need some input

[pdmattox]

just got this email today and wanted to know what others had to suggest.




The Florida State Beekeepers Association has decided to offer another all-day hobbyist/sideliner event at the 86th annual convention being held November 1,2,3 at the Holiday Inn, Winter Haven, FL;the event will be held on Saturday November 3rd.

We are going to offer seven open-hive,hands-on demonstrations on a rotating basis, so you get to visit them all!

I need some suggestions as to what demonstrations you would like to visit. Think "out of the box";what sessions would excite you the most?

I am drafting the program now, so if you could respond soon, I would greatly appreciate it.

As always, I truly value your input and insight. Because of you June 9th was a huge success...

Thanks,
nancy

[KONASDAD]

My club has many new members this year as a result of CCD news exposure. As such, very basic things. Extracting, hive inspection techniques. Personally, IPM skills. Various ways to do sugar shakes, place medications and mineral oil rags. Marking queens or other queen manipulation skills would be a first for me personally too. Skills for "other" products from hive materials. As for thinking outside the box.... cutout done live maybe. Building an observation hive and caring for one would be neat as well.

[TwT]

you should ask to learn grafting and queen rearing, I am sure someone in your club with teach this

[pdmattox]

I don't think anyone in my club knows how to do that, most still buy thier queens. But still worth asking thanks.  :)

[Kathyp]

basic stuff like identifying eggs and different stages of development.  different kinds of cells.  capped and uncapped honey, pollen, etc.  finding the queen.

[TwT]

you can teach how to shake packages and mark queens , let them do it using drones an marking them, show them how to grab workers and load in queen cages without being stung, well most the time without getting stung  :-D

[Kathyp]

great idea TwT and how to open queen cages easily if you have to.

[JP]

How about requeening a queenless colony. Can show them how to make queen candy, and have them plug the opening of a queen cage with the candy. A cut out would be nice. Can show them the newspaper method for mixing colonies.