We know bees, you can too!
Learn more about the presence of Yellow-legged Hornets in Georgia
In August 2023, the Georgia Department of Agriculture (GDA), in coordination with the United States Department of Agriculture Plant & Animal Health Inspection Service (USDA APHIS) and the University of Georgia, confirmed the presence of a yellow-legged hornet (YLH; Vespa velutina) near Savannah, Ga. This is the first time a live specimen of this species has been detected in the open United States.
The yellow-legged hornet poses a threat to honeybees and other pollinators in our state.
The public plays an important role, and we are asking Georgians to report sightings of the yellow-legged hornet using this online reporting form. We urge the public to be cautious in the event they come across a suspected yellow-legged hornet. If you can safely take a photo of the suspected yellow-legged hornet, we encourage you to do so to assist us with identification.
For more information:
If you see honey bee swarm – a ball of bees in a tree or bush – that means they are seeking a new home. Help us find a good home for these bees – you don’t want them nesting in your house. We will send a local member out to retrieve the colony for a better chance at survival. Please call Dave Marshall at 812-369-0401 right away before the swarm flies off to its new home. Before you call, please have the following information: If you are not viewing this from a smartphone, call 812-369-0401.
MABA Calendar
Sign up at: https://www.memberplanet.com/events/mababc/9302023lostcornerinspectionwithjuliamahood_1
Meetings are currently being held IN PERSON and virtually with Zoom until we make an announcement otherwise.
Meetings are held at Peachtree Road United Methodist Church in Heritage Hall on the 3rd Tuesday of each month.
Please see the Calendar for more details about scheduled events.
Meetings usually include interesting speakers and discussions on a variety of topics related to beekeeping, such as hive management, honey bee problems, honey, beeswax, and other hive products.
Meetings begin at 7:00 pm and conclude by 9:00 pm.
Come early for informal mentoring time from 6:30-7:00
Meetings are currently being held IN PERSON and virtually with Zoom until we make an announcement otherwise.
Meetings are held at Peachtree Road United Methodist Church in Heritage Hall on the 3rd Tuesday of each month.
Please see the Calendar for more details about scheduled events.
Meetings usually include interesting speakers and discussions on a variety of topics related to beekeeping, such as hive management, honey bee problems, honey, beeswax, and other hive products.
Meetings begin at 7:00 pm and conclude by 9:00 pm.
Come early for informal mentoring time from 6:30-7:00
Meetings are currently being held IN PERSON and virtually with Zoom until we make an announcement otherwise.
Meetings are held at Peachtree Road United Methodist Church in Heritage Hall on the 3rd Tuesday of each month.
Please see the Calendar for more details about scheduled events.
Meetings usually include interesting speakers and discussions on a variety of topics related to beekeeping, such as hive management, honey bee problems, honey, beeswax, and other hive products.
Meetings begin at 7:00 pm and conclude by 9:00 pm.
Come early for informal mentoring time from 6:30-7:00
Will update with Holiday Party info
Meetings are currently being held IN PERSON and virtually with Zoom until we make an announcement otherwise.
Meetings are held at Peachtree Road United Methodist Church in Heritage Hall on the 3rd Tuesday of each month.
Please see the Calendar for more details about scheduled events.
Meetings usually include interesting speakers and discussions on a variety of topics related to beekeeping, such as hive management, honey bee problems, honey, beeswax, and other hive products.
Meetings begin at 7:00 pm and conclude by 9:00 pm.
Come early for informal mentoring time from 6:30-7:00
Meetings are currently being held IN PERSON and virtually with Zoom until we make an announcement otherwise.
Meetings are held at Peachtree Road United Methodist Church in Heritage Hall on the 3rd Tuesday of each month.
Please see the Calendar for more details about scheduled events.
Meetings usually include interesting speakers and discussions on a variety of topics related to beekeeping, such as hive management, honey bee problems, honey, beeswax, and other hive products.
Meetings begin at 7:00 pm and conclude by 9:00 pm.
Come early for informal mentoring time from 6:30-7:00
Meetings are currently being held IN PERSON and virtually with Zoom until we make an announcement otherwise.
Meetings are held at Peachtree Road United Methodist Church in Heritage Hall on the 3rd Tuesday of each month.
Please see the Calendar for more details about scheduled events.
Meetings usually include interesting speakers and discussions on a variety of topics related to beekeeping, such as hive management, honey bee problems, honey, beeswax, and other hive products.
Meetings begin at 7:00 pm and conclude by 9:00 pm.
Come early for informal mentoring time from 6:30-7:00
Meetings are currently being held IN PERSON and virtually with Zoom until we make an announcement otherwise.
Meetings are held at Peachtree Road United Methodist Church in Heritage Hall on the 3rd Tuesday of each month.
Please see the Calendar for more details about scheduled events.
Meetings usually include interesting speakers and discussions on a variety of topics related to beekeeping, such as hive management, honey bee problems, honey, beeswax, and other hive products.
Meetings begin at 7:00 pm and conclude by 9:00 pm.
Come early for informal mentoring time from 6:30-7:00
Meetings are currently being held IN PERSON and virtually with Zoom until we make an announcement otherwise.
Meetings are held at Peachtree Road United Methodist Church in Heritage Hall on the 3rd Tuesday of each month.
Please see the Calendar for more details about scheduled events.
Meetings usually include interesting speakers and discussions on a variety of topics related to beekeeping, such as hive management, honey bee problems, honey, beeswax, and other hive products.
Meetings begin at 7:00 pm and conclude by 9:00 pm.
Come early for informal mentoring time from 6:30-7:00
If you are a brand new beekeeper, sign up for a Hive Inspection. I cannot stress how vital this is for your beekeeping education. It is your opportunity to go into a hive with an experienced MABA beekeeper and get your questions answered. Please click the link to choose a date and sign up. This service is free for members.
Looking for a queen, bees, honey? See what members have on offer: https://metroatlantabeekeepers.org/buy-local-honey/
- To view the MABA Bee Neighbor List, the link is in the monthly newsletter for members.
- Sign up to be included on the MABA Bee Neighbor List.
Please nominate them for MABA’s Beekeeper of the Year. We will announce the Beekeeper of the Year at this year’s MABA Fall Picnic.
The MABA 2024 Short Course in Beekeeping is on January 27, 2024.Please share this form with anyone you know, and on social media (Facebook, Nextdoor, et cetera) if they are interested in beekeeping. This event is our club’s biggest fundraiser for the year.
We are in the midst of the dreaded Summer Dearth. It’s the most painful time of year to be a beekeeper. Now, when it so onerous to check your bees, consider planting summer-blooming nectiferous plants that will feed our honey bees and slay the Summer Dearth. Fall is the time to purchase these plants, and January is the time to plant them.
- Basswood (Tilia Americana)
- Winged sumac (Rhus copallinum)
- Summersweet (Clethra alnifolia)
- Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis)
- Mountain mint (Pycnanthemum spp.)
Membership not Required
Meetings are held at Peachtree Road United Methodist Church in Heritage Hall on the 3rd Tuesday of each month. The Annual Picnic and Honey Contest held in September may be scheduled for a different day than the regular meeting day. Please see the Calendar for more details about scheduled events.
Meetings usually include interesting speakers and discussions on a variety of topics related to beekeeping, such as hive management, honey bee problems, honey, beeswax, and other hive products.
Meetings begin at 7:00 pm and conclude by 9:00 pm.
Come early for informal mentoring time from 6:30-7:00
Everyone interested in honey bees is welcome!
Carpenter bees and bumble bees are similar and size and sometimes in coloring. The carpenter bee is not as fuzzy as the bumble and has only a small amount of hair on its middle abdomen. Some carpenter bee species are all black while some have similar yellow markings to the bumble bee but only on their head. The lower abdomen has little to no hair and appears black and shiny which is why they are occasionally referred to as black bees. The carpenter bee also has hairier back legs than the bumble bee which, like honey bees, has special structures called pollen baskets to carry pollen back to its nest.
Metro Atlanta Beekeepers Association is a club for honey bee keepers. There’s really no such thing as “keeping” or “moving” carpenter bees, but here is some basic information if you’re concerned about carpenter bees in your home.
Freshly stained/painted wood doesn’t attract carpenter bees. There’s a brief page on them in this booklet published by the USDA that refers to this:
https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5306468.pdf —scroll down to page 10
People report diminished carpenter bee activity on freshly sealed or painted wood.
A great natural solution is to nail up (in an unobtrusive place) a 2 x 4 section of untreated lumber- it can be under your deck or anywhere that isn’t going to be an eyesore. The carpenter bees will eat that up and leave your house alone. If it’s a large log house or deck, nail up several.
You can also try spraying peppermint oil solution on the spots where the bees are drilling in your wood and that will deter them in a less toxic way. (If you can reach their holes, put toothpaste in them.) You may have to keep applying it in the springtime, but after breeding season activity will fall off.
Carpenter bees are great pollinators and are not aggressive to humans and pets. We encourage you to try some peppermint spray, or else seal/paint the wood, or, if the integrity of the structure isn’t at risk, just leave them bee. These are very gentle bees and not likely to sting anyone. The pesticides that an exterminator uses for carpenter bees does kill honey bees.
