DRB Beekeeping and Supplies, LLC

April 27, 2026, 33 degrees, with a high of 42 with a chance of snow and rain…throughout the week…this Black Hills weather in April and May is why I hesitate to take off my winter hive protection until after Mother’s Day. I use this as a general guideline: until the average day and night temps average out to 50 degrees or higher for a week or more, I leave my insulation on. Beekeeping is local, so it maybe different in your area or elevation. Bee Happy, Be Successful. Tim.

Good Morning Beeks. Checked some colonies yesterday and found most were doing well, but one not so well. The healthy looking colony is just that, but with populations being so high, so early in the season, the healthy colony was just days from looking like the one that died. The deadout is a classic case of starvation. Though I was feeding fondant throughout the winter months, high populations plus warm weather makes for active bees. Active bees eat more resources. Fortunately I was able to supplement the other colonies in the apiary with pollen paddy, fondant and sugar syrup and hopefully the extra resources are in time! Learn from my mistakes Beeks, check those hives now and ensure they have resources until the natural nectar and pollen flow. Bee Happy, Bee Successful! Tim

Good morning Beeks! I wanted to drop you a note about an exciting event which happened a week ago. While visiting some friends in Arizona, my friends, wife and I hiked a trail called Echo Canyon adjacent to the Camel Back hills near Phoenix. When we hit the trail head, the “use caution, active bees in the area” naturally caught my eye. While moving down the trail, our friend Tina, saw comb hanging on one side of the rock walls, about 30 yards off the trail. It was an exposed comb nest, most likely a home to an Africanized honey bee colony. It was not active and it looked abandoned. I was explaining what Africanized honeybees were to a few folks, and a hiker passing by indicated that the colony nest had been there for years, with no activity. Needless to say, when it was active and only 30 yards off the trail, it was probably the reason for the warning sign at the trailhead. European Honey Bees (Apis mellifera) in S. America were Africanized by breeding with African Queens (Apis mellifera scutellata), in an effort to make a hybrid bee more adaptable to the tropical environments. As Africanized Hony Bee (AHB) colonies occupied managed apiaries, drones with Africanized DNA now bred with more European bee queens in DCAs, which spread Africanized traits and behaviors all over S. America, where it is still prevalent today. Colonies migrated to the Southern U.S. in the 1990s where their DNA still survives today. With the open mating practices in the South and up the East and West Coasts, it’s easy to see why we occasionally get “hot hives” when we purchase NUCs, packages and queens from areas with known Africanized activity. It’s becoming more important to stay LOCAL, using splits, NUCs and queens from local beekeepers and bee club members. Keep on keeping and we’ll see you in the apiaries. Bee Happy, Be Successful. Tim

Well Beeks, it's honey harvest time! God's timely rains and longer floral bloom has fueled optimism for this year's harvest. I just completed bringing in my medium frames from all the supers and the early indication is things should be as good as last year. Some observations I've made while harvesting: First, the colonies are generally non-aggressive and only passively defensive. We here at DRB have worked hard and watch the temperament of our colonies closely. A mean hive is requeened quickly...can't have aggressive colonies around the grandkids and neighbors. Second, I have noticed maybe 15 percent of the frames, though honey filled, are uncapped. This seems higher than what I've observed in the past. This has also lead to a higher water content when I've checked after spinning the frames. From the first 3 hives I've collected, water percentage is ranging 17.5 -19%. So, I've got some drying out to do. Last year I was averaging 15-16% across all hives. With that said, things look good so far. The Black Hills Area Beekeeping Club will have their Honey Hoe-Down this weekend at my place. This has become an annual event and I look forward to it. To see the smiles from first and second year beeks as they watch that "liquid gold" run from the gate of the extractor, is pretty cool. Whether they get a quart or a bucket...it's all good. I like to keep things nice and warm while extracting...hydrate before you come this weekend. Remember, Bee Happy, Be Successful. Tim

Hey Beeks, I wanted to share with you an item which should help with processing those wax capping we all collect during the honey harvest. I asked Pete, owner of Foothills Millworks of Whitewood, SD, to make me a solar Wax Melter. I had made one myself several years ago, but just didn't do the trick. So Pete found some designs produced this one. He made some improvements to make it cost effective and as they say in France, "Voil'a", I have a very good, cost effective solar wax melter. I've used it the last month on burr comb I've collected from hive inspections and some wax capping from last year's harvest. It got very warm inside, very fast (I took the thermometer out before it exploded). It works very well and after a couple melts, it turned out very well. Give Pete a call at Foothills Millworks and get your wax melter ordered today and have it ready for the upcoming harvest season! Bee Happy, Be Successful. Tim

Good Day Beeks! What a wonderful day to be a beekeeper…just like yesterday and I’m sure tomorrow. The BHABC conducted it's July Club Meeting, July 19, 2025. Let’s start by thanking Denny and Myrna for hosting the July Apiary Visit to their home in Hot Springs. They have a perfect spot for bees, with a creek running through their property, plenty of shade and sun, and foraging areas of wild flowers and plants. Denny and Myrna did a great job of explaining their apiary areas comprised of “The Brooks Box” which is a modified Layens hive to use Langstroth frames and a Top Bar Hive (see pictures). Both these hives are used successfully, and their advantages are they don’t have to be moved and are easier for Denny and Myrna to manipulate frames and harvest honey. The area in the southern Hills has not received as much rain as the middle and northern Hills so supplemental will begin soon. Julie and Lewis reported on the SD Beekeepers Association Annual Meeting held on July 12 in Deadwood. Keep topics which were discussed was a new organic Varroa Mite Treatment, which also kills the Tropilaelaps Mite; Dr. Slater of Texas A&M spoke on his hygienic queen breeding efforts and Queen COOP and Bernie Hendricks presented on his research concerning mustard treatments and the healthy effects on his honey bee colonies. We also conducted our monthly meeting, where we discussed several proposed club by-law changes which included changing the month of our Officer Elections from December to November and collecting membership dues from October to December for the upcoming year. We also discussed the use of the BHABC Advisory Board and selecting club members to that board over the next month. The Board, which is in our by-laws will assist the President and Vice President with establishing and coordinating club training activities and yearly event schedules. The apiary visit was concluded and many of us then met at the Hitch Rail Saloon in Pringle, SD for follow on discussion and a meal. Next up, we switch directions and elevations as Frank DeMilia will host our club meeting at his apiary in Deadwood, SD, on August 16, at 2:00 p.m. with supper to follow at Louies in Lead, SD. We’ll send an invite out with the details within the next few weeks. Until then, remember Bee Happy, Be Successful. Tim

The Black Hills Area Beekeeping Club (BHABC) held its monthly May meeting visiting Tim's Apiary on May 17, 2025. Our expectations were to learn and actually split colonies and build NUCs. DRB received mated queens (Italian Hybrid and Carnolian) from Sullivan’s Queens out of Northern California. We’ve use Sullivan's Queens the past few years as because of their location in N. California. There is no Africanized Honey Bee activity known to be in that area, which has provided our apiaries with gentle queens and good producing offspring. The weather was okay, but not near good enough to spend the time necessary to correctly meet our goals. We inspected several hives, looked at brood pattern, resources, found queens, searched for queen cells and we found several colonies which need attention. We discussed and built one NUC and we reviewed what it takes to build a good Queen Bank. All the queens “banking” were doing well and should remain viable until we can get them into their new split or NUC later this week. I’d like to thank all the club members who assisted with the inspections and provided recommendations. After our apiary visit, we did have a sit down at Sally O’Malley’s where we continued to talk “bees.” One big discussion centered on expectations as beekeepers. What we all agreed upon is we must as beekeepers set our expectations not so much on what we want, but on what works best for our bees. For as many years as I’ve been a beekeeper, NUCs, packages and queens begin to show up late April to mid-May. But as we discussed, why? Literally, the weather is too unpredictable in the Black Hills during the month of April and May as demonstrated this week in Rapid City with lower temps and rain, and Deadwood is expecting to receive snow. Going forward, many of us are planning on adjusting our expectations to meet our bees’ needs, by simply moving our Spring tasks to the right on the calendar. Mated Queen deliveries, Splitting, NUC building, queen grafting, etc., will all be moved into late May and June. This will ensure the weather, resources, and DCAs needed to correctly complete those tasks in an environment necessary for our bees’ success. That what’s great about bee clubbing…you get to discuss bee ideas with real beekeepers! Bee Happy, Be Successful. Tim

Good Morning Beeks! What a monthly meeting we had Thursday, March 20, at Western Dakota Technical College. Bernie Hendricks, RPhm and Regional Apiary Inspector – SD Dept of Agriculture and Resources, presented both in person and via ZOOM to a packed house. Our meeting started off with a little light pizza supper courtesy of the Black Hills Area Beekeeping Club. Bernie presented on a fascinating topic he has been researching for several years now. Bernie is a pharmacist who happens to fully understand the chemical makeup of substances and their effect on humans. His intent is to use a low cost, highly efficient, organic method of controlling the varroa mites which can be used from hobbyist to commercial beekeepers. In my laymen terms: He’s been using the Mustard Seed chemicals in various methods and scopes to study the effects on Honey Bees in the context of killing the varroa mite using mustard. He says it much better than I, but essentially, that’s what he’s been doing. He’s been able to do this hands-on research for years, in multiple locations both in a hobby and a commercial setting. He’s also discovered that the chemicals found in the different types of mustard seeds have positive nutritional effects as these essential chemicals are found in both natural pollen and commercial supplements. He has also expanded his research to determine the effects mustard on Nosema Ceranae and N. Apis. We all know if we can control the levels of mites in our colonies, we can increase the survival rates as well as mitigate the spread of other bee viruses known to be spread by the varroa mite. It was fascinating listening to Bernie and inspiring to know that their folks who are dedicating their time and energy to the benefit of the Bee. This type of information is vital to the 21st Century Beekeeper and an important core principle to the Black Hills Area Beekeeping Club. Bee Happy, Bee Successful. Tim

Good Day Beeks! We’re finalizing the books on another successful Buzz in the Black Hills Beekeeping Conference! This year our attendees were treated to many beekeeping topics which focused on our conference theme, Beekeeper vs Bee-buyer: Education is the Difference! With that in mind, our presenters, many of them professional beekeepers and educators, spoke on a variety of 21st Century Beekeeping topics. We started off Friday night’s actions with Randy Oliver discussing “Reading the Comb” and followed up with a series briefs on the educational opportunities in and around the Black Hills: Malisa Niles and High School Bee Education; Hives to Heros by Brian Maschino; LanceHoney Farms On Line and in person training opportunities by Matt Lance; Western Dakota Technical College Basic and Advanced Bee Courses by Tara Darby and the University of Montana online Master Beekeeping Program with Dr. Scott Debnam.

Saturday’s activities kicked off with an update from Mr. Bob Reiners, SD State Apiarist. Next was Ms. Danielle Downey, the Executive Director of Project Apis m., a nonprofit that funds honey bee research, working closely with many industry stakeholders in the USA and Canada. She also works on breeding Varroa resistant bees in Hawaii for over a decade. Matt Lance gave an excellent presentation on diseases, pests and their treatments. Dr Scott Debnam finished up the morning with Natural Beekeeping: Emulating what natural nesting colonies are doing. A fascinating perspective on developing your managed beekeeping program on natural nesting principles. Our afternoon sessions were broken down in two training tracks: one track focusing on Basic Beekeeping topics and the other Advanced track topics. Those topics consisted of topics such as Creating a Bee Friendly Backyard, The Pro and Cons of Using a Bee Shed, to Controlling varroa with man-made brood breaks & OTS queen rearing. All relevant topics for the educated 21st Century Beekeeper.

We’d like to thank our many sponsors for assisting in hosting and supporting this year’s conference: Western Dakota Technical College (Corporate Education and Environmental Departments); The Black Hills Area Beekeeping Club; Runnings of Rapid City; Foothills Millsworks of Whitewood; BeeHero - Pollinate & Prosper Company; DRB Beekeeping and Supplies, LLC of Rapid City; Lance Honey Farms of Ravenna, Nebraska; Fleet Farm of Rapid City; Lappe’s Bees, Dadant Beekeeping; MANN Lake Beekeeping Supplies, and the many Black Hills Area Beekeeping Club members who donated silent auction items.

Next up for the Black Hills Area Beekeeping Club, they will host a seminar with Dr. Bernie Hendricks, RPh, Regional Apiary Inspector – SD Dept of Ag and Resources. His presentation will be on his research with natural mustard-based products (containing the pharmacologically active compound isothiocyanate) for Varroa Mite control – and as a potential nutritional supplement targeting Nosema Cerenae. Dr. Hendricks will be presenting in-person and the Club will broadcast via ZOOM to our club members, March 20, 2025, 6-8 p.m. at the Western Dakota Technical College. For non-club members, more information on this presentation, can be provided by contacting Frank DeMilia at [email protected].

Thats all for now. Bee Happy, Be Successful. Tim

SD State Apiarist Bob Reiners is first on the agenda giving an update on the state of apiculture in South Dakota.

Day two of the Buzz is humming away, early at Western Dakota Tech! We had a wonderful breakfast, thank you Gary and your crew!