Got Swarm? Learn More!

Give A Swarm A Good Home

Got a honey bee swarm at your location? MABA's beekeeper volunteers can give unwanted honey bee swarms a proper home. Call MABA Swarm Commander Dave Marshall at 812-369-0401 A.S.A.P before the swarm flies off to its new home. Before you call, please have the following information:How long has the swarm been at this location?What is the exact address of the property where the swarm is located?How high off the ground is the swarm?Is the swarm in a structure or on a tree, bush, fence etc.?What size is it? Softball? Cantaloupe? Football? Basketball?Is there a phone number where you can be reached?Can you take…

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…

2025 MABA Meeting Dates

Resolve to BEE a part of everything exciting happening with MABA this coming year! Your club membership lets you learn, network and socialize. We're excited to present some new programming and events in the year ahead. Save these dates on your calendars and bookmark this site for updates and announcements. Our monthly meetings are held at Peachtree Road United Methodist Church (3180 Peachtree Road NE, Atlanta, Georgia 30305) inside Heritage Hall on the 2nd Monday of each month, except September and December when we hold our annual fall honey show/pot luck and holiday party respectively. On arrival, check-in at the welcome…

Beekeeping Confessionals

Sometimes even the best laid plans go wry in the apiary. Many of us have done things in the bee yard that, in retrospect, weren't so smart -- for the bees or the beekeeper. At MABA's January meeting, we'll kick-off the new year by hearing confessional true stories of beekeeping gone wrong from some of our experienced members. Start your 2025 season on the right foot by resolving not to make these beekeeping mistakes! MABA President Peter Helfrich will lead the mentoring session beginning at 6:30 pm. His topic will be "Going Into Your Second Season (& Beyond)." Our monthly…

2025 Intro to Beekeeping Short Course

The learning curve on beekeeping can be long and steep. Start your beekeeping adventure the right way by learning the fundamentals from MABA’s panel of experts. We welcome anyone who is interested in learning about honey bees, even if a hive is not in your immediate future. Setting up new hives must be done in the spring, generally from March to May. This course is offered in February to give potential beekeepers time to order bees and equipment and prepare an apiary site. Since the course takes place in February, our classroom course does not involve live bees. During the…

Holiday Celebration 2024

SAVE THE DATE! MABA's annual holiday celebration and gift exchange will take place on December 13th, 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM at Manuel’s Tavern (602 North Highland Avenue NE, Atlanta, GA 30307). You're invited to celebrate the end of another beekeeping season with your fellow club members. MABA will purchase some hot and cold appetizers and desserts to share. Club members may buy their own drinks and meals if desired. Bring an inexpensive, fun, bee-themed gift for our annual group gift exchange.To get a head-count, please RSVP here.

November Meeting

At MABA's November 11 meeting our speaker will be UGA doctoral student Ian Collins. who will be speaking about small hive beetles. Small hive beetles are an imported pest that beekeepers in the South struggle with. Ian will cover their history and discuss a variety of ways to control small hive beetles in your colonies including cultural, biological, and chemical control methods. Ian Collins is a PhD student in the Honey Bee lab at the University of Georgia under Dr. Lewis Bartlett. He received his bachelor’s degree in environmental science from the UGA Department of Entomology in 2021, and then…

2024 MABA Honey Show Winners

Congratulations to Julia Mahood (above left), who won Best in Show for her honey confections at MABA's 2024 Honey Show in September. Mickey Anderson (above right, accepting his award from Senior Honey Judge Brutz English) was the winner of MABA's Black Jar contest. Click here for complete honey show results >>

2024 MABA Honey Show Winners

Thanks to everyone who participated in the 2024 MABA honey show. We had a great showing and were delighted to award ribbons and cash prizes to many worthy entrants. Below is a complete list of results: Best in ShowJulia Mahood (confections) Black JarMickey Anderson Light Extracted Honey1st: Julia Mahood2nd: Stephen Geer3rd: Georgia Tech BeekeepingVery Highly Commendable: Debra DeWitt Amber Extracted Honey2nd: Debra DeWitt3rd: Dave MarshallHighly Commendable: The Shanks Family Dark Extracted Honey1st: Lawrence Nieves3rd: Debra DeWitt Novice Extracted Honey1st: Stephen Geer2nd: Peter Helfrich3rd: Georgia Tech BeekeepingHighly Commendable: Kathie NeymanCommendable: Rachele McFarland Creamed Honey1st: Julia Mahood2nd: Debra DeWitt Honey…

MABA Board of Directors

Metro Atlanta Beekeepers Association 2025 Board of Directors President, Web Administrator: Peter Helfrich Vice-President: Edward Morgan Treasurer: Claressa Lucas Secretary: Linda Tillman Past President: Jimmy Gatt Directors: Dave Marshall Charlie Scott Mark Shields Micah Coletti Susanna Capelouto Ana Whitt Sylvia Padgett Robert Buckley

AxxLC @ Pixabay, Winner medal

2021 Beekeeper of the Year – Julia Mahood

Julia Mahood is a Georgia Master Craftsman Beekeeper who has been keeping bees since 2004. She created the citizen science website MapMyDca.com to gather data on drone congregation areas. Julia was awarded the Georgia Beekeeper of the year in 2018. A graphic artist, she designed the Georgia “Save the honey bee” license plate. She is passionate about education and teaches beekeeping in Georgia prisons and is active in her local and state bee organizations.https://gabeekeeping.com/Sys/PublicProfile/28591221https://bees.caes.uga.edu/georgia-master-beekeeper-program/master-craftsman-beekeepers.htmlThe MABA beekeeper of the year is someone who has not only demonstrated and promoted good beekeeping, but who also has served the Metro Atlanta Beekeepers Association…

AxxLC @ Pixabay, Winner medal

2022 Beekeeper of the Year – Ed Morgan

Edward has managed the Junior Beekeeping program for MABA and always goes above and beyond the call. The program remains hugely successful and he has introduced bees to many young people. In addition to his usual willingness to help, he also was instrumental in the rescue of the bees at the Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson airport where he managed the tragedy of dead and dying bees and helped many beekeepers who came to try to help as well.The MABA beekeeper of the year is someone who has not only demonstrated and promoted good beekeeping, but who also has served the Metro…

Give A Swarm A Good Home

Carpenter Bees

2025 MABA Meeting Dates

Beekeeping Confessionals

2025 Intro to Beekeeping Short Course

Holiday Celebration 2024

November Meeting

2024 MABA Honey Show Winners

2024 MABA Honey Show Winners

MABA Board of Directors

2021 Beekeeper of the Year – Julia Mahood

2022 Beekeeper of the Year – Ed Morgan

About MABA

MABA Calendar