28th Annual Field Day
Honeybees, Pollinators & Pesticides
Dr. Reed Johnson, Ph.D., Dept. Of Entomology, OSU
Field Day is a Free Event for Everyone! For 28 years the Lorain County Beekeepers Association and Queen Right Colonies have made it their goal to provide the Best Ever Field Day for Beekeepers, Friends and Family alike. You don’t want to miss out on this year’s Field Day it has something for everybody with the emphasis always on beekeeping.
Field Day is held at Queen Right Colonies, a family friendly 17-acre century farm, where you will experience more than beekeeping. QRC is teeming with animals including; alpaca, goats, sheep, squirrels, doves, chickens, zebu cattle, and fallow deer, just to name a few. And in the past couple of years, the old Amish house went through a complete renovation. It was turned into a beautiful, quaint Antique & Gift Shop, now known as “Das Amish Haus”.
On Field Day you can expect accomplished beekeepers giving talks and demonstrations on a variety of interesting topics.
This year is no different. We are thrilled to have Reed Johnson, Associate Professor, Ohio State University, Dept. of Entomology. His research focuses on the relationship between honeybees, pollinators and their environment, with an emphasis on the effects of pesticides to include understanding the physiological basis of pesticide toxicity. Pollinators are vital for the production of many fruits, nuts and vegetables, including apples, blueberries, almonds, tomatoes and pumpkins. These crops are also vulnerable to pests and diseases, which are often controlled through the use of pesticides. However, pesticides may be toxic to insect pollinators, setting up a conflict between the need for pollination and the need for pest and disease control. To understand how to protect pollinators from the pesticides and other toxins they encounter is a main focus. The managed European honey bee, Apis mellifera, serves as a model pollinator for toxicological testing. Honey bees are the most economically important pollinator in the U.S. and serves as an excellent model species.
Demonstrations and classes for Field Day this year include; Peggy Garnes, OSBA President, teaching on Queen Assessment. Peggy has 20 plus years in beekeeping and 140 colonies, last count. She is a queen producer, queen breeder, and traveling speaker. A great class to attend!
Gene Gargas and Randy Leiby, productive and successful beekeepers, both work closely with new class members to see that they get a great start in their beekeeping adventure. These two classes are necessary for those who are getting started in beekeeping.
This year we also have the pleasure of having Shannon Warder, licensed in the Sport of Falconry with her Red Tail Hawk Sabrina, born April 2021.
So be sure and mark your calendar, bring your family and friends as the farm environment makes for a wonderful, relaxed and enjoyable day for all. Field Day is a free event filled with classes, speakers, games, raffles, door prizes and more.
We are also fortunate to have Peggy Garnes, OSBA president. Peggy is a beekeeper with 20 years experience keeping 140 colonies, queen breeder, nuc producer, and traveling speaker for OSBA and past Western Reserve Representative. Peggy will do a two part open hive class on, “Assessing (Part 1) and Maintaining (Part 2) Colony Health.”
Another highlight to this year’s event will be the addition of Tim Arheit. Tim is a past president of OSBA and a part of the OSBA traveling speaker program as well as the current webmaster of OSBA. Tim will do a one hour, open hive demonstration on the topic of, “How and When to Requeen.”
We always address the current new beekeeper or the beekeeper wishing for a refresher class, which is why we will be offering the topics of My First Year of Beekeeping Part 1 and Part 2. These classes will be taught by John Rose and Phil Bartosh; both of these gentlemen have eight to ten years of experience working with and teaching new beekeepers. Phil is the current Cuyahoga County Bee Inspector.
Click here to download 28th Annual Field Day flyer & Agenda for the day!
