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PIA's Bee Farm, Zone 2 Bgy San Salvador, Lipa City (2026)

18/06/2026

at 11:15pm, as I was lying in bed watching the conclusion of the Symposium, biglang announced, napili ang ating Video Presentation with an Honorary Video Award and Miss Jessica Barbecho of UPLB Bee Program as the grand winner.

Congratulations Miss Jeck and the UPLB Bee Program Team.

Thank you to the Organizers: Miss Pat Vit and Miss Gina of Venezuela, Miss Fani from UK and most especially to (our very own) Miss Amee Nicolas of CBSUA and Dra Cervancia of UPLB..

Correction lang..Hindi po ako Doctor..typo lang po..

And that Concludes the 2026 International Symposium on Stingless Bees (ISSB) hosted by International Bee Research Association (IBRA)

See you in Australia in 2027.

18/06/2026

For those who were not able to watch the 8-minute IBRA / ISSB presentation, I am sharing the video here.

The presentation discusses a practical framework for looking at the movement and distribution of stingless bee colonies, especially Tetragonula biroi, in the Philippines.

This framework came from actual field experience: seeing how colonies are distributed, how farmers adopt them, how different environments affect colony performance, and how island geography makes species movement more complicated than it may first appear.

In stingless beekeeping, species identification is not just a technical detail. It is part of risk management.

Different stingless bee species or colony types may respond differently to forage, climate, pests, diseases, competition, and local conditions. Because the Philippines is an island country, moving colonies from one place to another should not only be treated as a livelihood activity, but also as an ecological and agricultural decision.

The relevance of this video is that it gives beekeepers, trainers, researchers, and institutions a way to think more carefully before distributing colonies. It asks important questions:

Are we moving the right species?
Are we moving them to the right place?
Are we considering the local environment?
Are we protecting both farmer livelihood and native bee diversity?

This is not a final answer, but a proposed way to begin organizing the discussion toward more responsible, science-informed, and field-based stingless beekeeping in the Philippines.

🐝 Pia’s Bee Farm
Responsible beekeeping. Native bees. Farmer learning.

17/06/2026

One of the promising topics in the IBRA/ISSB proceedings is the study on stingless bee pot-pollen and blood glucose.

The research presented evidence that pot-pollen supplementation lowered fasting blood glucose in mice fed a high-fat/high-sucrose diet, possibly through changes in gut microbiota.

This shows why pot-pollen is not just a hive product, it is also becoming an important subject in food science, nutrition, and meliponitherapy research.

A promising future for people affected with diabetes.

As beekeepers, this reminds us that proper pollen production, clean harvesting, and responsible processing matter, because science is beginning to look deeper into the value of stingless bee products.

16/06/2026

Our small farm work is now part of an international stingless bee discussion.

I will be sharing screenshots from the Proceedings of the 2026 International Symposium on Stingless Bees – IBRA Webinar, including the cover, the list of presentations, and my abstract.

For those interested in stingless bees, the proceedings cover many topics: pot-honey, pot-pollen, propolis, pollination, biodiversity, DNA barcoding, pest and disease management, colony growth, forage assessment, translocation, meliponiculture, and the growing stingless bee industry.

This year’s proceedings included 62 abstracts, 189 authors, and participants from 26 countries. The webinar is scheduled on June 17–18, 2026, from 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM UK time, which is 6:00 PM to 12:00 midnight Philippine time. So while others are having their daytime scientific session, we in the Philippines will be attending with coffee, puyat, and pride. 🇵🇭🐝

I am number 16th presentor and presentation is titled:

“Managing Translocated Stingless Bee Species from Luzon to Visayas and Mindanao: Practical Farmer-Level Tools for Adaptive Meliponiculture.”

This work is based on what we do at Pia’s Bee Farm: field observation, training, colony profiling, forage mapping, floral calendars, entrance activity counts, and practical tools that farmers can actually use. The message is simple: translocation is not just moving bees from one island to another. It is a continuing management responsibility.

I am proud to present this not only as Pia’s Bee Farm, but as a beekeeper from the Philippines. Our country has so much to contribute to stingless bee science, especially when science is translated into language and tools that farmers can understand and apply.

From the farm, to the field, to the international table.
Para sa bubuyog. Para sa magsasaka. 🇵🇭🐝

16/06/2026

A follower sent me this..she thought it would be the best label for our honey produce..

Well, you Son of a Beach.. I LOVE IT.. thank you for thinking of me that way

14/06/2026

Apis mellifera is not for the weak.

Weak in the knees? Kaya pa.
Weak in finance? Mag-isip-isip muna.

Mellifera beekeeping is beautiful, productive, and exciting but it is not cheap. Hindi siya yung “bili ka lang ng bees, tapos honey na next month.”

You need colonies, hive boxes, frames, foundation, feeders, protective suits, smoker, hive tools, queen excluders, honey supers, extractor, storage containers, treatments, syrup, pollen supplement, and emergency funds when something goes wrong.

And something will go wrong.

You have to manage feeding, swarming, queen problems, varroa, brood health, rainy season decline, weak colonies, robbing, absconding tendencies, and the never-ending question:
“Bakit parang may bagong gastos na naman?”

Mellifera is not for everyone. It requires capital, discipline, time, monitoring, and management.

This is not to discourage people. This is to protect them from entering blindly.

Because in mellifera beekeeping, the bees may be hardworking…but the beekeeper must be financially prepared.

Apis mellifera is not just beekeeping. It is an operation.

Know the cost. Know the management. Know what you are entering. Attend the June 27 workshop and learn how.

— Pia’s Bee Farm

12/06/2026

Happy Independence Day! 🇵🇭

Among all livestock, bees may be the only animals we manage but cannot truly confine.

In animal science, we usually think of livestock as animals raised under human control. Cattle are fenced. Chickens are housed. Pigs are penned. Goats are tethered or herded.

But bees are different.

A beekeeper can provide the hive.
A beekeeper can manage the colony.
A beekeeper can feed during scarcity, control pests, monitor disease, and protect the bees from stress.

But once the foragers leave the entrance, they are no longer under our control.

They fly where they want to fly.
They visit flowers we do not own.
They drink water from places we did not prepare.
They gather resin from trees we did not plant.
They cross fences, roads, farms, forests, and neighborhoods.

This is what makes beekeeping unique in animal science.

Bees are livestock in management, but still wild in movement.

The farmer does not “own” their pasture the way a cattle farmer owns a grazing field. The pasture of bees is the whole landscape. That is why trees, flowers, clean water, and responsible pesticide use are not just environmental issues; they are also livestock management issues for beekeepers.

On this Independence Day, bees remind us of something simple: freedom is not the absence of responsibility. Freedom works best when the environment that supports life is protected.

A farmer can give bees a hive, but the bees must still choose to stay.
A farmer can maintain the colony, but the bees must still find food outside.
A farmer can care for them, but bees will always keep part of their wildness and sting the life out of them.

That is the beauty and difficulty of beekeeping.

We do not command bees.
We negotiate with nature.

Happy Independence Day from Pia’s Bee Farm.
Bringing science in beekeeping closer to farmers.

11/06/2026

QUEEN MANAGEMENT AND SUSTAINABLE OPERATIONS FOR URBAN APIS MELLIFERA BEEKEEPERS
June 28 | Bangkilya, Marikina

One of the realities of keeping exotic honey bees, Apis mellifera, is that sooner or later, the beekeeper will face the problem of queens.

You may need to replace an old queen. You may need to recover from a failed queen. You may need to split a strong colony. Or sometimes, you simply cannot find a good queen available when you need one.

This is why some urban beekeepers ask:
Can I produce my own queens?

Yes, but queen production is not just about making a queen cell. It requires strong colonies, enough young nurse bees, enough food, good brood, and most importantly, proper mating with drones.

For a very small urban beekeeper, 3 hives is the bare minimum. One can serve as the source of good eggs or larvae, one can raise the queen cells, and one can provide support frames, brood, and nurse bees.

But in reality, 5 to 8 hives is more practical. This gives the beekeeper enough resources without weakening the entire apiary.

For more reliable queen production, 10 hives or more is better, especially if the goal is to maintain a sustainable queen replacement program.

This June 28 learn how to make your own queens. This is a separate workshop from the Urban Beekeeping Workshop on June 27.

This session is intended for beekeepers who already have their own Apis mellifera colonies and want to make their operations more sustainable by understanding queen issues, colony strength, splitting, replacement planning, and reducing dependence on outside queen sources.

Training fee: ₱2,500

The lesson is simple:

Do not produce queens just to avoid buying queens. Produce queens when your colonies are strong enough to support it.

A cheap queen can still be expensive if she is poorly raised or poorly mated.

Pia’s Bee Farm
Bringing science in beekeeping closer to farmers and urban beekeepers.

11/06/2026

There are many diseases that can affect exotic honey bees, especially Apis mellifera. Some are caused by viruses, bacteria, fungi, mites, poor nutrition, stress, and weak colony management.

So why focus on these four brood diseases: Sacbrood, Chalkbrood, American Foulbrood, and European Foulbrood?

Because these are among the most important brood diseases that every beekeeper must learn to recognize early. They affect the developing young bees inside the comb, and once the brood is compromised, the future strength of the colony is also compromised.

As a graduate of the UC course: Honey Bees and Beekeeping for Veterinarians, I learned that the role of proper diagnosis is very important. Not every bee disease requires medicine. Some problems are best managed through better nutrition, sanitation, ventilation, requeening, and strengthening the colony. But some bacterial diseases, especially foulbrood cases, may require veterinary and regulatory guidance depending on existing laws.

This is why education is important. Beekeepers should not immediately think “medicine” whenever they see sick brood. The first step is always correct identification.

Healthy bees begin with informed beekeepers. Learn more on June 27: Urban Beekeeping at Bangkilya, Marikina.

Pia’s Bee Farm
Bringing science in beekeeping closer to farmers.

10/06/2026

How and when to check if your split is good. 🤔

PIA's Bee Farm

18/06/2026

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