Beekeepers Blog

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: Ed Erwin The Hypopharyngeal glands could easily be considered “The Royal Glands of the Honey Bee”! These royal glands secrete a substance known as Royal Jelly and are distinguishable by the high levels of nutrients. Royal jelly is a...

By: Charlie Agar 1-D-1 Open Space law offers incentives for landowners and opportunity for beekeepers Ben Franklin famously said that nothing is more certain in life than “death and taxes,” but a 2012 Texas law gives landowners a potential reprieve (from...

How can you tell if honey is pure? Most people who buy honey direct from a beekeeper, do so because they want pure, raw, local honey. Thanks to beekeepers, consumers are becoming more aware that honey is one of the...

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...

Managing your Land to Support Bees By: Matt Fuller Ph.D. My family has been involved in farming and ranching since “the old days” when ancestors loaded on a boat and made the trip to Indianola, ready to make the inland...

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...

By: Matt Fuller P. D., Owner - Fuller Farms Bee prepared for bad weather In terms of late spring and summer rains, I’d say this year’s precipitation ranks right up there as one of the wettest years I can recall....

By: Paige Nester Owner, Creek  House Honey Farm As fairly new beekeepers, my husband George and I knew that raw honey had amazing healing properties. Realizing the need for local honey, we started Creek House Honey Farm in 2011 with...

Being a beekeeper can be very rewarding but along with the rewards come some safety hazards. The most common of these are allergic reactions, fire hazard, lifting hazard and exposure to some toxins. The two most important considerations to help...

The Bees' Miracle Mud! Have you ever wondered what that gunky stuff is that glues our bee boxes together making it “pop” when we break the seal? That's propolis! Not really high-tech stuff – basically just the “ooze” that drips...

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...

By: Ed Erwin - Master Beekeeper Mentor Director Montgomery County Beekeepers Association Founder: BeeHarmony.org Inside of a bee hive, honey bees live in virtual darkness, making smell and touch critical to the communication with other honey bees within the colony....

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: Ed Erwin Beekeepers know that pheromones are the key to controlling all activities of the bees in the beehive. The word pheromone comes from the ancient Greek word phero, which means "to bear" and hormone. Pheromones of the honey...

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 TERRY WRIGHT President Caddo Trace Beekeepers Association  Board of Directors - Texas Honey Bee Education Association Mead is an alcoholic beverage that is made from fermenting honey with yeast. It is actually in a class of its own, but...

At some point in your beekeeping journey, moving a hive (or hives) will be necessary. Here are some tips to help make it a smooth – stress free event. By: Chari Elam Long distance move (beyond your property) Prepare the...