Hands on Beekeepers

08/23/2026

Beekeeping in the beautiful rolling countryside this afternoon.

08/23/2026

08/19/2026

Holly Mass for Beekeepers on Monday, 5 October. The Pope will meet beekeepers from all over the world, at the initiative of the Slovenian Beekeepers' Association and the European Beekeeping Association.

On Saturday, 3 October, a special Holy Mass for all beekeepers will be held at the Borgo Laudato Si’. The Mass will be held by Cardinal Baggi. We join in the effort to encourage all beekeeping organizations around the world to organize visits to the Vatican and be part of a unique event...
We look forward to this very special event and to meeting you all in Rome!

NOTE THE NEW DATE: 11-12 December 2026!

🕯️ One year of hard work has paid off!

On Monday, 5 October, the Pope will receive beekeepers at a private audience. He will meet beekeepers from all over the world, at the initiative of the Slovenian Beekeepers' Association and the European Beekeeping Association. On this occasion, he will also receive a special candle made in Slovenia, in Polzela.

On Saturday, 3 October, a special Holy Mass for all beekeepers will be held at the Borgo Laudato Si’. The Mass will be held by Cardinal Baggio.

According to our information and the publicly available records of the Holy See, there has never before been an official private audience with a Pope dedicated exclusively to beekeepers. This makes the event particularly significant and truly historic.

More information will follow soon, so that you will be able to start organizing participation in your respective countries.

We will present the importance of bees and bee products to the Pope and ask him to do his best to help us raise awareness in the world about the importance of bees and also about the importance of consuming real bee products. We also want to send a message to the world through him - let's buy local honey!
We encourage all beekeeping organizations around the world to organize visits to the Vatican and be part of a unique event...
We look forward to this very special event and to meeting you all in Rome!

08/16/2026

Yes, I’m double excited to share the news about this up coming event.

08/06/2026

The following is shared from Keith Tignor, Virginia State Apiarist, Office of Plant Industry Services, Virginia Dept. of Agriculture & Consumer Services:

"Annual losses of honey bee colonies remain high in the United States. Results from the national colony loss/management survey found 39.9% loss in 2025-2026 and the lowest number of colonies (approximately 2.41 million colonies) since 2008 (https://apiaryinspectors.org/US-beekeeping-survey-25-26). A continuing concern is management of pests that directly or indirectly affect honey bee survival. Varroa mites remain a major cause of poor colony performance and winter losses of honey bees. Mites shorten the lifespan of adult bees and transmit diseases like Deformed Wing Virus. Sampling for mites in mid-summer is especially important for making timely management decisions to prepare colonies for overwintering.

Join in the Virginia Mite-a-thon 2026 at https://forms.cloud.microsoft/g/gZCW17R1Jr. Mite-A-Thon 2026 is an effort to encourage Virginia’s beekeepers to control mite infestation levels in their hives. Please share this link with your fellow beekeepers to help better manage honey bees.

In sampling for mites, use a standard method (alcohol wash, powdered sugar shake, or sticky board) to assess infestation levels. A description of these methods is available at https://www.pubs.ext.vt.edu/content/dam/pubs_ext_vt_edu/ENTO/ento-332/ENTO-332.pdf. Information on varroa management is available from the Honey Bee Health Coalition at https://honeybeehealthcoalition.org/resources/varroa-management/. The Coalition also provides a decision-making tool and treatment options. Once sampling is completed, enter your results in the Mite-a-thon 2026 survey (https://forms.cloud.microsoft/g/gZCW17R1Jr). Include the locality of your apiary, number of hives, and the number of Varroa mites counted from each hive - or an average mite load - for your apiary. If you have more than one apiary, complete a separate survey for each of your apiaries that are at least 1/2 mile apart. Apiaries within 1/2-mile distances from each other should be combined into responses for a single (same) apiary."

08/04/2026

If you see this nest report as soon as possible to either NCDA&CS or VDACS or notify Hands on Beekeepers to relay your reported sighting.

The NCDA&CS has confirmed the first established presence of the invasive yellow-legged hornet (Vespa velutina) in the state, in Matthews.

Beekeepers are asked to watch for hornets around hives exhibiting “hawking-like behavior.” This behavior is a distinctive characteristic to the yellow-legged hornet as they prey on bees. Their hives are another distinctive feature as they can grow much larger than other hornets nests and have a reddish, muddy color to them compared to gray colored nests of bald-faced hornets for example. Learn more below!

Full info: https://www.ncagr.gov/news/press-releases/2026/07/27/ncdacs-confirms-first-finding-yellow-legged-hornet-state-asks-beekeepers-watch-predator-hornet

06/30/2026

Honey jars and containers are currently available at our Virginia Beach store.

06/04/2026

We have a few extra Golden West Queens from Randy Oliver’s queen line at Olivarez Honey Bees, and they’ve just arrived. Pickup is available only from our Virginia Beach location, with a final cost of $69.00 each. For more details, contact Steve at [email protected] or call/text 757-408-5201.

Golden West Bees is run by Randy Oliver and his sons, Eric and Ian, in the California foothills. They manage a thriving migratory beekeeping operation, taking their hives to almond pollination each year and selling around a thousand nucs each spring, all without using synthetic miticides since 2001. In 2017, while monitoring mite levels, they found a colony that maintained zero mites without treatments, inspiring a selective breeding program starting with daughters from “Queen Zero.”

Every year, they split and requeen their 1,500 hives with daughters of queens from the most mite-resistant colonies of the previous season. From one resistant colony out of 1,500, they’ve steadily increased the number of hives showing full or partial resistance. By 2023, some yards had over half their colonies keeping infestation rates below 2% all season, even in crowded apiaries with heavy mite drift, and without any miticides.

The Olivers don’t breed for appearance but for performance, using color variation as a sign of healthy genetic diversity. They select only queens from colonies that are gentle, healthy, produce above-average honey, and perform well for almond pollination.
To learn more about Randy and the development of the Golden West Queen, visit ScientificBeekeeping.com

05/08/2026

The Virginia Beach store is closed today, except for those customers who have previously scheduled and confirmed an appointment.

05/02/2026

Due to unfavorable weather conditions, the Virginia Beach beekeeping supply store will be closed today.