EscaRosa Honeybees

Bee Bearding

2011-09-13T20:13:00.001-05:00

it'll never catch on, a photo by kitsch&curious on Flickr.

Here's a great image from the 1929 National Geographic Magazine.

HopGuard--Varroa Mite Control

2011-09-07T16:10:00.001-05:00

Hopguard now approved for use with honeybees in Florida!

Love,The Beekeeper

Now you're cooking with honey!

2011-08-21T06:00:00.000-05:00

Interested in cooking with honey but not exactly sure where to start? Here are some helpful tips I've been able to glean from around the web:

Honey is sweeter than sugar - about ¾ cup honey = 1 cup sugar
Reduce other liquids by about ¼ when substituting honey for sugar.
Add ½ teaspoon baking soda for each cup of honey used.
Reduce oven temperature by 25% to prevent over-browning.
Coat the measuring cup with non-stick cooking spray or vegetable oil before adding the honey.
taken from Buster's Bees

This website has excellent practical tips and recipes for cooking with honey: Benefits of Honey

I was hoping to provide you with more information, but these two sites above seem to contain the same information I discovered in every other page. If you have some of your own tips for cooking with honey, please feel free to share!

Love,The Beekeeper

National Honeybee Day 2011

2011-08-20T22:19:00.001-05:00

National Honeybee Day 2011, a set on Flickr.

What a fun time we had down at the Palafox Farmer's Market today! Here are a few photos to enjoy from today's festivities.

National Honey Bee Day Comes to Pensacola

2011-08-15T16:08:00.001-05:00

Two years ago, a small and focused group of beekeepers in Pennsylvania began an event to educate people on the benefits of bees and beekeeping. One year later, the event had reached nation-wide acclaim and 501c status. This year, hundreds of beekeepers around the country are joining together on August 20th to spread the good news about honeybees!

If you don't already know, honeybees are an important link in our food chain. Estimates say that between 50% to 80% of our food supply is dependent on pollination by honeybees. Without their help, we would see a large drop in the quality and quantity of many fruits, nuts and vegetables that we love (like pumpkins, apples, almonds, citrus, brassicas, nightshade vegetables and more!)*

This year, the EscaRosa Beekeeping Association will be joining with National Honeybee Day organizers to help spread the word here in Pensacola, Florida. We will set up a booth in beautiful downtown Pensacola at the thriving Palafox Farmer's Market. At our booth, expect to find:

delicious honey
baked goods from easy honey recipes
honey and beeswax products
honey samplings
recipes
honeybee hive demos
real live beekeepers of all ages!
honeybee gardening advice
and much, much more!

We will set up our booth by 8 in the morning and will continuously be in attendance to answer any questions needed. Find out how you too can become a beekeeper. Join in one of the oldest agricultural pursuits (over 4500 years!) and discover just how magical honeybees truly are.

*Yes, these plants are also pollinated by solitary bees in some cases.
Love,The Beekeeper

Cottage Food Industry Update

2011-08-15T03:22:00.000-05:00

Per Tony Hogg (FSBA point person on honey packers/cottage food industry):

honey is now included with cottage food. This is effective immediately. The cottage food guidance document has not been updated yet but will be shortly. As long as Beekeepers comply with the guidelines they are good to go.

Love,The Beekeeper

Sweet Honeybees by Enzo Garcia

2011-08-12T15:10:00.000-05:00

Love,The Beekeeper

Queen of The Sun: What Are the Bees Telling Us? - Official Trailer [HD]

2011-08-11T12:04:00.001-05:00

Love,The Beekeeper

Nectar and Pollen Sources for Honeybees

2011-08-10T23:35:00.001-05:00

Tonight at the beekeeper's meeting I learned a very useful and simple lesson about plants and honeybees. It is this: bees visit some plants for nectar, some for pollen and some plants for both pollen and nectar. In our yard, we have rosemary and Texas sage that attract a wide variety of native bees and honeybees very early in the year. Tonight, I was questioned if our rosemary was a nectar source for the honeybee and I had no clue!

Thankfully, with a little bit of research, I was able to find a marvelous website on gardening with the idea of providing bees with both nectar and pollen. I'm happy to say that our rosemary is indeed a nectar source for honeybees and makes a delicious honey! The following list has been edited for plants that are very common in our area. Winter blooms are highlighted.

Do you have any of these plants in your area? Find out...your bees already have! :)

Pollen Plants-->

Tansy
Asters
Yellow and White Clover

Coriander

*Elderberry
Oak
Mint
Wild Rose
Sunflowers
Thyme
**Willow

Nectar Plants-->

Borage

Goldenrod
Lemon Balm
Asters
Barberry
Yellow and White Clover

Coriander

Elderberry
***Oak
Heather
Milkweed
Mint
Wild Rose

Rosemary

****Sunflower
Thyme
Valerian
Willow

NOTES:
*bees love this pollen
**highest quality pollen to be found
***nectar is poisonous to bee larvae!
****nectar can become very sticky and trap field bees, reducing your numbers

Love,The Beekeeper

Honey Pound Cake

2011-08-07T23:05:00.004-05:00

Honey-Lemon Pound Cake

1 cup butter, creamed
3/4 cup raw honey
1 t vanilla extract
1/2 t lemon extract
cream these four ingredients together, add:
3 eggs (we were actually able to use local eggs for this as well!)
combine with mixer, add:
2 1/2 t baking powder
1/4 t baking soda
3/4 t salt
add:
2 cups AP flour, by the spoonful
add:
1/2 cup milk

Mix thoroughly. Pour batter (slightly thick) into greased loaf pan and cook at 350 F. I cooked cake for about an hour and a half. If you'd like to make pound cake cookies instead of pound cake, simply skip the 1/2 cup of milk!

***Very strong honey flavor to this cake. You will love it with rich, dark coffee for breakfast. Oops, I mean, I will love it that way! However you like to eat your pound cake, you’re going to love trying this recipe!

Love,The Beekeeper

What should I do in August?

2011-08-07T22:47:00.001-05:00

Well, it seems as though we're on the downward stretch of summer. If you and your bees have survived the heavy heat and rains of the last few weeks, I think you just may make it after all! This is such a nice time of the year because the heat is becoming a memory in our anticipation of the delightful Gulf Coast fall season. True, we may not have the beautiful colors of other regions, but we appreciate these months because of the blazing heat we've gone through to get here!

How do your honeybees feel about all of this heat and rain? Turns out, they're not so very different from you! Since they don't have the benefit of air conditioning, they sit on the porch (landing board) and fan--just like your great grandma and great grandpa used to do. :) I can almost imagine our honeybees sipping on sweet iced tea as they fan the hive to cure the honey.

Speaking of hot honeybees, please be sure your hive has a sufficient nearby water source. Set out a plate of water, a bird bath or simply run a sprinkler close by. The honey ladies will enjoy diving in and out of the water sprinkler, just like the birds and the butterflies do! Just a note: if you provide your honeybees with a dish of water, be sure to include something to help them climb out if they accidentally fall in!

Now that we know what the honeybees are doing, what should you, as the beekeeper be doing? Here's a list of beekeeper duties for the month of August, taken from the EscaRosa Beekeepers website:

August
1. Inspect for congestion, queenright, diseases, V.mites, beetles, honey and pollen stores..
2. Re-queen if necessary or planned.
3. Provide proper ventilation for wintering.
4. Inspect for stores.
5. Apply antibiotics if planned for disease prevention.
6. Check for V.mites using sticky board or other method for sampling and treat as required.

Love, The Beekeeper

Honey-Lemon Blueberry Muffins

2011-08-06T17:55:00.002-05:00

Looking for a way to use all of your delicious honey? This recipe is truly scrumptious and can be whipped up in a matter of minutes. Set your oven to preheat at 350 degrees and be ready to pop these muffins in!

Honey Lemon Blueberry Muffins

Add ingredients in the order listed:

1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup honey
1/2 t vanilla extract
1 t lemon extract (flavoring)
(blend all these ingredients together)
1 cup self-rising flour
1/2 cup special whole grain mixture w/flax seed
1/2 t baking soda
(combine all ingredients until just moistened)
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries (I coated the blueberries with flour as I heard that kept them from sinking to the bottom of the batter)

Bake for approximately 10 minutes, or until muffins are mounded and golden. This recipe makes 18 light and fluffy muffins
Love,The Beekeeper

National Honeybee Day

2011-08-06T17:35:00.000-05:00

Thanks for visiting this site! If you look to the right, you'll notice that we have an upcoming event: National Honeybee Day! Among EscaRosa Bee Club members, we are looking for volunteers for several things: water, baked goods, honey/beeswax crafts, artwork and more. Make a note of any questions you may have and be sure to ask at this Wednesday's upcoming meeting.

Welcome!

2011-08-06T17:15:00.000-05:00

Welcome to EscaRosa Honeybees! Check in often to this site to find news about local honeybee events, honeybee news and recipes using your own delicious honeys.

Expect tips and information suited to our climate, guest posts, photographs of beehives around the globe and, just maybe, from your own backyard!