Tag Archives: honey

State official gives go-ahead to Blount beekeepers to extract honey


All Blount County beekeepers can extract honey from their hives, Mike Studer, state apiarist, said on Saturday morning. But beekeepers should continue to monitor their hives to see if they notice any significant bee kills that might occur over the next couple of weeks. Studer asked on Friday that honey extraction be suspended from manyContinue reading “State official gives go-ahead to Blount beekeepers to extract honey”

Don’t give your honey away, Coley O’Dell tells BCBA


Whatever you do with your honey, don’t give it away. That was the message from veteran Blount County beekeeper Coley O’Dell, who talked to the Blount County Beekeepers Association on June 8 and harvesting and marketing honey. Honey is too valuable, and it takes too much work to get it, O’Dell said. O’Dell also discussedContinue reading “Don’t give your honey away, Coley O’Dell tells BCBA”

BCBA meeting June 8 to discuss extracting and marketing honey


Getting your honey of the hive — how does that happen? And then what do you do with all that golden stuff​? Those will be the questions we will be tackling at the next meeting of the Blount County Beekeepers Association. One of our members, Coley O’Dell, will talk about harvesting and marketing honey, and anotherContinue reading “BCBA meeting June 8 to discuss extracting and marketing honey”

Casting swarms – it’s what bees do


What is the purpose of a colony of bees? Pollination? Wrong. Bees do this by accident. They don’t realize how much they’re helping humans and wouldn’t care if they did. Making honey? Wrong. Bees make honey because this is a stable food source. The fact that humans like honey is again irrelevant to the bees.Continue reading “Casting swarms – it’s what bees do”

Vietnam beekeeper getting rich for his efforts


Beekeeping, we’re happy to say, knows no political or ideological boundaries. And apparently, you can get rich doing it even in a communist country. That’s the case with Tran Xuan Phong, 31, of An Khang Commune in northern Vietnam. In 2002, he inherited his father’s 150 beehives and tried to make a go of it. AsContinue reading “Vietnam beekeeper getting rich for his efforts”

The joys of buckwheat, part 4: What Langstroth had to say


Lorenzo Langstroth, father of modern beekeeping, recognized the value of buckwheat to his honeybees. Buckwheat furnishes an excellent Fall feed for bees. As those of you who follow this blog regularly will know, I am a huge advocate of growing buckwheat to supplement the natural diet for honeybees. (See the previous posts: here, here, andContinue reading “The joys of buckwheat, part 4: What Langstroth had to say”

Beekeeping on the cliffs in China


This is pretty amazing. There aren’t many beekeepers I know (and that would include me) who would be willing to climb out onto the sheer face of a cliff to take care of their hives. But that’s what this guy in China does. The photos are located at the Guardian newspaper/website of Great Britain. ClickContinue reading “Beekeeping on the cliffs in China”

September is National Honey Month


September is National Honey Month. For beekeepers, of course, every month is a time when we think about bees and what they produce, but this may give us a chance to bring a few more folks in on our thinking. Tammy Horn, state apiarist for Kentucky and nationally known bee expert and author, has notedContinue reading “September is National Honey Month”