During the first part of the meeting, Guest speaker Silas Richardson will be speaking on his start into beekeeping and how his operation has expanding into several hundred hives. The second half of the meeting will be a general beekeeper question and answer time with our club educator, Anne Zudekoff. The Q&A will be for novice and experienced beekeepers alike.
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Earlier Event: April 21
Amherst Honey Bee Festival
Later Event: June 15
Virginia State Beekeepers Association 100th Anniversary State meeting
Adult and Nymph Lantern Fly
Nymphs hatch in spring and develop into adults by summer.
Davanna McClellan
Be sure to check our March PBA newsletter for: A Beekeepers Calendar Things to Consider for April.
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Be sure to check our March PBA newsletter for: A Beekeepers Calendar Things to Consider for April. 〰️
You can find a link to past newsletters in the resource section of our website.
April 16, 2026 Club Meeting
The speaker for this month’s meeting was Davanna McClellan, addressing her recent research on the potential medicinal uses of Lantern fly “honey”. Davanna is a junior at Liberty University and is the president of Liberty’s beekeeping club. She is pursuing a degree in Zoo & Wildlife Biology and hopes to someday work in the field or in a zoo. Davanna and club member, Dr. Morgan Horning, are working on a research project involving European honeybees and the invasive spotted lanternfly. Their project examines the differences in the antimicrobial performance of wildflower honey and honey contaminated with spotted lantern fly honeydew. The team decided to undertake this research because honey is used as medicine, and if it is found that one honey outperforms the other, then that specific type of honey could be marketed as more effective against bacteria.
Check out our photo gallery page to see the swarm pictures sent in by our club members.
April 15th
The Virginia State Beekeeper’s Association announces :
The Virginia Queen Bee Throwdown 2026!
Any honey queen in the state may be entered. But only one entry per household will be accepted into the competition. The Queen must be active in a hive on the date an entry is submitted. And she must be no less than one year of age (second growing season or later). All subspecies and strains of Apis mellifera (Western or European honey bee) are acceptable for the competition. Entries must contain a photograph of the Queen on comb and vital details regarding her and her hive. Details on eligibility and criteria needed for entry are posted on the Virginia State Beekeepers Association website. Entries are accepted online through the VSBA website link. Entries must be submitted by end of the day May 20th, World Bee Day.
Credit goes to Ramillia Reed for this great picture taken at the Old City Cemetery.