Beekeeping in Northeast Ohio
Western Reserve Region
Counties: Lorain, Cuyahoga, Lake, Geauga, Ashtabula, Medina, Summit, Portage, Trumbull
Beekeeping Organizations in the Western Reserve Region:
| Association Name | Region | Contact |
| Ashtabula County Beekeepers Association | Western Reserve | www.facebook.com/AshtabulaCountyBeekeepersAssoc |
| Geauga County Beekeepers | Western Reserve | www.geaugacountybeekeepers.org |
| Greater Cleaveland Beekeepers Association | Western Reserve | www.greaterclevelandbeekeepers.com |
| Lorain County Beekeepers Association | Western Reserve | www.loraincountybeekeepers.org |
| Medina County Beekeepers Association | Western Reserve | www.medinabeekeepers.com |
| Portage County Beekeepers | Western Reserve | www.portagecountybeekeepers.com |
| Summit County Beekeepers Association | Western Reserve | www.summitbeekeepers.com |
| Trumbull County Beekeepers Association | Western Reserve | www.trumbullcountybeekeepers.org |
| Lake County Beekepers | Western Reserve | https://www.facebook.com/Lake-County-Beekeepers-of-Ohio-693445037494282/ |
OSBA Mission Statement
The Ohio State Beekeepers Association serves beekeepers in Ohio and is associated with other organizations who have an interest in beekeeping.
- Provide our membership with current beekeeping information and represent them when beekeeping issues arise in Columbus and at the Department of Agriculture.
- Provide our membership with a quarterly newsletter.
- Provide our members with OSBA discounts to major beekeeping magazines.
- Provide a yearly Fall educational meeting.
- Support other beekeeping organizations in the state of Ohio by providing speakers, and publishing information about their activities in our newsletter.
- Support the 4-H project in Ohio. Any 4-H member working on a beekeeping project can get on our mailing list for our newsletter. Some OSBA members also serve as mentors to these young people.
- Support our Ohio State University bee programs — research and extension.
- Join OSBA Now!
You can help – Plant a Bee Friendly Garden
- Sweetly aromatic or have a minty fragrance – herbs such as borage, basil, oregano, thyme, or sage.
- Open in daytime – Bees return home at sundown.
- Seasonality of plants – Have something growing thought the gardening season.
- Water Sources – Bees need something on which to land – stones in a birdbath or rocks in a pie plate filled with water.
- Reduce your pesticide usage. Apply in the evenings, when bees aren’t flying. Chemicals will have time to dry. Go chemical-free!
- Create more micro-habitats in your backyard – multi-cropping or garden areas reserved for insect forage … cover cropping allows extra forage and enriches the soil.
- Consider planting clover in your yard. Companion crop your tomatoes with buckwheat.
- Shop at Amazon Smiles to make a donation to OSBA.
Regional honey plants blooming in order from early spring thru fall:
- Buy the Ohio Pollinator Oasis Seed Packet for an assortment of native plants chosen to support pollinators!
- Bush Honeysuckle
- Autumn Olive
- Multiflora Rose – mostly a pollen source
Yellow Sweet Clover - Birdsfoot Trefoil
- White Dutch Clover / White Sweet Clover
- Giant Catmint
- Butterfly Weed
- Giant Milkweed
- Spotted Knapweed (Purple Star Thistle)
- Japanese Knotweed
- Goldenrod
- White and Purple Asters
Products of the Hive:
Honeybees Provide:
Pollination – food on our table, colors in our garden.
Honey – It doesn’t just sweeten your tea! It provides carbohydrates, proteins, amino acids, vitamins, minerals, anti-oxidants, and aromatic acids. Used in medicine to combat bacteria and speed healing.
Propolis – Medicinal uses.
Royal Jelly – Medicinal uses.
Wax – Candles, Polishes, balms, creams.
Venom – Helps auto-immune diseases.
