November 2025 MABA Meeting

At our Monday, November 10th meeting, MABA will welcome Master Beekeeper Steve Esau. Steve began beekeeping in 2011 with two hives and the intent of making his East Atlanta neighborhood a better place through urban agriculture. Those two hives quickly grew into what is today known as the Little Bee Project. Consisting of more than 100 colonies, the Little Bee Project is hardly little. Steve will share with us his journey to becoming a sideliner honey producer.  Our November meeting will begin at 6:30 pm with a mentoring session. This month's session is our annual Ask-Me-Anything style panel Q&A with…

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Silent Auction

 MABA's annual potluck dinner and honey show is THIS COMING SUNDAY, 9/28. As part of the fun, we'll have both live and silent auctions. On the block this year are offerings including bee colonies, mentoring sessions, and of course Linda Tillman’s famed, highly-prized "Honey of a Dinner" for six. There will also be new and used equipment, including items like: A complete 8-frame hive set-up, honey extractors, full-body suits, gloves, pollen patties, an oxalic acid vaporizer wand, heated decapping knives, plastic waxed foundation, unassembled deep boxes, assembled deep frames, and much more. Everything must go. This your opportunity to get…

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2025 MABA Beekeeper of the Year Nominations are Open

Nominations for MABA’s Beekeeper Of the Year are now bee-ing accepted!Each year, MABA bestows this honor on a club member who has not only demonstrated and promoted good beekeeping practices, but who also has served the Metro Atlanta Beekeepers Association as an outstanding volunteer. Any member is eligible except the club's executive officers who will evaluate the submissions and pick the winner. Additionally, past recipients are not awarded the honor a second time.This annual award is announced each year at our September potluck dinner and honey show. This year’s event takes place on Sunday, September 28th, 4-8 pm, at the Galloway School…

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2025 Black Jar Contest

Do you have the best tasting honey in metro Atlanta? Then put your honey where your mouth is, and enter MABA’s Black Jar contest. It’s just one of many, many honey, wax and artisan categories you can compete in as part of MABA’s annual honey show. This year’s event takes place as part of our potluck dinner on Sunday, Sept. 28th, 4-8 pm, at the Galloway School in Buckhead. Honey show details and rules (READ THE RULES!!!) at our website: https://metroatlantabeekeepers.org/maba-honey-show-rules/

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MABA/GBA Metro Atlanta Region Soirée

The Georgia Beekeepers Association and MABA will host a Metro ATL Region Soirée at the Painted Horse Winery and Vineyard on August 21st from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM. This event hopes to foster community engagement by bringing together beekeepers from the Metro Atlanta Director Region. Registration will close at 5 PM this Friday, August 8. This is your moment to register, if you haven't already - everyone should have a great time. Details below.To sign up for this event, please click here. Registration is limited to one club member and their spouse. We have reserved space for 95 members, and registration will…

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Read more about the article Bee Kills – Reporting
rostichep @ Pixabay, dead bee on back on wood

Bee Kills – Reporting

How to Report Bee Kills If you find a large pile of dead or twitching and shaking bees in front of your hive, they likely have encountered pesticides. It may or may not kill the entire colony, but it’s important to report it and request an investigation. The Georgia Department of Agriculture has procedures in place to process your report and send an inspector to your apiary to investigate.Fill out this online form https://gdaforms.wufoo.com/forms/pesticide-incident-form/Within one business day you will be contacted by the Pesticide Complaint Coordinator who will schedule an inspector to come to your apiary. The inspectors understand that it’s…

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Read more about the article Links & Resources
kie-ker @ Pixabay, silk bee (colletes) on small yellow flowers

Links & Resources

Beekeeping Michael Bush Mid-Atlantic Apiculture Research and Extension Consortium UGA Honey Bee Program (includes Young Harris Beekeeper Institute and Master Beekeeper Program) BeeSource Forum BeeMaster Forum Backyard Beekeeping(PDF), Alabama Cooperative Extension, James E. Tew Books The following are books recommended by the Georgia Master Beekeeping Program.First Lessons in Beekeeping by Dr. Keith DelaplaneThe Buzz about Bees: The Biology of a Superorganism by Jürgen TautzHoneybee Democracy by Thomas D. SeeleyWisdom of the Hive by Thomas D. SeeleyThe Biology of the Honey Bee by Mark WinstonThe Bees in your Backyard by J.S. Wilson & O. Messinger Carril Native Pollinators & Planting Guides Pollinator Partnership eBook: Bee Basics: An Introduction…

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Read more about the article Honey Bee Removals from a Structure
From http://gabeeremoval.blogspot.com/

Honey Bee Removals from a Structure

Honey bees make nests in enclosed cavities. If you see bees coming and going from a hole in a wall or soffit, they could be honey bees. Many people try to spray a nest like this in walls in their house and it doesn’t end well. Besides killing bees and putting chemicals into the earth, when you kill a bee nest that’s established in the walls of a house you can end up with a mess. All the dead bees and brood will smell like any other dead animal stuck in your wall. On top of that, without the bees…

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Read more about the article Carpenter Bees
macayran @ Pixabay, carpenter bee on pink flower

Carpenter Bees

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…

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Read more about the article Help the Bees
Myriams-Fotos @ Pixabay, bumble bee covered in pollen on pink dahlia flower

Help the Bees

You don't need to keep bees to help bees Seek Knowledge Get a field guide to local insects and use it on hikes. It is amazing how a little knowledge and familiarity can dispel a large amount of fear and repulsion. Share Knowledge Let your friends know that these vegetarian honey bees are not out to get them. Rather, we depend on them for our standard of living. Walk on the Wild Side Allow a little wildness to creep back into your yard and garden. Dandelions and clover may look like weeds to you but to bees they are dinner.…

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