Hive & Harvest

This weekend was a big one for me! I officially became a Honey Judge Candidate AND I turned in my documentation for the Master Beekeper program for my Masters level and it was approved! I am waiting to take the test next time it is offered. Once I pass I’ll be a Master Beekeeper!! I can now steward and secretary state or higher Honey Shows and host and judge local shows. I was part of the first group of Honey Judge Candidates in Texas!

Today is World Bee Day! 🥳 🐝 🌎
To celebrate, I’m sharing with you some of the photos I’ve been able to capture of these hard working ladies!
Please let me know if you love them and would like to order a print. 💛🖤💛
Ask me any bee question in the comments and I’ll answer it for you!

Flowery is Sincerest Form of Imitation

Bees are so amazing!

I feel so seen!

Beeeeehaaaaw! 🐝🤠

Is it Honeybee or Honey Bee? Now you know…

Honeybee or Honey Bee? Which is it?

According to Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary, “honeybee” is spelled as one word. It is common for newspapers such as the New York Times or the Washington Post to tend to use the dictionary spellings. However. in the book Anatomy of the Honey Bee from 1956, Robert E. Snodgrass wrote:

Regardless of dictionaries, we have in entomology a rule for insect common names that can be followed. It says: If the insect is what the name implies, write the two words separately; otherwise run them together. Thus we have such names as house fly, blow fly, and robber fly contrasted with dragonfly, caddicefly, and butterfly, because the latter are not flies, just as an aphislion is not a lion and a silverfish is not a fish. The honey bee is an insect and is preeminently a bee; “honeybee” is equivalent to “Johnsmith.” Likewise, honey bees and bumble bees are true bees in the order Hymenoptera, so entomologists spell them as two words, even though the dictionaries and newspapers spell them as one.

So there you have it. If you’re ever in doubt, check the ESA Common Names of Insects Database. If you can’t find what you’re looking for there, find another reputable source and check on the insect’s order, and remember this short rhyme: “If true, then two.”

Don't miss an article ~ Please like this page.
Historical Honeybee Articles - Beekeeping History

Source:

Is it Honey Bee or HoneyBee? Bed Bug or Bedbug? House Fly or Housefly?
https://entomologytoday.org/2014/05/06/is-it-honey-bee-or-honeybee-bed-bug-or-bedbug-house-fly-or-housefly/ #:~:text=In%20his%20book%20Anatomy%20of%20the%20Honey%20Bee,the%20two%20words%20separately%3B%20otherwise%20run%20them%20together.

Common Names of Insects Database
https://entsoc.org/publications/common-names

Common Names of Insects List
https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https%3A%2F%2Fentsoc.org%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Ffiles%2FCommon_names_list_11-28-23.xlsx&wdOrigin=BROWSELINK

Is It Honey Bee or Honeybee? Bumble Bee or Bumblebee? Who Decides the Common Names of Bees?
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0005772X.2021.1982315

I only like being stung on purpose, when I know that it is healing something...

I can’t say I disagree…

Seeing as we almost got heat stroke yesterday, I would agree with this...

I passed my Advanced tests! 🐝🎉🐝I’m on my last stage to become a Master Beekeeper through Texas A&M! This is a very big deal and I’m really excited about working on my Masters! BUT I need your help!! I have a lot of requirements to meet and most of them involve helping others or educating the public. So if you need a class taught on anything about bees (biology, honey, medicinal products from the hive, pollination, etc.) please contact me! I also need anyone that is a beekeeper to let me help them diagnose their diseases, pests, and pathogens. So if you’re concerned about something, shoot me a message and I can help you diagnose it!

We have our first harvest of the year ready to buy! These 1 lb honey bears are $18 each. (Pick up in China Spring.) We did a small harvest so I expect them to sell out quick. Let me know how many you want and arrange a pickup time. I cannot hold them without payment. (You can Venmo or pay cash at pickup.) They are first come, first served.

It’s swarm season! I have been contacted by 3 different people about swarms within 30 minutes! If you see a swarm, call a beekeeper asap.
They don’t normally hang around for long. This is a resting place for them until they can find a home. The problem is, that home can be inside the walls of your house, barn or in a nearby tree. If the beekeeper can catch them, they can keep them in a place that is beneficial for everyone.
Swarms are not something to be scared of. They are the most docile during this time. They don’t have a home, food, or babies to protect. They are all full of food and are just looking for a new home. Swarming is their way of reproducing. This is a natural and good thing to happen. We just want to make sure they don’t move into a place that we don’t want them.
This photo is from a swarm I helped my friend catch a week ago.

Anticipating a new mother:
These bees were queenless and are raising a new queen for the colony. Humans raise future generations, but bees raise the one that will be their queen and mother to tens of thousands of their sisters.
On the left you can see worker brood inside the comb. The bottom open frames and capped ones that are larger are drone comb. See how the hexagons are larger than the rest? The boys are larger and need bigger combs. The peanut looking cell hanging vertically is the new queen in her queen cell. You can see pollen and unmatured honey, aka wet cells, in the top right.

I did it! 🐝💛🖤💛🐝

🐝 If you want bees from me this year, let me know now. I’m planning how many nucs I’m making this year. I’m only making enough for my preorders. I won’t have any extra.

Reminder - It's HOT out there folks! 🥵 This means your colonies might be displaying some things that seem abnormal to you, but they are actually quite appropriate given the extreme temperatures out there. Here are a few things to remember so as not to set yourself into a panic...

Extreme Heat with no rain = no food. No food = reduced brood or a complete halt of brood rearing all together. In other words, not seeing brood or eggs in the middle of an extreme heatwave/dearth/drought is actually normal for a colony and doesn't immediately mean your queen is gone.

No available food in nature also means what food they have stored becomes an invaluable resource that must be protected at all costs. Plus, extreme heat makes other critters irritable, just like it does us. So, if your bees have suddenly started displaying very defensive behaviors, give them some grace. It's a stressful time for them and they'll likely revert back to their calmer demeanor as soon as rain returns, the heatwave breaks, and food becomes available in their area again.

So remember, beekeeping is just as much about what is going on outside of your hive in the surrounding environment as it is about what is going on inside the hive. Both must be considered to get a full picture of your colony's situation. So, take a breath and remind yourself that extreme heat doesn't mean we should immediately jump to extreme conclusions without having all the information first. 😉🐝👍

It isn't for the faint of heart!

We have duck eggs for sale!! 🥚🥚🥚 Our Duck Eggs are $5 a dozen if you pick them up and bring your own carton.
They are from our happy, free ranged flock. 🦆🦆🦆 Our sweet ducks are only fed soy free food as well as natural foraging.
IM for pickup.

First harvest of the year! 😍
There’s a lot more where this came from!!

Did you know that only about 6% of bees are boys? The colony gets to decide if the queen lays an egg that turns into a male or female by the size of the individual comb. When the queen gets to a larger comb, she knows it is for a male and will lay an unfertilized egg in that comb. All fertilized eggs become female, but all unfertilized eggs are males.
Since the males are only for breeding and the females do all the work, they don't need very many of them.

SNOW in TX!! The garden looks beautiful!

Come see us at Ace in China Spring today until 1:00! We have our delicious cinnamon rolls, 3 cookie flavors: chocolate chip, butterscotch or Ande’s Mint, duck eggs, local honey, 11 unique flavors of local beeswax lip balm, grape and apple jelly, Harp Christmas CDs and mistletoe!

Come see us at Ace in China Spring on Saturday morning! We will have our delicious cinnamon rolls, 3 cookie flavors: chocolate chip, butterscotch or Ande’s Mint, duck eggs, local honey, 11 unique flavors of local beeswax lip balm, grape and apple jelly, Harp Christmas CDs and mistletoe!