On January 20, 2026 there were 13 in attendance. Rosemary made a motion to accept the December 16th minutes, as emailed out on December 28, 2025. Randy seconded it. All were in favor. Randy stated we had $591.77 in our association’s checking account, plus the dues that were collected at this meeting.
Please remember to pay your annual dues now. The dues are $10 per member, $15 per family, and $5 for junior members (ages 14-17). If you can’t make the meetings, you may mail and make your dues payable to the Transylvania County Beekeepers Association, PO Box 92 Brevard, NC 28712,
Randy Austin has some raffle tickets the association can use for raffles. If you would like to donate an item to be raffled off for the bee association, please contact Randy Austin. Devin has a nuc he will donate.
Scott Davis, the Mountain Regional Director for the NC State Beekeepers Association, and Lewis Cauble, the NC Department of Agriculture’s Apiary Inspector, were the speakers for the evening.
Mr. Davis stated our region’s beekeeping association is the largest in the country with over 5,000 members. There is almost one club in each of the NC Counties (https://www.ncbeekeepers.org/). He encouraged beekeepers to join the state association and participate in some of the certification programs for beekeeping.
The Master Beekeeper Program (https://www.ncbeekeepers.org/programs/mbp) has four certification levels. The certification programs are a good way to spread the word about beekeeping as well as learn more about it.
The Born and Bred Queen Rearing class is also a good class to learn about queen bees and raising them (https://www.ncsuapiculture.net/bees-academy-home).
There is also a program to register your honey as local/real honey. You can also utilize the site to locate real honey to buy (https://www.ncbeekeepers.org/programs/real-nc-honey)
The state also sponsors the Golden Achievement Program (GAP) to recognize local clubs that have gone above and beyond in community outreach, bee schools, etc. (https://www.ncbeekeepers.org/?s=GAP). There is grant money available for local bee clubs.
The NC State also has a bee lab (https://www.ncbeekeepers.org/ncsu-bee-lab/updates-on-the-new-ncsu-honey-bee-lab). The project started in May 2022 and was able to secure funds from the NC Legislature to help build the new laboratory. The new lab will be ready to utilize and move in this April 2026.
Dr. Tarpy is one of the best queen researchers in the state. He leads the NCSU outstanding apiculture research program. The apiculture program is the first and only with a one million dollar endowment. $670,000 was raised and NC State added the remaining funds. This is a separate program from the Cooperative Extension program.
Mr. Cauble spoke to the group about the Yellow Legged Hornet (YLH). The hornet arrived in the US from Asia via a cargo ship in Savannah, Georgia. The hornet has a yellow face, white eyes, a dark thorax. The ends of its legs are yellow. The YLH likes to hang out in front of the honey bee hives and take the honey bees out, one by one. https://www.ncagr.gov/YLH
In the fall the YLH drones and queens are raised. In the winter the queens will over winter, while the rest of the colony dies off. In March the queen wakes up and makes an embryonic nest that is the size of a ping pong or tennis ball. The nest is usually under porches and eaves. You need to make sure to catch the queen while she is in the nest. If you just get the nest, the queen will make a new one elsewhere.
In May/June the queen has a few workers and makes a primary nest up high about 20 feet in trees that are in the open/unprotected area.
In July there is a nice workforce of YLH’s.
States are now working on making traps to catch the YLH. The traps are placed high up in trees and contain Georgia juice (a mixture of dark brown sugar and grape juice) to lure the hornets in. NC State is working with the USDA on a grant for eradicating and trapping the YLH. Some other insects will also be attracted to the traps, but honey bees are not likely to be found in the YLH traps.
Most of the hornets we now see attacking our NC hives are the European Hornets. They have been around since the 1840’s and will not kill out a healthy honey bee hive. We have been lucky and not found any YLH’s in NC. However, in September of 2025 there were some YLH’s found in York County, SC, about 40 miles from Charlotte, NC.
Please join us for the February 17th meeting, 6:30 pm to socialize. The official meeting begins at 7 pm: 106 E. Morgan St. Brevard, NC. Our President, Devin Gentry will be speaking about beekeeping. “Is beekeeping right for you?” “What does a new beekeeper need to know?”