saturday in January, March, June, and September for dinner and meeting followed by program at the Bonanza located at 5029 N.E. 14th St., Des Moines, IA. Contact is Arvin Foell.

swarm

Bee Removal

If you think you need a honey bee removal, check out >this page< or >this page<  to confirm that you have honey bees.

easton 5 9 14 (8)
golden brown, not black and yellow, about 1/2″ long

MAKE SURE THEY ARE HONEY BEES AND LOOK LIKE THIS:

  • If the ‘bee’ has yellow legs and/or yellow face, it is not a honey bee.
  • If the ‘bee’ has no hair/fuzz, it is not a honey bee.
  • If the ‘bee’ has a thread-like waist, it is not a honey bee.
  • If it is black and bright yellow, it is not a honey bee.
  • If they are flying in and out of a hole in the ground or a railroad tie, they are probably not honey bees.

If you see a structure like either of these, you have wasps:

Lefthand photo by Downtowngal (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons. Righthand photo with permission of B. Buckley.
Lefthand photo by Downtowngal (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons. Righthand photo with permission of B. Buckley.
Once you know they are honey bees, if you have any of the following, use the contact form  (here) for a removal assessment or better yet, call or text a photo ASAP because swarms usually leave after a couple hours: Tyler 515-480-0694

  • Honey bee swarm.  A random clump of bees hanging from an elevated surface, not feeding on flowers
  • Established colony in a structure or living tree
  • Downed tree with an established colony

supporting honey bees and beekeepers in the metro Des Moines, Iowa, area