Collin County Hobby Beekeepers Association

Hello, everyone,

I hope you (and your bees) are enjoying the month of June!

Here is what I have been doing recently as Honey Queen:

On April 24th, I met with a troop of Girl Scouts at the Acevedo’s home, and Mrs. Acevedo led the girls and their mothers on a tour of their farm, showing the girls a wonderful collection of beehives in boxes, trees, birdhouses, and other interesting places where the bees were in residence. She also pointed out various flowering plants that the bees like to visit. The girls were captivated, and asked Mrs. Acevedo and me many excellent questions. Before leaving, each family enjoyed bottling their own jar of honey.

The Heard Green Living Family Festival was held on May 2nd at the Heard Museum, where my mother and I arranged a beekeeping booth and observation hive. We were able to share the importance of honey bees and beekeeping with many people that day, and answered many questions about local honey and colony collapse disorder.

May 15th was Texas Day at Mathews Elementary in PIano, an annual event which I had had the privilege of attending twice before. Every year on a given day, various speakers come to the school to teach about Texas history and culture, and that day, Kaylynn Mansker, my sister Caroline, and I gave presentations to five groups of very interested and enthusiastic 4th graders. The children enjoyed trying on the bee veil, jacket, and gloves, watching the bees in the observation hive, and eating their honey sticks.

Best of all was our CCHBA picnic on May 16th, I was glad to see so many of you come out, despite the rainy weather. It was so nice to fellowship with you all, and share in the delicious food and fun games.

Thank you for a wonderful day.

I look forward to seeing you at our next meeting.

~ Queen Allison

I hope you are all enjoying this lovely spring weather and are seeing your bee

-yards hum with activity once again! As Honey Queen, I have had lots of activity in this past month, too!

I was invited by Harlan and Mary Hicken to give a presentation to the Squires, a group of boys meeting at their church, on March 2Pt. The boys were very attentive, asked many good questions, and were very interested in the live bees we brought in the observation hive. The Hicken’s grandson, Harlan, who is a Squire himself, introduced me and also answered several questions. He did an excellent job, and I appreciated his help very much!

On March 26th, I gave a presentation to the Native Plant Society at Texas Women’s University in Denton. Several of the society members were quite concerned about colony collapse disorder, and I was able to answer many questions in that regard.

The group was also very interested in purchasing local honey, with which Mrs. Acevedo and I were happy to provide.

The following day, Kaylynn Mansker and I gave bee talks for two entomology classes at a home school co-op in Carrollton. After each presentation, we gave a small Thoney bee quiz” which the children really seemed to enjoy. Both of the classes were captivated by the honey bees in our observation hive; they had a wonderful time watching the honey bees work, probably closer than they had ever seen them before, and asked so many excellent questions. I am sure many of you who have worked at the State Fair honey booth have watched as passing fairgoers, their eyes fixed on the observation hive, will approach and stare in wonder at the honey bees for some time before they become conscious of you or anything else. So often I find myself in awe as I stand in my apiary, a frame in my hands, observing a honey bee’s dance, or a new bee emerging from its cell. I am so thankful for this opportunity I have to learn about these beautiful and fascinating creatures that God has made!On April 4th, Mrs. Acevedo and I visited Nash Farm, a historical farmstead In Grapevine, where we arranged a table with an observation hive, beekeeping equipment, photographs, and honey. We were stationed under a spreading tree beside a small farm-animal petting zoo, and were pleased to have many, many people approach to ask questions, see the bees, or taste and buy honey. It was a wonderful day.

I look forward to seeing you all at the CCHBA picnic on May 16th

Hello Everyone,

I hope you all are enjoying this beautiful spring weather as much as the honey bees must be! What a wonderful time of year!

I went to see my own bees yesterday and found most of them doing very well. The bees in my strongest hive have a habit of rearing drone brood in the space between the hive body and super (1½ story brood chamber), so when the super was removed, some of those drone cells were torn open. We scraped the burr comb and larvae off of the frames and set them aside, and thus began, for me, a new adventure in beekeeping.

I have heard of people eating bee larvae for medicinal purposes, and I know they are very nutritious.., so I ate some! Yes, I actually did it (although doing it felt really strange!). The flavor was rather mild and not unpleasant, and I think it somehow tasted like the bees smell, I will not, however, be making a steady diet of this.

Now, to get back to business…

On March 111 visited Mary Evans Elementary in northwest Allen, where I spoke to a group of about 25 K6th graders in an after-school environment class. The teacher who invited me had been at the Blackland Prairie chapter Master Naturalists meeting where I gave a presentation on February 10.

As Honey Queen, I am coming into one of the busiest times of the year, with several more events coming up this month, including presentations to the Columbian Squires at Harlan and Mary Hicken’s church, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton; the Denton County Native Plant Society; a home school group in Carrollton; and the North Richland Hills Green event. This should be an exciting month!

I look forward to seeing you all at our next meeting!

Happy spring! Queen Allison

Hello, Everyone!

I hope you (and your bees) are all very well and busy and getting ready for spring! I have been busy, too; here is what I have been doing as Honey Queen this past month:

On Friday, January 30, I went with Nicole Pettibon and Kaylynn Mansker to the Fort Worth Livestock Show and Rodeo where we set up a beekeeping display at the Texas Department of Agriculture booth. As people strolled by, we gave out honey sticks and Honey Queen/Honey Princess trifolds. Many people, seeing the hive products on our table, asked where they could purchase local honey. Others, who were already somewhat familiar with bees or beekeepers, told us about their experiences. Included in our display was a portion of a tree limb with several layers of comb which also attracted attention and gave the three of us yet another opportunity to tell others about honey bees.

That afternoon we were able to see the rodeo which was very exciting and a wonderful end to the day.

On Tuesday evening, February 10, I was the guest speaker at the Blackland Prairie Chapter Master Naturalists monthly meeting in Allen, TX. I gave a presentation on the importance of honey bees, why they are in trouble, and how we can help them. I answered many excellent questions. My family, Kaylynn Mansker and her family, Shirley Acevedo, and Carole Booth were able to attend the meeting and help answer questions (thank you all!).

I am also enjoying the beekeeping dasses very much. I look forward to the sessions I get to spend with the scholarship students in the Talbert’s apiary.

I hope you have a wonderful month!

Queen Allison

Hello, Fellow Beekeepers!

I hope you (and your bees) are well and have been enjoying the brief glimpses of spring appearing out of the cold every now and then!

Let me share with you what I have been doing lately as Collin County Honey Queen.

January 7: Nicole Pettibon (Texas Honey Queen); Kaylynn Mansker (Collin County Honey Princess); Mrs. Mansker, Mrs. Acevedo, and I met at the home of Sarah Kornfield (former Collin County, Texas, and American Honey Queen) for media training. We learned about voice projection, developing primary messages, bridging, introductory speeches, answering questions, and more. We had impromptu opportunities experimenting with speeches and presentations. I am thankful for the opportunity to learn from Sarah Kornfield.

January 9: I was at Marion Elementary in Allen for a beekeeping presentation to second to sixth graders. I had no observation hive, nevertheless, the students were aptly inspired by seeing posters and equipment. Intrigued by the subject of honey bees, they asked many questions resulting in the question-and-answer time being nearly as long as the presentation.

January 19: I attended the CCHBA board meeting and learned about the work and willingness to serve making this incredible association possible. It made me realize how many small details must be planned and attended to every month of the year for this organization to run smoothly. I am motivated to find ways in which I can help even more.

Upcoming events include beekeeping classes at the Talberts’ honey house (starting January 24), and a visit to the Ft. Worth Livestock Show. I will keep you posted.

I visited my bees this past weekend, and found that all are over-wintering well with eggs in every hive. I also found a bee carrying some pale yellow pollen — perhaps it was the same that we discussed last meeting.

I look forward to seeing you all in February!

Queen Allison

Hello, Everyone!

I would like to thank you all once again for choosing me to represent you as the 2009 Collin County Honey Queen. I am so grateful to be a part of such a wonderful association, and I am truly looking forward to this coming year!

I hope you all enjoyed the friendly fellowship, delicious food, and lively entertainment that we had at our annual Christmas banquet — I know I did!

My first event as Honey Queen was on December 10, at St. Monica’s School in Dallas, where Rachael Seida (American Honey Queen), and I gave three presentations to a total of 135 very excited first graders and preschoolers. We had a nice time, and it was a privilege to learn from Rachael as I watched and helped her during our presentations. Our contact person at the school had visited the TBA booth at the State Fair and had picked up a Queen brochure.

On December 17, I went with Mrs. Acevedo to North Hills Preparatory School in Irving, where I spoke to eighty first graders. Even without the observation hive (it was, unfortunately, too cold to bring the bees), the children were very eager to listen and learn and ask many excellent questions! The lead teacher at this school also had seen the honey bees at the TBA State Fair booth and contacted Mrs. Acevedo for a bee talk.

I have been busy working with 2009 Collin County Honey Princess, Kaylynn Mansker, and Mrs. Acevedo to design the 2009 Honey Queen/Honey Princess trifold, which will hopefully be ready soon!

I am looking forward to seeing you at the January meeting!

May you all have had a very Merry Christmas!

Queen Allison