Roane/Morgan County Bee Club

05/13/2026

Another successful monthly meeting at the club with what was personally my favorite talk of the season. When you have two veteran beekeepers with the personality, patience, humor, wit, and pure, unadulterated love for honey bees like Ivan and Monica do, you are 100%-guaranteed to have a fun time.

Ivan and Monica have been beekeeper partners for the past 11 years, with Ivan having over 25 years of experience. They shared their story of how they met and entered into beekeeping, as well as all of their tips, tricks, and current endeavors with raising bees and queens. They emphasized that there are really two sides to beekeeping: making honey and raising bees. The latter being one that I feel is often neglected and is equally, if not more, important than the former.

We treated this month as our annual open discussion meeting where everyone is open to asking anything and everything. We had a great turnout, lots of questions, and of course all of the delicious food. I appreciate each and everyone who came and participated. You make the club what it is.

Also, a shoutout to Tracy from TLC Apiary who came as well with a truckload full of bee supplies. Be sure and look for announcements for when he will be coming to meetings, in case you need to stock up on a few items. We REALLY appreciate him and his business within this region of beekeepers.

Our speaker next month is the legendary commercial beekeeper Kent Williams. We're always so delighted to have him. You won't want to miss it.

And finally, to something Ivan and Monica said. Beekeeping is a "disease" - they have to do it because they love it so much. I had never heard it put like that before. May that be the only disease we spread to one another so that we may revel in the love for beekeeping like they do.

- Conner

04/29/2026

Massachusetts woman jailed for six months after court heard she admitted to freeing bees on sheriff’s deputies

04/27/2026

Hello all , i found something interesting today while adding honey supers and cheking for queen cells . I had 8 frames with eggs brood and larva in my honey supers , above my queen excluded. I guess I either have a skinny queen or an excluder that has spacing to let a queen through..I took off the excluder ,put all the brood is the bottom super with the honey in the super above . I added 3 more supers on top of that . The girls are really bringing in the nectar. The good news is there were no queen cells . I would hate to try to find the queen in all those Bees. Bill

04/27/2026

I never get tired of seeing this when I put my supers on. I hope yours are on because the Honey Flow is going NOW . Bill

04/20/2026

As fast as time moves, it's been real easy to get behind on giving an update of our last meeting.

We want to extend a huge 'Thank You' to Dr. Cameron Jack for being our April guest speaker. Dr. Jack is currently Assistant Professor at the University of Florida's Honey Bee Research and Extension Laboratory (Go Gators!) . He was gracious enough to give a wonderful talk on the efficacy of various Varroa mite control methods, particularly those dealing with organic and synthetic treatments. Long story short: Monitor Monitor Monitor! He stressed how important is to keep notice on the mite levels of your colonies throughout the season due to many of the treatments having various levels of effectiveness DEPENDING on what time of year it is. Some chemicals are better to use in the Fall versus the Spring, some better in Winter than Summer. He did a great job breaking it down to an easily digestible talk for all levels of beekeepers. I think it has been our best turn out yet.

If you wish to know more about the talk, please be on the lookout for our April newsletter emailed from our awesome secretary Jessica whom, speaking of which, was also recognized at the meeting for her 8 YEARS of service to the club. We cannot express our appreciation for all that she has done for the club.

You can also catch Dr. Jack from time-to-time on UF's very famous 'Two Bees in a Podcast,' where you can find a lot of free and reputable information on all things beekeeping.

We hope to see you next month for our meeting on May 12th!

- Conner

04/19/2026

03/11/2026

Another awesome turnout for our March Monthly Meeting. A huge thank you goes to State Apiarist Mike Studer for taking time out of his very busy schedule to come talk with us. His talks are always a fountain of information and tonight was just that.

Mike talked with us about the threat of the yellow-legged hornet that's spreading throughout South Carolina and Georgia. To stay vigilant, he showed us how to make a homemade hornet trap that is sure to be effective, with a combination of only 100% grape juice, DARK brown sugar, and a few drops of dish detergent. Seems simple enough!

Mike also touched on his research regarding the devastating Tropilaelaps mite that he partook in in Thailand, as well as his thoughts on effective Varroa mite treatments here in Tennessee. Be on the lookout for our monthly newsletter for a full synopsis.

Another shoutout goes to the new beekeepers that showed up from our beginner school. We are happy they are here and are eager to help them succeed. We also elected a new treasurer! Please remember our next monthly meeting on April 14th with a virtual talk coming from Dr. Cameron Jack at the University of Florida's Honey Bee Research Laboratory. It's sure to be a good one!

- Conner

03/09/2026

A little late post due to a very busy weekend!

The 2026 annual Roane-Morgan Beginner Bee School was a huge success! I believe these to get better every year and that is mainly due to all of our members coming together to help out and volunteer with whatever needs to be done. We had a good turnout with lots of eager beekeepers to learn the ins-and-outs of beekeeping, as well as leave inspired on all of the hard work it takes and the many rewards that can be reaped from working responsibly with your bees.

A massive shoutout to all who gave the wonderful, interesting, and succinct short lectures (Mark, Bill, Eddie, Sean), to Amy for curating all of the food, as well as all those who brought the delicious food! To Jessica for handling registration and door prize callouts. To Tracey from TLC Apiary who donated and supplied us with all the equipment we could need. And last but not least, to North Point Church for always allowing us to use their facilities to host any and all things beekeeping.

We truly appreciate everyone that came and helped out and sincerely hope to see you again at our monthly meetings where you will continue to learn and be mentored.

Speaking of which. . . Please remember our next meeting TOMORROW, Tuesday March 10th at 6:30 PM back here at North Point Church. Potluck begins at 6:00 PM. Our state apiarist Mike Studer will be here and there is never an end to the knowledge that's to be learned from him. We hope to see you there!

- Conner

03/07/2026

02/13/2026

The Roane-Morgan County Beekeepers Association is excited to announce our annual Beginner Bee School on Saturday, March 7th! Come learn about the joy of keeping honey bees responsibly accompanied by breakfast, door prizes, beekeeping supplies, and a wealth of knowledge from welcoming beekeepers who love to share their experiences. This event is open to people of all ages and all counties who are interested in learning about beekeeping.

Registration and entry fees will begin at 9:00 AM, with the short lectures commencing at 9:30. We hope to see you there.

****************RSVP's through Facebook are strongly encouraged. Please see event on our page****************

02/11/2026

What a great meeting and turnout we had tonight with Chris Kinser from Battle of Athens Beekeeping Association. He gave a great lecture on the do's-and-don't's of swarm trapping, as well as how to build up your colonies fast with proper foundation discipline. You can also find Chris at his youtube channel, 'Kuenzer Homesteading,' and his facebook honey page Kuenzer Honey Farms. We appreciate him sharing his expertise and for everyone that brought the delicious food.

Don't forget our Beginner Bee School for the 2026 season! There will be an official announcement with more details to come later this week. Be on the lookout for our email, and feel free to reach out through facebook or the email address if you would like to participate.

- Conner