Beekeepers Blog

There’s been a LOT of discussion on social media about using sugar bricks, sugar cakes and “soft” sugar bricks to feed bees during the winter. Sugar brick feeding is a main stay for northern beekeepers due to extended winter months and the inability to open hives due to cold and snow. 

Southern states don’t typically have winters this extreme, therefore this method of feeding hasn’t been on beekeepers’ radar. However, it’s not just about extreme winters.

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly By: Kellie Lynn Jensen Honey is not only delicious but is packed full of wonderful things that are beneficial to our health and well being such as antioxidants, vitamins, probiotics, amino acids, minerals,...

By: Blake Shook Last month I talked about “Why Feed Pollen Patties” – This month I want to get a little more in-depth on how much and when to feed patties as well as address some questions you have raised...

By: Nanette Davis ~ Garden Variety Bees Honey comes in so many colors! Did you know, there is an official way to label honey color determined by the way light passes through the honey? Most people don’t have a fancy...

By: Dodie Stillman Dodie Stillman and Ann Harmon 2019  TBA Convention - San Antonio  After 2020 preventing an in-person convention, TBA is very excited to host the 2021 Texas Beekeepers Association “in person” Convention at Moody Gardens – Galveston, TX....

By: Blake Shook It goes without saying, there’s never a good time to be queenless - but late fall or winter is the worst time! Suppliers are no longer offering queens and let’s face it – drones are all but...

We made it! Fall is officially here – Pumpkin flavored “everything” is the buzz word of the season! If you haven’t pulled out the snow boots and over-sized coats yet, you are behind the times (wink–wink)! Fortunately…VERY fortunately, we don’t...

By: Joe Bader In 2012, a law was passed in Texas which allows property owners with 5 to 20 acres devoted to beekeeping to get an "Agricultural Exemption" for their land. This law, found under the Texas Property Tax Code...

By: Dodie Stillman, Master Beekeeper Austin Area Beekeepers Association, President      Texas Beekeepers Association, Board of Directors Wolf Moon, Snow Moon; did you know that the full moon in March is referred to as the Worm Moon? I love the full...

By: Scott Souders Wait - This isn't my House! In all the places I have lived, it seems there is always one house somewhere nearby with way too many people living there. Neighbors probably thought the same about my house...

                                   By: Michael Kelling -                             President Central Texas Beekeepers Association Michael owns approximately 100 hives that he uses mainly to provide...

BY - JAMES ELAM It’s fall! You’ve been looking forward to this time of year, unless you’re a drone honey bee. As beekeepers, we soon will be witness to “The Great Drone Dump” to occur at the entrance of our...

It is that time of the year – winter is nearly here! Granted, this is Texas…winter weather is apt to come and go randomly through much of the season. Despite its unpredictable nature, our bees prepare in much the same...

By Blake Shook I began beekeeping like many others: Slightly timid around bees, uncertain in my ability to find one queen bee amidst thousands of workers who all seemed to be doing the bee dance at once, and highly skeptical...

By: CHARI ELAM Or maybe better titled - "What in the world happened to my hive?" I first wrote a version of this article last year about this time and received very good feedback from a lot of beekeepers! Turns out,...

Whether you have 1 hive or 10,000 hives, keeping up with what you’ve done, what you need to do and when it needs to be done can be daunting. The topic of record keeping for beekeepers has long been a...

Topics Beekeepers Can't Agree On!   By: Lynne Jones On September 29th, I asked members of two Beekeeping Facebook groups* to state their preference for Solid or Screened bottom boards and why. There were roughly 33 people that commented with only 28 having...

The following is a broad overview of conditions and causes most commonly found in backyard beekeeper “dead outs.” Some of these conditions are “seasonal” but so many of them could be in any season throughout the year. Condition: Dead bees head...

What is chilled brood? Like other beekeeping terms – the name describes the condition. When a beekeeper opens the hive to inspect, check the queen, or just to look, it prevents the nurse bees from clustering on the frame potentially...

BY - JAMES ELAM It’s fall! You’ve been looking forward to this time of year, unless you’re a drone honey bee. As beekeepers, we soon will be witness to “The Great Drone Dump” to occur at the entrance of our...