A Collective Focus on Bees

Did you know that urban beehives do better than rural hives? According to local beekeeper, Nicole Buergers, Houston’s climate and the diversity of plants blooming year round are the ideal environment for bees. In 2016, Buergers launched Bee2Bee Honey Collective (bee2beehoney.com) to provide urban beekeeping services, honeybee education and an online store for Houston apiarists to sell local honey.

Nicole started her first backyard hive in the Montrose and now she maintains 21 hives in clients’ yards around the city. She utilizes the Langstroth beehive, a traditional hive invented in the 1800s. The box-shaped structure opens from the top, while the bees build honeycombs on the removable vertical frames. A typical backyard beehive will produce anywhere from two to 10 gallons of honey. The first honey harvest can happen in as little as six months or longer than a year, depending on the weather conditions. Drought or abundant rainfall will diminish the activity of bees and thus honey production. In general, bees prefer morning sun. They also like it hot.

In Houston’s temperate climate, a hive can produce twice a year, once in the spring and again in the fall. The time of year and flowers pollinated will affect the flavor and color of the honey. Unlike rural hives, bees in the city pollinate more than one crop, further affecting flavor. Nicole explained, “Using the map on the website, people can find the closest source of honey to their neighborhood with flavor profiles, food pairing and usage recommendations.”