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: 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: 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 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...
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...
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...
Have you ever wondered where your bees forage? Me too! Did you know your honey “tells the story”? Turns out a LOT of beekeepers send honey samples to Texas A & M University for pollen testing! Full disclosure – we’ve...
No matter what demographic of beekeeper you are (urban, suburban, rural, hobby or commercial), honey bee forage should be an aspect of beekeeping you think about. I’ve often said, “Urban and suburban area honey bees generate the very best honey”!...
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...
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...
Topics Beekeepers Can't Agree On! By: Lynne Jones On November 29th I posted a poll in two Facebook groups. I asked for beekeepers who have transferred bees from a removal into a hive box at least five times to indicate...
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: 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...
By: Ed Erwin Montgomery County Beekeepers Association Mentor Director Master Beekeeper If you really want to stump non-beekeepers (and sometimes beekeepers), ask them how many eyes a bee has. They may be very surprised when you tell them the answer is...
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...
By Blake Shook If you read most beekeeping books, they explain that swarm cells (queens being raised in preparation for half the bees & the old queen to swarm away) and supersedure cells (queens being raised to replace a failing...
1. Return supers the same day after extracting in the late evening, thus allowing the hive to clean them up overnight. Supers placed back on hives in the middle of the day smell strongly of honey, and encourage robbing. 2....
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...
