The Valley Hive

03/20/2025

The first day of spring marks a time of renewal, as warmer temperatures and longer daylight hours awaken nature from its winter slumber. For honeybees, this change signals the start of a busy season. As flowers bloom and trees bud, bees emerge from their hives in search of nectar and pollen, essential for feeding their colony and producing honey. The abundance of food sources strengthens the hive, supporting new generations of worker bees. Spring also brings increased activity within the hive, as the queen begins laying more eggs to replenish the population after winter. With nature in full bloom, honeybees play a vital role in pollinating plants, ensuring the cycle of growth and renewal continues.

03/19/2025

Challenge your mind and learn something new! will be back this Saturday for another Intro to Kali class in the nursery. Come join us!

03/16/2025

Did you know that honeybees can fly 15 miles per hour? If the honeybees were racing, they would win!

03/11/2025

Daylight savings means Spring is around the corner! Colonies are hard at work expanding and ramping up for the buzzzy season!

Let’s take a moment to appreciate these tiny heroes who help pollinate the plants that feed us all. 🌸🍯

03/07/2025

Kali class with tomorrow at 3pm. All levels welcome! Come learn self defense skills, improve balance and coordination and enhance memory, and problem solving skills. Click on link in bio to sign up😊

03/05/2025

Join us at the hive this month for Kali and Mead Making classes! $35 per person. For more info, check out our bio.

03/05/2025

Mead, often considered the world’s oldest alcoholic beverage, has been enjoyed by people worldwide for millennia. This honey-based drink has a rich history that spans ages, and now you can tap into this ancient art.

Join us for a mead making class and demonstration led by mead maker Madison Newman, where you’ll learn the craft, science, and history behind this unique drink. We’ll cover everything you need to start your very first batch, from selecting equipment and ingredients to the step-by-step process.

Whether you’re a beekeeper looking to put your excess honey to good use or simply curious to try something new, this class will give you the knowledge (and maybe a little liquid courage) so you can confidently brew up your own mead.

And, to top it all off, we’ll finish with a tasting of mead—you’ll leave inspired, maybe a little tipsy, and, most importantly, ready to start brewing!

03/04/2025

The almond trees in full bloom is always something beautiful to see! spring 🐝

03/02/2025

Spring is around the corner and the bees 🐝 know it! What’s blooming in your back yard? Share in the comments or tag us in a post! bees

03/02/2025

Get ready for Beekeeping season! Spring is around the corner and If you’re looking to start a backyard hive this year, jump in to the new session of our six week course which starts tomorrow. We’ll teach you everything you need to know to get ready for the arrival of bees in the Spring so that you can start your first backyard hive!

02/26/2025

Keith Roberts talks to KFI’s Amy King about the alarming amount of honeybee losses facing commercial beekeepers right now. Click on the link in our bio to hear the full interview located on track segment 16:21-24:29

02/26/2025

Keith Roberts and Amy King discuss the sudden and devastating bee losses affecting beekeepers right now Interview on track 16:21-24:29.

Amy King hosts your Tuesday Wake Up Call. ABC News reporter Ines de la Cuetara joins the show live from London to talk about Zelenskyy being ‘proud’ of Ukraine as country marks 3rd anniversary of war with Russia. Keith Roberts from The Valley Hive talks about California facing a honeybee shortag...

02/16/2025

Bees are now available to order for pick-up in April.

02/14/2025

We had so much fun, we’re doing it again! Join us for another Intro to Kali Martial Arts class with Clarrel Pope from on Saturday, February 22nd at 3pm. Be ready for a fun, stimulating workout that will leave you yearning for more!

02/09/2025

We had a great turnout for our Kali class with and can’t wait to have him back for another session. If you missed this class, stay tuned for more details on the next one.

02/07/2025

Severe and Sudden Losses of Managed Honey Bees Across the Nation.

As commercial beekeepers in the USA inspect their bees after winter, to transport over 90% of the nation’s managed honey bees to pollinate California almonds, they are discovering alarming colony losses. These losses are severe, broad, and may impact food security through inadequate pollination services. Survey results are still accumulating, but information gathered from 234 beekeepers found average recent losses well over 50%, with a combined financial loss of over $139M. Combined with losses during other times of year, this additional loss puts many beekeepers at a loss rate of 70%-100% over the past 12 months. The symptoms of loss are reminiscent of Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) conditions which occurred in 2007 -2008 when bees suddenly disappeared from their colonies. During recent inspections by field scientists, deceased colonies often died with ample honey stores, leaving small patches of brood, with most or all the adult bees missing. Another symptom has been the rapid dwindling of surviving colonies, often within ten days of passing health inspections…
Next steps
Samples are being analyzed, and additional information will be shared as it becomes available through social media and updates from the organizations listed below, including:
A free public webinar will be offered by scientists who collected and analyzed samples in early March through Project Apis m. www.ProjectApism.org.
Beekeepers involved will receive updates directly.
Findings that will directly impact beekeeper management, such as amitraz resistance in Varroa samples and clear pathogen signals, will be shared broadly and promptly through public announcements and beekeeping organizations.
Pesticide residue analysis and RNAseq will be shared through peer review publications.
For more information, contact: Dr. Zac Lamas (ORISE Fellow- Beltsville and Field Sampling Coordinator) [email protected] (603) 748-5334
Information provided by:

02/03/2025

Join us on Saturday at 3pm for an introductory Kali Martial Arts class with Clarrel Pope from . Click link on our bio to sign up!