Please join us at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday September 8th  at the Montgomery County Health and Human Services Building at 210 Pepper St., Christiansburg  when long-time member and past-president Mark Chorba will talk about “The AZ Hive- Beekeeping from another point of view”

The AZ hive is an old way of the beekeepers of Slovenia (Mark’s ancestral home). This hive originated there in the mountains and valleys of Slovenia and has been preserved till today.  Not so readily available it is however being brought into America by a few people who want a different way to keep bees.  The Langstroth is however still superior. These AZ hives are built to fit into a “bee house” and are grouped together closely, brightly painted and easy to work.  They don’t come apart like Langstroths or other hives . The hive sits in the exterior wall of the house with the front facing out. It has a door on the back (inside the house) and once opened, the frames of bees slide out to be inspected. Honey is stored above and is removed the same way. No more lifting heavy hives or supers. Any bees that fly out can go out through the window and return to the hive in the front.

Mark reports that he does  have one of these hives, but is waiting until next spring to set it up properly and to add bees and get a better assessment.

We will also have our monthly beekeeper raffle and a “what should you be doing with your hives this month” discussion.

Please consider bringing a snack or drink to share.