Agate Honey Bees

06/08/2026

Amazing Flora that abounds in the Great Agate Desert area of Southern Oregon. Thankful our pollinators, many different species, take advantage of the bounty!

06/05/2026

06/05/2026

Making queen bees acclimated to our region.

05/30/2026

Dropping cells...again on fresh divides. Lots of new 2026 gentle dark stripe Queens flying back. Thankful for recent rains, especially after the level 2 evac just a few days ago.
Whew just 3 weeks till summer solstice, June 21. Big thing for the bee year. Have a great weekend. Harvey and Risa.

05/26/2026

Grafting for success. Risa Rarick Halpin paid attention to selecting certain traits in Queen production. There are many..gentleness, overwintering, breaking cluster early, honey production, propolis making and swarm resistance. Non swarmy behavior while building huge populations. We are now Grafting from our breeder colonies who are showing low mite numbers after washing . This will be big.. something we can give our bee community when we retire.

05/25/2026

Way too close....now level two for us...

05/23/2026

Agate desert food. This frame of pollen stopped Risa in her tracks. We both admired the diversity of pollen, all colors! So important to have good protein. Quality
Protein equals very well nourished hives.

05/14/2026

Caucasian Queen acceptance. Yes we have queens, local pick up, $45 each. We recommend replacing old swarm queens with a well mated 2026 one. These are quality genetics.

05/09/2026

Del Rio vineyard is kind to host us. This location gives the girls access to a target rich environment along the Rogue river corridor. Always grateful for collaboration with a major land owner. Thank you