Lake Hartwell Beekeepers

06/03/2026

Good morning! One of our followers, Mark Blakely, would like to have some hives on his property. He has 8 acres on the Bowman highway he is offering as a location. If you are interested, please contact him at 706-961-9042.

05/31/2026

This Thursday we have the pleasure to hear from Justine Nguyen from the University of Georgia Bee Lab. In the latest GBA Newsletter, Lewis Bartlett recently shared the following announcement:

"We have also been expanding the roster of the bee lab, and we’re delighted to welcome Dr. Justine Nguyen as our first postdoctoral researcher. Dr. Nguyen received her B.S. in biology at Loyola University Chicago, where she was also an undergraduate researcher in a freshwater microbial ecology lab. Dr. Nguyen then received her Ph.D. in Biological Sciences in Dr. Chelsea Cook’s honey bee lab at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Her thesis work focused on characterizing the effects of a common apiculture antibiotic, oxytetracycline, on a critical collective thermoregulatory behavior in honey bees, fanning, which is important in regulating internal colony temperatures".

Dr. Nguyen is going to share the work she is wrapping up for the USDA-Sustainable Agriculture and Education grant on the effects of antibiotics on honey bee colony health and thermoregulation.

Join us at the Hart County Ag Center on Bowman Highway. The meeting starts at 7:00 but come early for refreshments, conversation, and to enter the drawing for door prizes. We look forward to seeing everyone on Thursday.

05/03/2026

It’s once again time for our monthly meeting of the Lake Hartwell Beekeepers. This month we have the pleasure of hearing from David Miller. David will be speaking about Invasive Species that Affect Honey Bees in the Southeast. This should be interesting to learn more about things that impact our honey bees and hopefully some things we can do to mitigate these impacts. David is a South Carolina Master Beekeeper and aside from our own club meetings, you may have seen him at various beekeeping events. He is a vendor and provides Beetle Jail traps, Swarm Traps and other items to help with your beekeeping practice.

As usual, we will start gathering around 6:30 and will have David's presentation start at 7:00. We will meet at the Hart County High School AgriScience Center located on Bowman Highway.

We look forward to seeing everyone there.

03/31/2026

We will meet this Thursday at our usual time and place. So plan on arriving around 6:30 or so and the meeting will begin at 7:00. We will be at the Hart County High School AgriScience Center located on Bowman Highway.

This month's topic will take a look at three of our very own beekeepers and how they inspect their hives. Stan O'Bannon, Holli Kircher and Randall Kerlin will discuss their approaches and tips and tricks they have acquired over the years. We can also ask additional questions of them during the presentation. The goal is to share what some of our most experienced beekeepers do day in and day out so others can learn and grow in their beekeeping practice. It should be an interesting conversation and we fully expect to hear from others in the audience as we share additional tips and tricks.

As a reminder we will have snacks ahead of the meeting so get there a bit early. I also know the swarms have been flying so I expect a lot of stories will be shared. Tom Hankins has an interesting swarm adventure that just happened this week, but you will have to come to the meeting to hear about it!

Look forward to seeing everyone on Thursday.

02/27/2026

Our speaker this Thursday, March 5, is Dr. Jeorg Mayer, a Professor in Zoological Medicine at UGA. Dr. Mayer lectures on all aspects of exotic animal medicine, including honey bee medicine. He is not a veterinarian for cats and dogs but treats most other animals, from goldfish to rhinoceroses.

GBA members have heard his very entertaining talks at our conferences. He will speak to our club about the microbiota of the honey bee and the work he is doing at UGA.

As usual, we will meet at the Hart Co. AgriScience Center (1951 Bowman Hwy, Hartwell, Ga. 30643) at 6:30 with the speaker starting at 7.

01/31/2026

We have our first Lake Hartwell Beekeepers meeting of 2026 this Thursday. We will meet at the usual place and time; Hart County AgriScience Center on Bowman Highway at 7:00. Plan on arriving between 6:30 and 7:00 so you have time to get snacks and mix and mingle with your fellow beekeepers.

This month we have the pleasure of hearing from Dr. Lewis Bartlett. Dr. Bartlett is an Assistant Professor at the University of Georgia. With over 13 years of personal beekeeping experience—spanning from his native Yorkshire, UK, to the U.S.—he is interim head of the UGA Bee Lab where his teams researches honey bee epidemiology, specifically how management practices (such as "Darwinian beekeeping") and environmental stressors influence the spread of Varroa and viruses, amongst other threats to beekeeping like pesticides and invasive species.

His topic will be "Yellow legged hornets: Updates, worries, and efforts". This will be a great opportunity to learn more about the Yellow Legged Hornet (YLH) and the latest developments in its appearance in our state. You can also ask about other research and developments going on at the UGA Bee Lab.

Look forward to seeing everyone on Thursday!

12/31/2025

Just a reminder that we will not meet in January since the first Thursday falls on New Year’s Day. Our first meeting of 2026 will be held on February 5 at 7:00 PM. We hope you have a Happy New Year!

12/23/2025

11/27/2025

Happy Thanksgiving to all our fellow beekeepers! This is a reminder that next week will be our end of year Holiday PotLuck Dinner. Here are a few details.

1) The club will provide turkey/dressing, ham, drinks and eating utensils
2) Club members please bring a side dish or desert to round out the dinner
3) Family, friends and guests are invited
4) We will start serving at 6:00 (instead of our usual start time of 7:00) so swing by early enough to set out your dish and catch up with your fellow beekeepers
5) We won't have a formal meeting or presentation, just time together enjoying a good meal

Also, just an early reminder, we won't have our January meeting since it falls on January 1st this year.

Looking forward to seeing everyone the Thursday after Thanksgiving. Hope you all have a great Turkey day and save room to repeat again the following week!

11/03/2025

This Thursday we have the pleasure of hearing from Wayne Hughes. Wayne will be speaking about thermodynamics in the hive. He is a certified Beekeeper and has kept bees since 2010. He has been treatment free for the entire duration of his beekeeping tenure, successfully promoting and relying on honey bee genetics to defend against varroa mites and pathogens. Wayne is a jack of all trades, holding degrees in Music, Information Technology and has spent his formative years of life in plumbing, electrical and HVAC trades.

After much study, research, and field trials, he used his skills from the HVAC trade to understand bee hive thermodynamics and developed a patent pending hive design. This design leverages biomimicry to provide optimum conditions for honey bees as well as being lightweight, easy to manipulate, pest resistant, and maximizes honey yields.

Plan on arriving around 6:30 to enjoy snacks and chats with your fellow beekeepers and Wayne will begin his presentation at 7:00. We will meet at the Hart County High School AgriScience Center located on the Bowman Highway. Look forward to seeing you on Thursday!