When varroa reaches shores where bees are naïve to its presence, it does not knock politely. Invariably, it tears through apiaries like wildfire, overwhelming colonies with no natural defenses. Losses of defenseless colonies often exceed 80%, leaving even the most passionate beekeepers shaken to their core. I do understand the instinct to protect bees with “medicine,” poisons, and interventions aimed at killing mites. I have stood over struggling colonies, wondering: is it ki

SKIP AHEAD for quick conversion instructions below Or start here for the reasoning behind it Langstroth Hives are great for Commercial Beekeepers Only 1% of beekeepers are commercial operators, who overwhelmingly use Langstroth vertical Hives for their operations because they are easily palletized, stacked, moved with forklifts and transported around the country to pollination contracts, or because equipment can be bought in bulk, by the thousands. Because of that, Langstroth

Polar Vortex temps are coming down to a neighborhood near us soon, with 3 days of temps below 20F with a low down to 1F, a relative first for us in Texas, so what's a mindful beekeeper to do? Generally, in Central Texas, if your hives have enough food and you have not fed pollen supplements or weekly sugar syrup (which tends to induce early brood rearing), they should be fine... Top-Bar hives made of 2" lumber are twice as insulated as hives made out of 1" wood and should be

When archaeologists opened pyramids and Egyptian tombs that were over 3 thousand years old, they discovered ceramic jars filled with...

Humans tend to anthropomorphize their bees, which is a big word to say they like to lend them human characteristics or identify with...

Texas Bee “Ag Exemption” (1-d-1 Open-Space Agricultural Valuation), Agricultural History & Filing Deadlines Explained Originally published April 21, 2020 | Updated August 2026 This article has been updated to reflect current terminology and provide links to Bee Mindful's latest Agricultural Valuation resources. County requirements and procedures can change; always verify current requirements with the applicable Central Appraisal District. What Is a Texas Bee “Ag Exemption”?

Beekeeping is an activity that is very both local and tied to the seasons, and here in Central Texas, it’s this time of the year again…....

This morning, I read this research article. And then, I had an epiphany... First, it was well researched, as well as very informative on honey bee reproduction and the impact nutrition has on it, yet written in an easy to understand style. I recommend that all beekeepers read it at the very least for that. But when I read further, I realized there is another way to look at some of the arguments in the treatment debate that so bitterly divides the beekeeping community. I w

The two Golden Rules of beekeeping are: 1 - all beekeeping is local 2 - it depends of what you see in your colonies With that in mind.......

I would like to kick off this blog and adventure with some words reminding me why we need to be mindful in beekeeping and more generally in our lives.. We are all interconnected, and every piece of our world is linked in some way. So when we pull too many strings from too many parts of this interwoven life fabric we are a part of, it begins to unravel. Our job is to remember to carefully and mindfully take care of our world and all the creatures that live in it, so we can st