Illinois State Beekeepers Association

05/13/2026

It's that time of year again for us to remind everyone that not all food grade buckets are made the same. Please be careful when buying your buckets that you don't just pick up a 70 mil food grade bucket from the big box stores. These have been known to crack in the middle because they can't hold the weight of honey. Be sure to buy a 90 mil food grade bucket that can handle the weight of honey. Not all buckets out there are food grade.

04/13/2026

Tickets are now on sale for the 2026 ISBA Summer Meeting hosted by Prairie State Beekeepers. More information at the following link.

https://www.prairie-state-beekeepers.com/2026-summer-meeting.html

01/26/2026

As the club officer transition takes place, scammer activity tends to escalate. The Illinois State Beekeepers Association does not request payment assistance to individuals via any channel. Always verify the request directly with the officer before proceeding with any payment.

12/25/2025

11/09/2025

Congratulations to the 2025 ISBA Award Recipients

Pioneer In Beekeeping Award - Adam Dolezal
Beekeeper of the Year Award - Phil Raines
Steve Chard Award to Non Beekeeper - Hilary Ward Schnadt

For more information go to

The site of the Illinois State Beekeepers Association (ISBA) . Founded in 1891. If you are a beekeeper in Illinois, you need to belong to a local association & the ISBA.

11/02/2025

As of the time of this post today (11/2/2025), there is a little over 8 hours left to register for the 2025 ISBA Fall Meeting and obtain a ticket which includes the buffet lunch.

The deadline is 5 pm on 11/2/2025.

Meeting registration(s) after the deadline WILL NOT include the buffet lunch (however, the registration price will remain the same).
If the number of registrations which include the buffet lunch reach the limit before the 11/2/2025 5 PM deadline, we will need to activate the no lunch registration tickets before then. Also, if we reach the seating capacity, we will be required to turn off ticket registrations and activate a waiting list.

So do not delay, register and get your ticket(s) which include the buffet lunch while they are still available.

The site of the Illinois State Beekeepers Association (ISBA) . Founded in 1891. If you are a beekeeper in Illinois, you need to belong to a local association & the ISBA.

10/29/2025

The 2026 Summer ISBA Meeting will be held in the Central Region in Springfield.

The following is a quick survey to provide us with information as what you would like to see at the Summer Meeting as an attendee.

Take this survey powered by surveymonkey.com. Create your own surveys for free.

10/16/2025

As of the time of this post today (11/2/2025), there is a little over 8 hours left to register for the 2025 ISBA Fall Meeting and obtain a ticket which includes the buffet lunch.

The deadline is 5 pm on 11/2/2025.

Meeting registration(s) after the deadline WILL NOT include the buffet lunch (however, the registration price will remain the same).
If the number of registrations which include the buffet lunch reach the limit before the 11/2/2025 5 PM deadline, we will need to activate the no lunch registration tickets before then. Also, if we reach the seating capacity, we will be required to turn off ticket registrations and activate a waiting list.

So do not delay, register and get your ticket(s) which include the buffet lunch while they are still available.

The site of the Illinois State Beekeepers Association (ISBA) . Founded in 1891. If you are a beekeeper in Illinois, you need to belong to a local association & the ISBA.

10/15/2025

Time is running out to register for the Honey Show Training and the Annual meeting with a meal included.

Illinois State Beekeepers Annual Fall Meeting
Northfield Inn & Conference Center
Springfield, Illinois
November 7 & 8, 2025
November 7, 2025
• All day Honey Judging Class - Sanctioned by American Honey Show Training Council. Lunch is on your own for the day of the class.
• Entries to be accepted for the Show Me the Honey Judging contest from 3 PM to 5 PM on Friday and on Saturday 7:00 AM - 9 AM.
• There will be at least 24 categories spread across 4 classes to compete in.
November 8, 2025, ALL DAY FALL Meeting and Honey Show
• Annual Fall Meeting (lunch included for tickets purchased before cutoff)
• Entries to be accepted for the Show Me the Honey Judging contest. Judging & Results of the Show Me the Honey Contest.
• Visit with multiple vendors

Keynote speakers are:
• Krispn Given - is the Senior Apiculture Specialist and Honeybee Breeder in the Department of Entomology at Purdue University. His research is focused on selecting resistance to the varroa mite by selecting bees with desirable behavioral traits, grooming and mite-biting. Today he is recognized as one of the leading international authorities in the fields of instrumental insemination and honeybee breeding. He started breeding bees 30 years ago. Krsipn will be speaking on Breeding Bees that Bite Mites and Mating on the Wing.
• Jerry Hayes - started out as a backyard beekeeper, studied under Jim Tew at Ohio State University, he was a Research Technician at the USDA/ARS Baton Rouge Bee Lab, Dadant and Sons Regional Mgr., Dadant and Sons New Product Dev., Chief of the Apiary Section for the Florida Dept. of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Monsanto Honeybee Lead, VP. of Vita Bee health North America and now Editor of Bee Culture magazine. Jerry will be speaking on American Beekeeping and Reading Frames.

• For more information, tentative schedule and to register go to https://www.ilsba.com/summary-of-events.html

08/01/2025

ISBA 2025 Fall Meeting Tickets - now on sale.

​See the Summary of Events page for the up-to-date information regarding the 2025 Fall Meeting.

Tickets may be obtained through the orange "register button" which is on the ISBA website (Home page or Summary of Events Page) OR the free IOS or Android Eventbee Attendee App.

https://www.ilsba.com/summary-of-events.html

07/26/2025

2025 Summer Meeting - Northern Region - August 16, 2025

Time is getting short.

There are a little over 5 days left to purchase tickets before the deadline of 7/31/2025

The 2025 ISBA Summer meeting is being co-sponsored by the following ISBA affiliated beekeeping associations.

Will County Beekeepers Association
Cook DuPage Beekeepers Association
Illinois Valley Beekeepers Association
Fox Valley Beekeepers Association.

The details on the planned activities and seminars have been recently updated on the Summer Meeting Registration page.

The deadline to register for the Summer meeting is July 31, 2025.