January 2022 TBS Monthly

January 2022 www.TexasBeeSupply.com TEXAS BEE SUPPLY Monthly Cover Photo: Jacob Osborne - Kentucky Honey Farms Feature Topics Monitoring Space and Stores Salvaging Old Frames How to Best Liquify Granulated Honey Edition 19 Table Of Contents Did you miss last month's issue? Click the cover below and step inside. We welcome your feedback and submissions! Beekeeping Questions: help@texasbeesupply.com Article suggestions, questions or content submissions? editor@texasbeesupply.com 6 Monthly Tips 8 Combining Hives 10 Monitoring Space and Stores 14 Salvaging Old Frames 16 Plastic Vs Wood Frames 18 Almond Pollination 23 New Beekeeper To-Do List 24 Ask the Expert: What's 1 Thing You Would Change About Beekeeping? 26 How to Liquify Granulated Honey 30 Topics Beekeepers Can't Agree On 32 The Royal Glands of the Honey Bee 36 Things to do in Cold Weather 38 Ask the Expert: Which are better to buy - Nucs, Packages or Full Hives? 40 Q & A 44 Recipe - Simply Delicious 47 Club Announcements Page Topic 351 County Rd 6243 Dayton, TX 77535 We're Growing To Meet Your Needs Most Orders Shipped Same Day Can't Find What You Need? Give Us A Call - We'll Do Our Best To Get It For You! 1-800-356-4229 South Texas - Houston Area Austin Area Coming Soon! North Texas - Dallas Area 14665 County Rd 633 Blue Ridge, TX 75424 1. In most years, the majority of beekeepers in Texas will begin noticing bees bringing in pollen on warm days mid to late January. 2. Queens will also begin laying in most areas in mid to late January. As the population begins to grow, the need for food grows as well. 3. While feeding pollen patties is not as critical in January as in the fall, it can help ensure that your hive has sufficient food available to continue rearing brood, regardless of the constantly changing weather this time of year. 4. If your hive is at least a deep box full of bees, and has less than 20lbs of stores in their second box, begin feeding small amounts (1 pint per hive, per week) of syrup to ensure the bees have the food necessary to rear brood. 5. If your hive has 2 frames of bees or less, join them with another hive using the newspaper method. Remove the queen in the weak hive, and remove the lid of the hive you are going to join the old hive with. Place a sheet of newspaper over the hive, and place the box containing the bees from the weaker hive directly on top of the newspaper. Over a period of days, the bees will chew through the newspaper, and merge into one hive. This slow method of joining helps prevent fighting between the two hives. 6. It is perfectly normal this time of year to notice a few dozen dead bees in front of your hive. This is considered normal as winter bees begin to die off and are replaced by the next generation. 7. If you have more than 2 mites per 100 bees, treat for Varroa mites late January or early February. Most treatments are extremely effective this time of year when the hive has little to no brood. 8. Order bees and queens! 9. Quick (30 second) looks into your hive are acceptable even if the weather is near freezing. Longer (several minute) inspections should be reserved for days above 55 degrees. By: Blake Shook January tips Part 1 Part 2 A weak hive is less likely to survive than a strong colony. This is even truer in winter months. It’s virtually impossible for a weak hive to maintain hive temperatures in colder weather, not to mention overall surviving weeks of confinement and resource issues. Rule of thumb: If you have 2 frames of bees or less, join them with another hive. Doing so increases their chance of survival greatly. What if I have a queen in the weak hive? You have a couple of options. You can go ahead and combine the 2 hives and let the hives work it out, BUT this could be dangerous if the weaker hive's queen isn’t a viable queen and she wins the battle. In this case simply do away with that queen. Or even better, there’s bound to be someone you know in the beekeeping community that is having to overwinter Queenless because they couldn’t get a queen. You’ll make their day by giving them this queen! Enjoy these helpful videos – although filmed in summer, the process remains the same – summer or winter. First Aid for Bees! Combining Hives Photo Credit: Jacob Osborne - Kentuck Honey Farms Happy New Year Beekeepers! Its hard to believe…2022! I remember thinking 2000 sounded like a futuristic space movie from my childhood and that was 22 years ago! Come on… I know I’m not the only one!? Do you think beekeeping has changed that much in 22 years? I suspect so. But some things never change – like the need to pay attention to growth or decline inside our hives this time of year. Bees in most southern states have the opportunity to forage off and on throughout winter. January is no exception. Its actually time for some pollen producing plants and trees to give bees a protein boost just about the time our queen starts a slow progression in her laying. It wasn’t 2 months ago we said she was slowing and stopped laying in some cases, but that didn’t last very long! In warmer climates a hive can contain brood nearly year-round. The problem with brood buildup in January is the lack of “continual” nature-provided resources and more importantly, BEES to forage and take care of the ever-growing nest! It is very important to consider this when adding any pollen supplements this time of year. It’s fine to enhance nature “some,” but consider the ramifications I mentioned before. Too many mouths to feed and not enough forager bees overwintered to gather groceries to feed them! Think nutrition more than brood building. Giving your bees a small helping of pollen patties can enhance their health and not be an all-out brood booster that dry pollen tends to be. Mid to late January, you’ll see your bees really starting to get busier. It may still be very cold outside, but the days are getting longer and the bees know it. On warm days do a quick hive check – if the cluster has moved up, you know they are eating through stores, making it crucial to monitor closely. Early spring can expose a weak hive very quickly. Low food stores, and small numbers of bees can’t end well without your intervention. The key is to recognize it and be prepared to supplement. Those frames of honey you put in the freezer – thaw them out and start giving them back. Placement can really “matter” on returning honey frames as a food source in January. If you have a good population, placement isn’t as crucial, but smaller, weaker colonies need that food right next to them. Don’t hesitate to place that honey frame in space 3 or 7 if needed. You can also feed 2/1 syrup but know that it takes a warm day and warm “enough” syrup for them to want to consume it. This is why some folks lean toward feeding the soft sugar bricks we talked about last month. Another really important factor to watch for is the inability for the bees to keep themselves warm. Again, we are speaking about small or weak colonies; a double deep box may not be necessary any longer. If you see that this is the case, on a warm day, simply pull off the top (or bottom) box if it’s empty of bees and resources. So often the bees “move up” and we’ll soon be talking about “reversing brood boxes.” It’s a bit early for that, but if at the end of January you see a large hive clustered in the top box (following the heat and resources) it may be advantageous to reverse the boxes to give them room to expand very soon. Remember - Bee to box ratio is important ALL year long. The key to January beekeeping is to monitor, feed if necessary and decrease or increase space when needed. Our bees really do depend on us to take care of these aspects they have no control over. By: Chari Elam Monitoring Space and Stores Blake Shook Blue Ridge, TX 1st Thursday of Each Month Next meeting January 6th - 6:30 pm! One of the largest virtual meetings offered! Can't attend live? Register and get the recording sent to your inbox! MORE INFO DECEMBER WEBINAR Always FREE! Live Virtual Meeting James & Chari Elam Dayton-Huffman, TX - Live In the Bee Yard Tips - January tips - Reversing Boxes - Normal Population Decline - Queenless in the Winter - Guest Speaker - And Much More! 2022 BEGINNING BEEKEEPING CLASSES Topic Highlights Hive Equipment & Protective Gear Basic Functions of the Hive Overview of Workers, Queens and Drones What's What In a Hive Identification & Treating Bee Diseases & Pest Yearly Hive Management Nutrition Honey Production & Harvesting Did you miss last month? Check it out here! Agenda All Day IN PERSON Classes! LIVE BEE YARD EXPERIENCE MEET YOUR INSTRUCTORS! Lunch Included! SIGN UP HERE! Salvaging Old and Broken Frames Repairing old frames can be challenging. It’s often easier to dispose of old frames and purchase new ones. If an all plastic frame breaks, it is almost impossible to fix. However, if a wooden frame breaks, and you do want to fix it, here are a few methods depending on the condition of the frame: The wooden ear has broken off – This is a common issue! Dropping full frames of honey into the box is a common cause of the ears breaking off. The best thing to do is purchase a “frame saver.” This is a piece of metal shaped like the ear of the frame, designed to replace the wooden ear. Or, if you are in a hurry, a few large nails partially driven into the top bar as a hanging bracket works as well. The top bar has separated from the rest of the frame – This often happens if the bees have glued the frame down with propolis, and when prying it up, it pulls apart. Next time, try using your hive tool to pry the frames apart before trying to pry it up. If this happens, hammer the top bar back in place, and add a few extra nails to help hold it in. Be sure you have the most critical nail in the frame- the end one nailed through the end bar into the top bar. This helps hold the top bar in place. The comb has become damaged, and you need to scrape off the old comb, and start over. This can often happen with severe wax moth damage. The quickest and easiest option is to pop out the old foundation and insert a new sheet. If you want to keep the old sheet, use your hive tool to scrape off the old comb, then use a pressure washer, or wire brush to remove all possible comb and residue. Once it is removed, you will need to recoat it with beeswax to encourage the bees to draw out the foundation. Melt beeswax in a double boiler at a very low temperature. Then, use a foam roller to apply a thin coat of wax onto the foundation. Be sure to store the newly coated frames in an airtight container, or sealed trash bag to ensure they stay dust free until use. A thin layer of dust will discourage the bees from drawing out the comb. What if a frame breaks and there’s still brood or honey on it? If a frame breaks and has honey on it, the best thing to do is extract or scrape off the honey for use immediately, and repair or throw the frame away. If it’s a frame you don’t want to eat the honey out of, you can set it 20-30 feet away from your hive, let the bees rob the honey out, then discard, or fix the frame. If the frame has brood on it, the best thing to do is attempt to fix the frame temporarily with frame nails, or wire, or just let it rest in place between two other frames. Place the broken frame on the very outside of the broodnest and allow the brood to hatch out. Once the brood has hatched, remove the frame, and replace it with a new one or drawn comb foundation. By: Blake Shook Wood frames with plastic foundation: Pros: Sturdy Can repair if broken Better aligns with the industry norm Can replace foundation if it is damaged Less flexible, and thus easier to handle No warping or cracking with time Cons: Slightly more expensive Foundation can separate from wooden frame   Plastic Frames vs Wood Frames w/Plastic Foundation SHOP Premier Assembled Frames Notice the difference! Plastic frames: Pros: Often cheaper Slightly more room for the queen to lay Cons: Can’t fix when broken Tend to bend & flex more when handling Can warp in direct sunlight Tend to have a shorter lifespan Harder to extract honey out of Both plastic frames and wood frames w/ plastic foundation are common and both have pros and cons. Wood frames with plastic foundation is more common, and what most beekeepers prefer. But let’s examine them both so you can decide which works best for you! 30 % more wax than average frames on the market. Specially Designed to have 10% more cells than the average frame. High precision cuts Unparalleled fit and finish Standard outside dimensions work with any uncapper Extra thick bottom bar Standard width foundation sizes Fits all standard equipment Joints are glued and stapled 1½” (3.81 cm) resin coated staples Unloading in CA T California Almond Pollination Bees unloaded in and ready to spread into the orchard he pollination of almonds in California is the single largest pollination event in the world. About 90% of the USA's almonds come from CA, and almost 80% of the world's almonds come from CA. It is the only place they are grown in America, and one of the only places they can grow in the world. With bees, almond orchards can yield 2,000-3,000 lbs per acre. Without bees, that drops to a few hundred pounds per acre. That's where we come in as beekeepers. Almost every commercially available hive in the US is needed to pollinate the vast & ever growing almond crop. When bee shortages began to hit about 10 years ago, prices paid per hive rose steadily. Today, they range from $185-$200+ per hive, thus making almond pollination the largest single source of income, and an essential part of most commercial beekeeping operations. With the price for bulk USA honey lower than we've seen in many years, almond pollination is even more critical for the survival of most beekeeping businesses. Most hives are transported to CA in late January, where they remain until the almond trees finish blooming in mid-March. Virtually nothing else is blooming that time of year in most regions of the USA. Plus, almond pollen is fantastic for bees. Combined with warm weather, bees can grow rapidly most years. There are cold & wet years, and there is a huge difference in temperatures depending on where in the central valley bees are located. The almond groves stretch from Bakersfield to a few hours north of Sacramento. One of the greatest challenges for beekeepers is to ensure their hives are strong enough in late January to "make grade." Almond growers are understandably concerned with the strength of the hives they are renting to pollinate their crops. The most common contract asks for a 5 frame minimum & an 8 frame average. This means that any hive less than 5 deep frames of bees will not be paid for. The 8 frame average means that the hives in each orchard should, once averaged, be at least 8 deep frames covered front and back with bees. To verify this, growers often hire third party inspectors to look at 10%-15% of the hives in an orchard, count frames of bees, and average the count to ensure the contract terms are being met. Hives being stolen is a concern, but is somewhat rare overall. And, typically only a few hives are stolen from each orchard. Advances in GPS tracking for hives is helping deter, or catch bee thieves. The future continues to look bright for almond pollination. Continued planting should ensure prices climb with time. By Blake Shook Below 30⁰ F Open the hive only in emergency, such as to feed or remove treatments/medications. If feeding is necessary below 30⁰ F, use sugar blocks or cakes – liquid will do little to no good at this temperature. Below 40⁰ F Open the hive only in emergency, such as to feed or remove treatments/medications. Because bees cannot get far from the warmth of the cluster, feed must be placed directly above the cluster. Below 50⁰ F The bees are loosely clustered. The hive can be opened but brood combs should not be removed. Remove side combs to look at brood combs but replace quickly to avoid chilling the brood. 55⁰ F Bees begin to fly at this temperature and will collect nectar and pollen if available. Hives can be opened, but care must be taken to avoid chilling the brood. 60⁰ F Complete hive inspection can be made, but brood combs should be returned to the hive quickly. 70⁰ F Warm enough to completely disassemble the hive and frames for a thorough inspection. Pictured: Orchards typically need 2 hives per acre. 16-24 hives are usually placed per "drop" around the perimeter of the orchard and down the center roadways. Nights are spent unloading & spreading bees, and days are spent checking bees and sleeping when possible. Almond trees produce minimal amounts of nectar. It is often just enough to sustain a hive, but never enough to make a surplus of honey. Even if they did, almond honey tastes terribly bitter! Pictured: Hives ready to load on a semi to head home. Strong, double deep hives often return with 8-10 frames of brood, and two boxes full of bees. Most beekeepers split as soon as the almond pollination is over. Pictured: Strong hives ready to take home! While the conditions are often excellent for bees to grow in an almond orchard, you get back what you send. If poor bees are sent to almonds, you will usually get poor bees back. If healthy, strong hives are sent, healthy & even stronger hives usually return. Opening a Hive in Winter A Guide For inspections All I know is, this was a Nuc just a few months ago and look at it now!! ORDER NOW! This will make nationwide News! Texas Bee Supply has THE BEST BEES YOU CAN BUY!! New Beekeeper To-Do and Shop Ahead List Order/Assemble and Paint equipment – Paint recommended: water base Primer and Outdoor quality paint. Paint or stain only the outside surfaces (not interior surfaces). Equipment needed when you purchase a Nuc: 2 Deep hive boxes (assembled or unassembled) – 1 to install your Nuc into when it arrives and 1 to add when it outgrows the first one. 20 Frames (10 for each box) - also available as kit with box Bottom Board (screen or solid) Telescopic Lid and Inner cover Entrance Reducer Equipment needed when you purchase a Full Colony: 1 Deep hive box (assembled or unassembled) for expansion soon after getting your new hive home. 10 Frames to fill this box - also available as kit with box Equipment needed for possible honey production – for those purchasing a Full Colony: Medium hive box (2 per established hive) 10 Frames per box - also available as kit with box Queen Excluder (metal or plastic) New Beekeeper Basic Supplies: Protective suit, jacket, or hat/veil Gloves Smoker HIve Tool Ed Erwin Master Beekeeper Mentor Director Montgomery County Beekeepers Assn. Founder BeeHarmony.org We Asked the Question of our Experts: What is 1 thing you would change about beekeeping? You'll be surprised at their answers!! Chris Moore Moore Honey Farm Founder - ©Real Texas Honey Produces and sells honey in 5 - SE Texas Counties Dr. Jamie Ellis Gahan Endowed Professor of Entomology in the Department of Entomology and Nematology at the University of Florida How to Liquify Granulated Honey O ne of the most bothersome aspects for a honey producer is crystallization. We’ve all had it happen at one time or another – but why does it happen? Honey is made up of 2 main types of natural sugars, fructose and glucose. Fructose typically remains dissolved, but glucose has a much lower solubility and can cause faster crystallization. Different honeys crystallize at different rates and it’s all because of their fructose and glucose content. The higher glucose, the faster it will crystallize. Although we as beekeepers know this is a sign of “real honey,” consumers aren’t as likely to know. To them, clean and “runny” honey seems good – Solid or crystallized honey has a connotation of being bad or spoiled. Attaching a label to your honey containers can go a long way in educating your consumer. It will also keep them from throwing away perfectly good honey or even worse – thinking you sell a bad product. Large scale beekeepers expect barrels and totes to crystallize and have measures in place to liquify on a large scale. For a small-scale beekeeper, preventing your honey from crystallizing prior to selling is ideal. Think like a hive! The goal is to keep honey at “hive temperature”! Typically, a hive maintains 93⁰- 95⁰ and can even climb to temperatures just over 100⁰. Seldom do you see a hive with crystallized honey, although it can happen – it's more likely due to the glucose content and not temperature. Knowing this is your optimum storage temperature, use that knowledge in determining your storage area and options. Hot Box Method Take an old (non working) chest type or upright freezer and simply run an extension cord through the door gasket with a 40-watt bulb attached. This will maintain a nice warm temperature (usually around 95⁰) and keep honey liquified. Another similar method is to simply build a “closet” type storage box. Same instructions, same results! Heating Pad Method What do you do if bottled honey has started getting cloudy at the bottom of your container (crystallizing)? Get a heating pad and place it in the bottom of a cardboard box with a thin towel between it and the honey bottles. Turn the heating pad on Medium and cover the bottles with another towel. It could take some time (3-4 hours or longer) depending on how crystallized your honey is and the size of the container. Note: Most heating pads come with an “auto shut off” at 2 hours or even less sometimes. Restart accordingly. Bucket Heater Method For larger quantities such as 5-gallon buckets – the industry sells a Bucket Heater that simply wraps around the bucket; plugs in and warms the entire bucket of honey. Warning: This requires some stirring occasionally. Consider the heating element and that it is only heating that section of the bucket it's touching. Stirring will avoid scorching the honey. Hot Water Bath and Microwave Method Last but not least – Small amounts of crystallized honey can be placed in a “hot water bath” or the microwave. It’s long been thought the microwave is a big bad no-no but done properly can be used. Place your glass (not plastic) container in the microwave without the lid. Run at 30 second intervals, stirring after each. The secret is to not overheat any one part of the container. After 2 or 3 times (depending on how crystallized your honey is) you should be able to have it warm enough to put the lid on and sit it out on a hot pad to complete the reliquefying process. Tips: Don’t boil raw honey – it will degrade the beneficial ingredients in your honey Don’t overheat honey in plastic bottles. Not only will it melt the plastic – in doing so it will emit plastic contained chemicals into the honey. Don’t liquify honey over and over again. This will degrade the benefits of good raw honey. Photos Courtesy: Anita and Malcolm Stepp Photos Courtesy: Karen and Roy Morse Topics Beekeepers Can't Agree On! By: Lynne Jones No Comb! No Honey! Comb and Honey! 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 which of these methods they use: Frame up brood and honey comb; Frame up brood, but not honey comb; Frame up honey, but not brood comb; Do not frame up any of the removed comb. Between votes and comments, 106 beekeepers answered. By far, most beekeepers frame up combs of brood (90%). Of those framing brood, about half also frame up combs of honey. The remaining 10% do not save any comb; primarily because they didn’t want to bring Varroa and other pests and diseases into their apiary. For the roughly 45% who only save brood, their comments indicated they don’t save honey because they want to avoid robbing issues and/or a Small Hive Beetle (SHB) larvae slime-out. With about 45% of the beekeepers saving both brood and honey (presumably with success), I wondered how they prevent the robbing and SHB larvae issues. So, I asked Jennifer Scott, The Bee Wrangler who has relocated bees professionally for 14 years, to share her process. Jennifer explained, “The reasons I save brood is based on years of relocations and agony over absconded newly hived bees.” She found absconding was more likely when she simply vacuumed all the bees and dumped them into a hive box at her apiary. “Now and for many years I use this method – hiving the bees at the job.” Jennifer starts by only using a bee vacuum for the guard bees. She then carefully removes comb, frames it and places directly into the hive box. The bees on comb are not vacuumed; instead, they remain with the comb which gives SHB less opportunity to lay eggs. Though she frames up all the combs of bee bread and honey, usually only two are put into the hive – one on each side of the brood. Once she is finished removing all the comb, she uses the vacuum to collect the returning foragers and then moves the already re-homed colony to her apiary. By providing only two frames of honey and pollen, the bees can control the SHB, yet still have enough resources to provide for their needs. (The rest of the frames go into her freezer until needed.) And because she has put the new hive together at the job-site, when it is relocated to her apiary, there isn’t any open honey to attract robbers. Though 106 beekeepers answered, there are only 105 responses tallied. That is because Earnie Welch’s comment didn’t fit into any of the options. Earnie has been involved with beekeeping most of his life and that’s more years than all but a few reading this. About twenty years ago, having noticed the feral bees around him seemed to be doing great, he started his queen rearing operation by using feral colonies for his original stock. Earnie said, “… took about 5 years to breed the mean out of em, ever year after we try to select the best of the best to breed from….” Earnie’s process is to give the removal colony frames of brood and resources from his other hives. Sometimes he saves the removal capped brood, but only puts it in his established hives to test their hygienic traits. The one thing he saves every time is the “priceless” pollen/bee bread comb which he puts in the freezer until needed. In queen rearing, a cell starter hive must be a strong colony with many nurse bees and plenty of resources to make healthy queens. Earnie feeds these hives constantly during this process, so he keeps a 1-1/2” feeder shim on them. To feed the saved bee bread, he usually lays the comb on top the frames, just as you would place a pollen patty. Though few beekeepers raise queens on the scale Earnie does, I believe we all recognize the benefit of providing real pollen/bee bread rather than pollen substitute. From Jennifer, I learned the advantages of a gentle removal and to install just enough resources. From Earnie, I have a new appreciation for frames of bee bread and will manage this valuable resource with more thought from now on. I hope you found value from their methods as well. * Links to Facebook poll threads: Texas Friendly Beekeepers - Click Here Central Texas Beekeepers - Click Here Tally of votes and comments Option # Responses Save both brood and honey comb * 46 Save only brood comb * 48 Don’t save any comb 11 total 105 * Depending on the circumstances, each removal is different. Follow Lynne Jones as she places herself in the line of fire in polling Beekeepers on the most arguable topics in beekeeping! Owner of Brazos River Honey Secretary-Treasurer of the Fort Bend Beekeepers Association and Advanced level in the Texas Master Beekeeper program The Royal Glands of the Honey Bee 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 viscous substance secreted by worker nurse bees and is responsible for stimulating their growth and development as well as being the essential food for the queen and larvae. Located in the head of young nurse bees, the hypopharyngeal gland consists of a pair of long food glands coiled bilaterally in front of the brain, between compound eyes and below the pharynx (an opening near the respiratory and digestive tracts). The gland is composed of thousands of two-cell units, a secretory cell and a duct cell designed to produce and discharge the jelly. These glands are also sometimes known as the “brood food glands." ”The term “Royal Jelly” (“gelee ryale”) was coined by well-known Entomologist Francois Huber of Switzerland in 1792. Although hypopharyngeal glands are undeveloped when the bee first emerges, their glands develop fully within 6 – 12 days as long as pollen is available. Once the bee starts foraging the glands usually stop working. For bees, pollen is the primary source of the ten amino acids and lipids needed to build protein. Most of the pollen gathered is consumed by nurse bees, and the nutrition absorbed from that pollen is then secreted as royal jelly from their hypopharyngeal glands. This jelly is fed to all young larvae, including workers, drones and queens. An exclusive diet of royal jelly is what causes the development of the queen’s reproductive organs. It’s also responsible for her size and longer life span. When the honey bee emerges from its pupal stage it is considered an adult. After about three days the royal jelly is mixed with bee bread (a mixture of whole pollen, honey, and enzymes), and then fed to the workers and drones until they spin their cocoons. As previously mentioned, the queens receive a steady diet of royal jelly (no bee bread) throughout their entire larval development. The worker honey bee also produces invertase in the hypopharyngeal glands. Invertase is a salivary enzyme that hydrolyzes (breaks down) sucrose and other enzymes. Research has shown that invertase is also a honey preservative. Consumption of pollen and carbohydrates is dependent on the bee’s age. During the first three to five days of an adult worker’s life, pollen is consumed, and the body weight increases by 25 – 50%. During this period, the bee's body fat increases along with the development of their hypopharyngeal glands and other internal organs. Activity of the glands not only depend on the age of workers, but also their food and only when in direct contact with brood. Studies have shown that there is a signal from honey bee brood that causes the nurse bees to synthesize the proteins from the hypopharyngeal glands. In this instance the term brood refers to a combination of eggs, larvae and pupae. This trigger from existence of brood is known as epigenetic activity and in this case, it’s associated with the genetics of female bees. This epigenetic change determines whether the hypopharyngeal gland are turned on or off and the production of protein in cells. This helps to ensure that the cells produce the necessary proteins. Benefits of Royal Jelly to Humans Although the use of royal jelly used by humans is controversial, it is believed that it boosts the immune system and memory. It’s also considered to improve the cardiovascular system, promote longevity, and reinvigorates the body. A major ingredient of royal jelly is Pantothenic acid which is useful in treating some bone and joint disorders. Some studies show, when this acid is injected, symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis tend to subside. Royal jelly is also used as an alternative medicine in treating menopausal symptoms. And because it contains bifidobacterial (a beneficial bacteria), it is taken to support digestive health. Taken by capsules or naturally (as it comes from the hive) it tastes a little like honey, but with a sour, bitter, or acidic complex flavor, tasting a bit like medicine. It’s now obvious royal jelly’s complex manufacturing and benefits to the honey bees as well as humans is remarkable. Just one more fascinating aspect hidden in the world of Apis Malifera. Ed Erwin - BeeHarmony.org Photo Credit: James Vasich Paint boxes – Winter is the perfect time of year to give those existing hives a quick coat of paint. On a cool, dry day with little hive activity, you shouldn’t have any trouble from the bees while you complete this task. I’d suggest wearing at least a veil just in case, but otherwise taking advantage of the current conditions will prolong the life of your hive boxes for years. And don’t forget those gaps on the corners – a little wood putty or caulk work prior to painting can prevent a serious robbing frenzy next year! Building boxes – Spring will be here before we know it. Take advantage of the indoor garage time to build boxes and frames. Not only can you save a little money assembling them yourself, it’s also a fun family project on a cold winter day! Moving hives – Moving bees can be difficult especially in the production months (March – September). Moving your bees to a better place on your property is never easier than during the winter months. Colonies are at the lowest population of the year – the bees are tucked inside waiting out the cold – and the boxes are at their lightest weight of the year due to less honey and other resources. Moving bees now prevents any orientation issues and fly backs to old location. No need to worry about the 2-foot, 2-mile rule! Get organized – For tenured beekeepers, back-stock bee supplies tend to get out of control. While it’s cold outside, take the opportunity to organize the garage, barn, or honey house – getting things in order and ready for spring! You will be much happier walking into an organized work area where you can find what you’re looking for! Order bees/queens! – It never fails, every year best intentions are to be ahead of the game and get your replacement bees or queens on order EARLY. But l-i-f-e gets in the way and once again we find ourselves needing to get our spring split queens secured only to find out the soonest available date is 4-6 weeks after you plan to do splits. Ugh! Ordering early is key! Orders placed in November and December will put you at the front of the line instead of somewhere in the middle or even the end. Don’t procrastinate! Make 2022 your year to be ahead of schedule!! Text 2022 Queens NOW Available for Order! Your choice: Golden Cordovan TX - 5000 Things You Should Do While it's Cold Outside! It may be cold outside preventing us from spending time with our bees – but one thing is for sure, you still have chores to do! Cameron Crane Liberty County Beekeepers Association Owner Crane Meadows Which are better to buy - Nucs, Packages or Full Hives? Michael Kelling President Central Texas Beekeepers Association Master Beekeeper OA in the winter Q. I heard I could use Oxalic Acid to treat my bees in winter. Can I do that? Will it do any good this time of year? A. Absolutely – Oxalic Acid is best when used when the colony is broodless. What better time than during the winter months when the queen is barely laying if at all. Some beekeepers prefer the dribble method, while others prefer the vaporizing method. Either one is fine because both are equally effective. Ag Exemptions for Beekeepers Q. Can I get an AG number for beekeeping? A. Yes – if the following applies: If you are a farmer, rancher or timber producer engaged in one of the activities listed below, you qualify for tax exemption on the purchase of certain items used to produce your agricultural and timber products for sale. (Quote from the Texas Comptrollers website) As you see beekeeping IS a qualified AG exemption. Click on the previous link for more information. One thing to make note of, not everything is exempt from taxation. For instance, protective gear. This is considered “optional” and not eligible for exemption… although – that’s an arguable determination, but one we’re not likely to win. Most bee suppliers (including Texas Bee Supply) will honor AG numbers when permitted. Contact our helpful staff for information on our protocol for AG purchases. Can't keep my smoker lit! Q. I have always struggled to keep my smoker lit. What am I doing wrong? A. You are not alone! Most beekeepers don’t have any problems getting a smoker lit, but often aren’t able to keep it lit. The problem can be 1 of two things: either the components being used aren’t lasting long enough to continue to smoke and/or the smoker is falling over, allowing the smoker to go out. A good rule of thumb when choosing what you use for your smoker is to choose a fast “igniter” and a cool, slow burning charcoal. Often beekeepers use pine straw for their smokers. This is great for a few minutes but will quickly burn out and leave you with nothing. Pine straw is a great igniter so once you get a small twist of it lit, consider placing some pinecones or sticks on top of it for the longevity burn needed to stay lit. Having said that… pine straw and pinecones aren’t ideal for your smoker and tend to cause a sappy buildup inside the smoke stack. However, Burlap is ideal for your igniter and wood pellets as your charcoal, as they leave little buildup over time. Burlap is easy to light, and the wood pellets are slow burning and burn a cool smoke when pine straw and sticks tend to be hotter. Lastly, keep your smoker upright. This is the #1 reason smokers go out. As we’re working our bees it’s inevitable it will get knocked over. Just pay attention to this and get it turned back upright as soon as possible. Here’s a short video on how to light a smoker using blue shop towels as an igniter and straw as fuel. CLICK HERE Wind Blocks Q. We had a cold snap come through, so I put a wind block up around my bees to block the north wind. Can I leave it up all winter or do I need to take it down when it’s not that bad outside? A. As long as it’s not too close to the hive(s) you can certainly leave it up until early spring. The main thing is “flight path” options for the bees. On warm days they will be flying and need to have access to all directions. They of course can fly “up and over” obstacles, but if it’s too close it can cause confusion and possible a lag in ability to forage. Condensation Q. I’m noticing condensation under my telescopic lid. What can I do about it? A. It’s not uncommon to develop condensation under the well fitting telescopic cover this time of year. Considering the weather changes we tend to have here in the south – cold one minute and hot the next – it’s inevitable to happen. You can put a small spacer above the inner cover and under the outer cover to allow some extra air movement. Items that work well are pennies, toothpicks, popsicle sticks… etc. Adding that minor opening can and will make a big difference. Monthly Q & A Monthly Q & A WEBINAR Photo Credit: Kim Townsend DALLAS, HOUSTON AND NOW AUSTIN AREA! PICK YOUR DAY - PICK YOUR LOCATION! BEES COMING TO A BEE YARD NEAR YOU! 3 LOCATIONS TO PICK UP BEES! Texas Bee Supply It's FREE! New Videos being added regularly! Check us out! and Simply Easy! Simply Delicious YIELD:Makes 1 serving INGREDIENTS 1 - English muffin, split and lightly toasted 1/3 cup - Gruyere, shredded 2 T - honey kosher salt and freshly ground pepper DIRECTIONS Top each muffin half with the shredded cheese and melt under the broiler for about 4 minutes until melted and bubbly. Top each muffin with the honey, sprinkle with salt and pepper, serve immediately. TIP Swiss and Asiago cheese are great alternatives for the Gruyere. ABOUT HONEY The story of honey is older than history itself. An 8,000-year-old cave painting in Spain depicts honey harvesting, and we know it's been used for food, medicine and more by cultures all over the world since. But honey isn't about humans. It's the natural product made from bees—one of our planet's most important animals. Honey bees visit millions of blossoms in their lifetimes, making pollination of plants possible and collecting nectar to bring back to the hive. Lucky for us, bees make more honey than their colony needs, and beekeepers remove the excess and bottle it. Just like they've been doing since the beginning of time. Source: 1Ullmann, Fritz (2003). Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry. John Wiley & Sons Walker County Beekeepers Association 1402 19th Street Huntsville, TX 77340 Last Thursday of each month Q & A on the front porch at 6:30, meeting at 7:00 PM Calling All Bee Clubs! Need a presenter for your club? Let Texas Bee Supply help! Denton County Beekeepers Association Meets the 2nd Tuesday of each month both in-person and on zoom! Dates, location and link may be found at www.dentonbees.com and on Facebook Elm Fork Beekeepers 3rd Thursday each month in person or Zoom at the VFW Hall in Gainsville, TX. Go to: elmforkbeekeepers.org for Zoom link   Tri-County Beekeepers Association 4th Tuesday @ 5:30 pm of each month Sam's Restaurant - Fairfield, TX Lamar County Beekeepers Association Meets 1st Thursday each month at 6:30 Red River Valley Fairground - Building B Paris, Texas Montgomery County Beekeepers Association 3rd Monday of each month 9020 Airport Rd. Conroe, TX 77303 Non-members welcome! www.mocobees.com Kaufman Area Beekeepers Association Second Tuesday each month at 6:30 pm United Methodist Church, 208 S. Houston St. Kaufman, TX New Beekeepers Q & A 5:45-6:15 Comal County BeeKeepers Association First Thursday each month at 6:30 - 7:00 dinner - 7:00 - 8:30 meeting Beefy's on the Green - Spring Branch, TX Pineywoods Beekeepers Association 2nd Thursday each month Lufkin Angelina County Chamber of Commerce 1615 S. Chestnut (just off Loop 287 across from Lowe's) Lufkin, TX Hill County Beekeepers Association In - Person meetings every 3rd Tuesday of the month 6:30 at Hill County Annex Office, Hillsboro, TX Wood County Beekeepers Association 1st Tuesday of the month at 7:00 pm! The current meeting location is the Winnsboro Civic Center Austin Area Beekeepers Association Third Thursday each month at 7:00 pm Frickett Scout Center For meeting details CLICK HERE! Fort Bend Beekeepers 2nd Tuesday of each month (except Dec) in person or online. Bud O'Shieles Community Center 1330 band Road, Rosenberg, TX Request Zoom link: info@FortBendBeekeepers.org Hays County Beekeepers Association In - Person meetings every 3rd Wednesday of the month 6:30 -9pm at Suds Monkey Brewing Company - 12024 US-290, Austin, TX Zoom and recorded link (CLICK HERE) BOOK IT! Central Texas Beekeepers Association Washington County Fairgrounds VIP room 4th Thursday of each month, 7:00 pm For more information go to CentralTexasBeekeepers.org Club Announcements Always FREE! Zoom (Anywhere) or In- Person (Area restrictions apply) Enjoy a 1 hour LIVE Presentation from one of our presenters! You choose the topic! Houston Beekeepers Association 3rd Tuesday each month in person at Bayland Community Center, 6400 Bissonnet St Houston, TX 77074 HoustonBeekeepers.org  Liberty County Beekeepers Association First Tuesday each month at 6:30 Texas Bee Supply in Dayton/Huffman For more information go to LibertyCountyBeekeepers.org In Loving Memory of Janet Rowe Texas Bee Supply Instructor Oct. 26th, 1948 - Dec. 22nd, 2021 Janet had a never ending passion for beekeeping, education, plants & life! Whether through a class, conversation or friendship, she left an indelible mark on many, and will be sorely missed. Obituary- Click Here For "QR Code" users - click on this icon for an expanded QR code for easy viewing of the magazine! Type in any word or topic and you'll be guided to where that word or topic is listed in the current publication. On desktop and tablet devices you'll see a menu bar along the side - Your first option is "Contents" On mobile devices - look for the yellow round menu bar - click on it to activate tabs. After "Contents" you see the very handy "Full Screen" option - then next the "Share" icon. "Contents" opens the entire magazine for a view of each page in miniature. Using both fingers you can quickly go to your desired page. Digital Publications Users Guide The "Publications Panel" icon will pull up the current as well as past issues at your fingertips. You asked - we obliged! For those wanting to "Download" the magazine to PDF, you now have that option!! Menu Option Features Share Publications QR Code reader Texas Drought Status Contents Page Search Bar Full Screen Download to PDF Unlike most publications - this feature allows you to share a specific page or the entire publication in various media outlets! Once activated, you are open to choose one of the many feature options. For real time info, click here Next feature in line is the "Search" icon. This is a VERY handy tool! Photo Credit: Jacob Osborne - Kentucky Honey Farms Bees on the ground in Florida