Texas Honey Harvest is Buzzing
Over the last decade or so, more and more Texans are going wild about bees and honey, and for good reason. It’s easy to quickly become fascinated by these creatures, their role in our ecosystem and, of course, the delicious and nutritious honey they provide.
There are about 20,000 different species of bees on the planet, with about 1,000 native to Texas. Bees are integral to our global ecosystem, pollinating fruits, crops, flowers and vegetables — in fact, about one- third of the food we eat. But the bee population has declined over the years due to climate change, pesticides and parasites, making it necessary for us to consciously support the bee population. One way to do that is to plant native bee-friendly plants and trees such as mesquite, vitex, crepe myrtles and Texas mountain laurels. Also, it’s a great help to provide a water source for wildlife and to avoid the use of chemicals on your lawn and garden. If you have to use pesticides or herbicides, it’s best to do it at night because bees usually don’t forage at night.
THE HIVE HIERARCHY
Honeybees live in colonies, also known as hives. According to Tanya Phillips of Texas Honey Bee Farm, a honeybee colony works like a family unit – each bee working to do what's in the best interest of the colony as a whole. In any hive, there are three types of bees – with the most important being the queen bee, who lives about five years. All activity in a hive is centered around her and without her, everything falls apart. The queen goes on one mating trip during her lifetime, during which she mates with five to 45 drones (or male bees), and then stores a lifetime supply of sperm. Drones die after mating with the queen – this is their only purpose.
The third type of bee is the worker bees, all female, and they have different jobs based on their age. They forage, nurse bees, clean the hive, pollinate, use their vibrations to regulate temperature of the hive for the queen and defend against predators. They communicate primarily through pheromones. Bees’ sense of smell is 50 times more powerful than that of dogs. Worker bees are the only ones with stingers. They can only sting once, as their stinger stays behind when they fly away, pulling out their intestines. Living an average of six to eight weeks, a worker bee flies amazing distances during that short lifespan – visiting 50-100 flowers in every foraging trip. A single bee, however, will only produce about half teaspoon of honey in its lifetime, but together, a hive can produce up to 100 pounds of honey annually.
HONEY: NATURE’S MIRACLE FOOD
Honeybees make honey by regurgitating digested nectar into honeycomb cells and then fanning it with their wings. They bring as much nectar as they can find into the hive. This typically allows them to save up more honey than they need, so beekeepers can remove some of the extra honey to eat and sell. This surplus, though, doesn’t exist in times of drought or cold temperatures.
The variety in color and flavor of honey – which is 80 percent sugar and 20 percent water – is determined by the flowers and plants from which the bees collect nectar. The darker the honey, the more antioxidants it has. “Not only is honey tasty but it should have its own spot in your household medicine cabinet”, says Sandi Murray of HIVE Bee Farm. She said honey is a great alternative to refined sugars due to its lower glycemic index, plus its beneficial enzymes can have positive health impacts. “Honey is a great option for those looking to improve their environmental allergies. One spoon a day can have a big impact”, she says. Honey also has antibacterial properties and can be used to treat wounds.
A final fun fact about honey: it never goes bad. It was used in ancient Egypt for embalming, and thousands of years later, offerings left in tombs that were cured or embalmed with honey are still preserved.
BEEKEEPING
Despite a growing interest in bees, beekeeping (or apiculture) is not something one can just decide to do without some prior research or experience. To keep bees safe and happy requires a lot of knowledge, time and care. They need to be near a reliable water source, and hives should be inspected regularly. At times, bees may need to be fed to keep them from swarming (or leaving in search of food or water).
Most beekeepers will tell you that they learned early on that protective equipment is necessary to handle the hives — or that they had to accept getting stung. Bees are defensive and aggressive, driven by their desire to protect the queen. A sting or two may not be a big deal for some, but for those with allergies, even just a few stings can be fatal.
Ironically, bee venom actually has many healthful properties. For centuries, it’s been used as a remedy for inflammation, arthritis, skin disease, immunity problems and pain.
If you’re craving some honey or seeking inspiration to dive into beekeeping yourself, check out these local Texans who are passionate about supporting the bee population and serving up their syrupy, sweet goodness in jar.
DUNSMORE HONEY (NEW BRAUNFELS)
Dunsmore Honey is a family-owned small farm with a mission to raise healthy bees and produce raw honey. The family is driven by a love for nature, caring for the earth and a desire for homegrown, healthy food. Committed to improving the overall health of their environment, their farmland is dedicated to native Texas plants and wildlife. The bees that produce their honey are on their property, getting nourishment from the local pasture and forest land.
In 2014, Jason Dunsmore began beekeeping on their 12 acres in New Braunfels. He learned a lot — particularly about managing an apiary without chemical treatments and how to leave enough honey for the bees to eat themselves — from the local bee club, the San Marcos Bee Wranglers. Amy Dunsmore’s background is in environmental advocacy, animal behavior and ecology. The two met at The University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston before attending graduate school together at University of California, Los Angeles. With the kitchen and garden as their current laboratories, the duo continues their scientific research, which nurtures their respect for the environment and guides their farming and honey-making methods.
“We minimally process the honey so that it contains every bit of pollen, antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, amino acids, enzymes, propolis and aromatics that bees collect from plants endemic to Edwards Plateau and the Blackland Prairie in the Balcones Canyonlands,” says Amy. This preserves the flavor and medicinal benefits of their raw honey. In addition to honey, they offer herbal elixirs, beeswax salves and balms, and honey blended with herbs and spices — all handmade at the farm.
TEXAS HONEY BEE FARM (AUSTIN)
“Our beekeeping journey started in the fall of 2012 when we took a beekeeping class at a local meadery. We were hooked!” says Tanya Phillips, master beekeeper and owner of Texas Honey Bee Farm. Phillips was particularly interested in the output from beehives that can be used for making skin care and health products. The current store, Texas Honey Bee Farm, opened in southwest Austin in 2019. The farm is home to up to 150 colonies that are for tours, classes, beeswax, pollen, honey and pollination of their garden and fruit tree They also have larger honey- producing colonies around Southwest and East Austin.
“Honey is a perfect food,” says Phillips. “When you buy local wildflower honey, you are also getting a taste of the local pollen from the nearby flowers, which a lot of people say helps lessen their allergy symptoms. Besides honey, you can also buy a few other special things we, or the bees, make … like candles, raw beeswax, propolis tincture, raw pollen, lip balms, lotion bars, beeswax wraps and more.”
Texas Honey Bee Farm also offers educational opportunities, including beginning and hands-on beekeeping classes and occasional classes on honey harvesting and making products with beeswax. Texashoneybeefarm.com
HONEY I’M HOME (WIMBERLEY)
Chris and Kayla Anderson are making their property in Wimberley a wildlife-friendly environment. They’re early in their beekeeping endeavor, with six hives (that’s still about 200,000 bees). After acquiring their bees, they noticed almost immediately how healthy the plants and trees on the property became and that an abundance of wildflowers began popping up. They point to a grove of crepe myrtles that are blossoming in mid- August after a summer of record-breaking heat and almost no rain. Those conditions haven’t made it easy to keep the bees healthy. The couple had to skip the summer harvest because the bees needed the honey to survive.
If their bees remain healthy, they expect to harvest about 10 gallons of honey from their small number of hives. For them, packaging 100+ jars is for now more than enough to offer friends and family and to supply a local restaurant or two. Chris has enjoyed learning about bees and honey, including the relatively simple process of getting the honey from the hive to the jar. “You pull the frames and take a fork to break the wax that caps the honey,” he explains. “But first you inspect to make sure there are no babies, and certainly not the queen, on the frame! And then you put it in [a device that] is like an old-fashioned ice cream maker. You put the frames in, turn the crank, and the honey slides to the bottom. You open the spigot and pour it into the jar.”
HIVE BEE FARM (MONTGOMERY)
At the heart of the HIVE Bee Farm is Sandi Murray’s enjoyment of gardening and nature as well as her commitment to local, sustainable farming and food production. Before acquiring her first two hives in 2016, she did her homework. “It’s hard to really know what to expect and the commitment it takes until you’ve been around 60,000 stinging insects, in a bee suit, in 100+ degrees in the Texas summer,” says Murray. She recommends that anyone interested in beekeeping take a hands-on class, shadow an expert for a season and join their local beekeeping association.
Her operation grew from two hives to over 200, spanning Montgomery, Harris and Fort Bend counties. Murray and partner Cyrus Nasr’s acreage in Montgomery is home to some of those hives as well as the workshop where they process the honeycomb and honey. The success of the different colonies is varied. “Each year is different and that variability in the weather, foraging opportunities and other pressures make it very challenging to predict what may impact the bees,” says Murray. “Unlike larger commercial bee companies that move bees across states to focus on specific commercial crops, our bees stay on a location permanently, enjoying the biodiversity of that environment.”
HIVE Bee Farm is committed to sustainable apiculture, which means they support hives that have a strong ability to adapt and forage effectively where they are. They do not provide supplemental feed or use any chemicals or antibiotics. Being in an urban environment, where properties are close to one another and chemical use is common, can make that challenging. “When a honey or native bee lands on a bloom that’s been sprayed, they take those chemicals back to their colonies with them and it can have disastrous effects — perhaps immediately killing the hive. And even cumulative exposure gradually impacts the health and genetics of the bees over time. As gardeners ourselves, I fully understand the reason behind reaching for the chemicals but know that those choices lead to long term challenges,” says Murray.
Murray finds beekeeping fascinating and rewarding, and she loves the honey! “Right now, we are big into using honey in our watermelon salad and in our homemade ice cream instead of sugar. Both are a great boost on these hot Texas days.” hivebeefarm.com
About the Contributor
Writer and editor Ashley Brown lives in Wimberley with her family of rescues: a dog, two cats, and two donkeys. In addition to animal welfare, her passion is exploring the Hill Country's natural beauty, small farms, eateries and drinkeries.
