Beekeepers Blog

Pamela and husband Steve, own and operate        Barton Creek Honey in Barton Creek & Bastrop, TX. Pamela is a Univ. of Georgia trained honey judge  and has managed the Texas Beekeepers Assn. Honey Show. She is a Master Beekeeper...

Equalizing hives can be as simple as sharing resources from strong colonies to weaker ones. This helps balance colony strength and improve overall hive productivity.

If you have a laying queen in your hive, verified by seeing her, or you are seeing plenty of healthy eggs, larva & brood, and you are seeing queen cells, there are a few things you need to do.Read “Queen...

First, does your hive have eggs or larvae but no capped brood?If so, the hive most likely has a newly installed or recently reared queen who is just beginning to lay. If your hive has no eggs or larvae but...

1/1 (Most like Nectar for feeding larvae and drawing out honeycomb) Spring/Summer - 1 Part Sugar with 1 Part Water 4 pound bag of sugar formula: 8 cups of water per bag of sugar. Makes approximately 3 ½ quart jars...

Bees need protein just as much as they need carbs, and natural pollen isn’t always available year-round. Feeding a quality pollen substitute helps fill nutritional gaps, support brood rearing, and keep hives healthier during times of poor pollen flow.

  This one can be frustrating! We often want our bees to draw comb faster than they do. However, I usually find that bees will draw comb when they are ready and need the space, not because we want them...

The Theory Behind it All By: James Elam Theory- a set of principles on which the practice of an activity is based. The theory of reversing brood boxes comes from the belief that a colony of honey bees, when necessary,...

Every beekeeper eventually faces the question: Is this hive worth saving? Sometimes a struggling colony just needs time or a little help to recover. Other times it is simply too weak to survive. Knowing when to keep trying and when to move on is important skill to learn. 

Re-Queening a Feral Hive By: Charlie Agar - CharlieBee.com So, you’ve captured a swarm or done a bee removal and now you’ve got yourself a wild, Texas hive in your apiary. Congratulations and welcome to the tribe of “Free Bee” chasers!...

Doing a Fall split can be a bit tricky due to the fact you are in a race against the upcoming winter, and you need the hive to grow as quickly as possible! The most common reason for failure in...

In general, I recommend proactively requeening each hive roughly every 12 months. If you requeened in the fall of the previous year, the fall of the next year is fine. The same goes for spring. Check out our article on...

Check out Blake Shook’s practical tips for staying ahead of hive growth and nectar flow. 🐝

What should you look for during your very first hive inspection? 🐝 Blake breaks it all down in this quick guide—whether you're starting with a full hive, a nuc, or a package. Learn exactly what to check for to ensure your bees are healthy, your queen is thriving, and your hive is off to a strong start!

Queen Excluders: Yes or No? 🐝
A hot topic in beekeeping! They help keep brood out of your honey—but may slow down production. Learn when and how to use them wisely.

Bees are amazing creatures—and their needs can change dramatically from year to year, or even from one apiary to another just a few miles away. 

Let’s face it, one of the greatest parts of beekeeping is “Honey Extraction"! Having said that, it’s also a LOT of work! The first step in that process is to remove the bees from the honey supers! Fortunately, beekeepers have...