Beekeeping Classes and Conferences
Missouri Bee Day - June 21, 2025
Free Open Apiaries - Crooked Hill Beekeeping, Chillicothe, MO
The open apiaries are free through the Great Plains Master Beekeeping Program.
If you would like to attend, please contact us by phone or email to sign up (660-214-0132 or chbeekeeping@gmail.com). Please also complete a free enrollment in the Great Plains Master Beekeeping Program (https://gpmb.unl.edu/become-member). Having participants enrolled helps with insurance.
At each open apiaries we cover general hive inspections and varroa mite testing. Additional topics will be covered based on the time of the year. Additional topics include when to add supers, queen marking, replacing queens, swarm management, harvesting honey, and equipment maintenance.
Wednesday, May 21st at 10 am
Sunday, June 8th at 12 pm
Tuesday, July 8th at 9 am
Saturday, August 2nd at 9 am
Wednesday, September 3rd at 9 am
Thursday, October 9th at 10 am
CROOKED HILL - Do you still have questions after your beginners class?
We are always happy to answer questions for our customers throughout the year. If you attend a virtual or in person class and have questions that couldn't be answered during the class, please write them down. Bill and I have taught and assisted with many beginner classes over the years and would be happy to help. You can give us a call at (660) 214-0132. Email is fine for yes or no type questions, but most beekeeping questions are easier to answer over the phone. Tammy
*We are also offer a short, hands-on familiarization and regional bee information class when interested beginners pick up of their 5-frame bee NUCs in the spring. This will be a supplement to and not a replacement, for a full online or in-person beginner's beekeeping class. Please ask about signing up for this when ordering your bees.
Wax Dipped vs Painted vs Wax Coated Hives
Wax-Dipped
Wax dipping is a preservation process that cooks the wax into the wood. As the water is rapidly boiled out, the wax is pulled deep into the board providing protection from moisture and rot from the inside out. A proper wax blend of Micro-Crystalline and Paraffin waxes provides the best qualities of both waxes resulting in a product estimated to last 25 or more years. Wax dipping leaves a natural wood grain look and requires the least amount of maintenance of the available preservation methods. We are slowly replacing all our personal hives boxes with wax -dipped.
Painted
A painted hive box is estimated to last approximately 10 plus years if properly maintained. White painted hives are what we usually think of when we picture hives. They are also a fun option if you want the personalize your hives. We have seen hives painted with children's hand prints, flowers, and sports team colors. We started with painted hives but since they require more maintenance than we seem to have time for, we are switching to wax-dipped hives.
Wax Coated
Wax coating is applying a thin layer of wax on the exterior of the board, not cooking the wax into the box. It is a water-resistant coating that will come off in a relatively short time. When it flakes or melts off, it will leave a board you cannot paint unless all of the wax is taken off. This process is fast and cheap. It is usually used on cheaply made imported Chinese equipment. These hives are often sold on Amazon (sometimes falsely advertised as wax dipped) and unfortunately at a few beekeeping supply stores in the United States.
Link to video about the problems with wax-coated boxes (sometimes falsely called wax-dipped).
Missouri Tax Exempt Form 149
The Missouri Department of Revenue now classifies honey bees as livestock. This allows bees and most beekeeping equipment to be purchased sales tax exempt. You will not need a 149 Form to purchase bees tax exempt, but you will need one for tax exempt equipment purchases. We will have these forms available in the store, but we are providing this link if you would like to fill one out before visiting us. We will keep this form on file for any future purchases. You will only need to fill in the following sections: 1. Name, 2. Contact Person, 3. SSN number, 4. Address, 5. Telephone number, 6. Check mark the Agricultural box, 7. Sign and date the form, you can put "owner" in the title box. This form already has Crooked Hill Beekeeping's information filled in.