ABA Stinger October 2026 Edition

Table of Contents

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Letter from the President

This year’s Fall Conference followed a tough year of planning for it. We did our best to provide a quality conference, while juggling increased facility cost, travel, and food expenses.  Your board did a great job providing you with a good conference, good vendors, good fellowship, and good food!  We are looking forward to and have already started planning for next year’s conference! 
I am thrilled that you all voted me to the office of President!  My maternal beekeeping Grand Daddy, I know, is smiling down from Heaven with great pride, as I am a third generation, beekeeper, teacher, promoter, and now leader of the Alabama Beekeepers Association. WOW!  BLESSED for sure!
Now that the conference is over it is our newly elected board’s desire to work together building relationships with every local club in our state. We hope to visit, meet together and get back to the traditional values of the ABA!  The first order of business is to build up our membership and make ABA a great place for beekeepers to be together to share ideas, experiences good and bad, gains and losses and be that safe community for both novices and leaders in beekeeping for our state!
Please, if I have not reached out to your local club, if you wish to be added to our list please message me, Allyson.andrews@icloud.com or call/text me 334-799-2254.  We would love to visit, get to know you and let you all know what an important role you all are in the betterment of ALABAMA BEEKEEPING.  THANK YOU ALL and now let’s get busy! 

Y’ALL BEE BLESSED
Allyson Andrews
President Alabama Beekeepers Association

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Letter From the Vice President

I am already working on next year’s Fall Conference. I want to thank everyone who submitted comment cards and suggestions. We are taking a good look at all of them as we plan for the
2027 conference. The honey bar was well received by nearly all who commented and we hope
to make it even bigger next year. Tasting all of the different honey profiles from around the world was a fantastic treat. I love trying honey and was able to taste many of them myself.

We heard your other concerns and suggestions as well and will be doing our best to address those.

Lastly, I want to thank you all for electing me to the position of Vice-President. It is my honor to serve you in this role. I love beekeeping and beekeepers, and I want that to reflect that in all that I do. My priority is to work with our board to make the ABA all that it can be.

I hope all of you have a fantastic fall and holiday season!

Brian de Assis
Vice-President, Alabama Beekeepers Association

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Letter from the Secretary – Apivar 2.0 Concerns

Véto-pharma has released a field update about this issue. They say that they have received
limited observations of these events happening, but they are investigating it.
Here’s what they’ve reported.
● Over an 8-10 year development in controlled trial conditions, they did not observe these
reactions.
● They have not identified anything that would cause these results.
● They have initiated a comprehensive investigation, considering manufacturing, batches,
regional reports, environmental variables, and more. They are working with independent
researchers and experienced beekeepers.

They want to reinforce to users the best-use guidance, such as separating the double strips,
applying only one strip per five frames covered in bees, and monitoring colonies closely after
treatment.

In the report, they recommend evaluating the product on a limited number of your colonies
before using it on all of them. If you do see a problem, they want you to report your observations
with as many details as possible to the following email: pv@vetopharma.com
Information and details that will help:
● Contact details
● treatment date
● colony strength before treatment
● mite levels
● queen status
● brood condition
● weather conditions
● hive configuration and ventilation
● any treatments used before or during treatment
● photographs and video if possible

This information has been paraphrased from a flyer sent out on September 28, 2026 by Véto-pharma. You may find more information on their website shown below.

https://www.veto-pharma.com/beekeeping-products/apivar-2-0-varroa-treatment/

Amy Seiber, Secretary

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Letter from the Treasurer

As we go into the fall and winter months be sure to check your hives to make sure they have enough food to survive the upcoming cold temperatures. If they are low on resources, you can feed them simple sugar syrup, sugar bricks, winter patties or fondant.

I hope to see you all at the ACES Symposium in the spring.

David Goodson, Treasurer -Elect

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2026 Beekeeper of the Year

Jack Chapman is a second generation beekeeper from Calhoun County Alabama. He started beekeeping in 1980 while still working a public job. Once he retired, he expanded his beekeeping operation to well over 200 colonies scattered all over the Calhoun County area. Jack helped found the Northeast Alabama Beekeeper Association and is still an active member currently serving as Treasurer. He has served four terms as President of that association as well as Vice President.

Over the years Jack has helped multiple beekeepers get started. Many of the current beekeepers in Calhoun County and Northeast Alabama Beekeepers Association were mentored by Jack. He held yearly beekeeping workshops at his farm to help new beekeepers learn the craft. A walking library of bee knowledge, even now he is always available to help someone advance their knowledge of beekeeping. His unselfish approach has allowed Jack to always be ready to help a new or seasoned beekeeper whether they need help with their bees, bee equipment or a little encouragement. His craftsmanship was so adored that beekeepers from all over the county would purchase bee hives from him.

Left: Dr, James Tew, David Ellis, Jack Chapman. Upper Right: Jack Chapman, Renea Chapman, Ronald Chapman. Lower Right: Jack Chapman, Ronald Chapman, David Goodman, Brian de Assis

For many years you could find Jack’s honey all over stores in the Calhoun County area. Multiple times he took hives to local schools and gave talks to enlighten young students in the wonderful world of beekeeping. He has often said “bees get in your blood, once you work with them you fall in love and enjoy being a small part of their world.”

Beekeeping is Jack’s passion to this day. He could work his bee yards for hours just listening to the bees buzzing, inspecting their hives, and trying to keep the hives clean. He often would tell people, “you can try whatever, but the bees are going to do what they want to do”. He never meets a stranger in the beekeeping community, often giving advice or help when needed.

Jack Chapman epitomizes the Beekeeper envisioned by A. I. Root, the kind of man that works for God and Neighbors and wants to leave the beekeeping world better than he found it. At 84 years old, he still enjoys working his honeybees, helping people get started, and sharing his knowledge. We think A.I. Root would approve this recognition of Jack Chapman today. 

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October in the Bee Yard: Finish Well, Then Look Back

By October, much of our beekeeping work is winding down. Before we put the season
behind us, it’s worth making one final pass through the yard. Do the colonies have
enough food? Are they strong enough for the space they occupy? What do our mite
counts and queen assessments tell us? Write down what each colony needs while there
is still time to act.

Then pull out the notes from the rest of the year. A good set of notes helps us see more
than what’s happening in a hive today. When did nectar and pollen come in, and when
did they slow down? Which yards produced well, and which ones struggled? Did the
yard layout make our work easier, or do we need to change access, spacing, or
placement next year?

Look at the bees themselves, too. Which colonies showed the strength, temperament,
and other characteristics you want more of? Which ones make you think it’s time to
bring better genetics into the yard? Review your mite counts alongside the treatments
you used. What worked, and could a change in timing help you stay ahead of mites next
season?

I also like to ask what I set out to do this year, what I actually accomplished, and what
got pushed aside. Those answers give us a starting point for next year’s goals. Maybe
you want to improve your queen evaluations, learn more about local plants, keep better
records, or spend time working bees with someone who has a different approach.
That last goal matters. Our beekeeping community gives us people to learn from and
people we can help in return. The relationships we build become a support system
when a season gets difficult, and encouragement to keep improving when things go
well. Show up at a club meeting, invite another beekeeper into your yard, or share
something you learned this year.

One of my favorite parts of beekeeping is watching God’s creation and seeing how well
its parts work together. I think we can carry some of that into the way we treat one
another. As you finish your October checklist, take time to look back, make a plan, and
find a way to grow alongside your fellow beekeepers next year.

Brandon Hargraves
State Apiary Inspector
AL Dept of Agriculture and Industries
1445 Federal Drive
Montgomery, AL 36107-1123
334-922-8996

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Op-Ed: It Was The Honey Bee That Brought Us Here

Fourteen years ago, I attended my first Alabama Beekeepers Association conference.
I didn’t go because I was interested in boards, bylaws, elections, policies, or association politics. I went because I was fascinated by honeybees. I wanted to learn more about them, become a better beekeeper, meet people who shared that interest, and probably figure out just how much I didn’t yet know.
It was the honeybee that brought me to the ABA, I suspect the same is true for most of us.
We have come through a challenging season as an association. There have been disagreements,
strong opinions, and at times some hard feelings. I have certainly expressed some strong opinions of my own, and I accept my share of responsibility for some of what has gone on.
But now we have a choice about where we go from here.
First, I want to congratulate all of our newly elected officers and directors. They have stepped
forward and volunteered to serve this association, and I believe we should give them the
opportunity to do exactly that.
I am also honored to have been elected to represent the Central Region on the ABA Board of
Directors. I appreciate the confidence placed in me, but I also recognize that there is a lot of work
to be done. I don’t expect everyone to agree with me, and frankly, they shouldn’t.
Ask me questions. Challenge my thinking. Tell me when you believe I am wrong. Hold me
accountable. I promise to do my best to listen.

I also want to offer a special thank-you to Bill Elliott and Scott Lucas, who are leaving the board after each completing two three-year terms. Six years of volunteer service deserves our recognition and appreciation. I also want to thank outgoing President Hal Hendrix for his service and for the time and responsibility that come with leading a statewide association. Many ABA members don’t see what goes on behind the scenes at our conference. For better than a decade, Hal has been the epitome of a volunteer. I wonder how many Boston Butts he has smoked for the association over the years? Thanks again Hal!
As a new chapter begins, I hope we remember something important:

The ABA is much bigger than its Board of Directors.

The real strength of this association is found throughout Alabama. It is in our local clubs. It is in bee yards and classrooms. It is in experienced beekeepers helping beginners inspect their first colony. It is in somebody answering the phone when another beekeeper doesn’t know what is happening inside a hive. It is in workshops, field days, club meetings, and conversations between beekeepers.
Our local associations should never feel as though they simply exist somewhere beneath the state association. They are an important part of the Alabama Beekeepers Association, and I believe strengthening that relationship should be one of our priorities moving forward.
That relationship also needs to work both ways.

The ABA needs the ideas, experience, participation, and energy of our local associations. At the same time, our local clubs should see real value in having a strong relationship with their state association. Information should move in both directions. Local clubs should know what is
happening at the state level, and the Board of Directors should hear what is happening around the tables at local club meetings.
We should encourage our local associations to participate, bring us their ideas, send us their
concerns, share their successes, and tell us where they need help. And when a local club finds
something that works, perhaps the rest of Alabama’s beekeeping community can learn from it.
That is how a statewide association becomes truly statewide. The responsibility for strengthening
and reconnecting the ABA doesn’t belong solely to a president or a board. It belongs to all of us.
Healthy organizations need disagreement. Members should question decisions. Directors should debate policy. Leadership should be accountable. If everyone around a boardroom table agrees all the time, we probably aren’t asking enough questions.
But there is a difference between disagreement and division. Disagreement can make an
organization stronger. Division can consume it.
We can disagree without attacking one another personally. We can question a decision without questioning someone’s character. And when we have a problem with another beekeeper, officer, director, or member, we should have the courage and courtesy to speak to that person rather than about that person.
And yes, I include myself in that challenge.
We will not strengthen relationships through gossip, personal attacks, or arguments carried out through other people or on social media. We strengthen them the old-fashioned way: by talking to each other, listening to each other, and sometimes accepting that two people who genuinely care about the same organization can reach different conclusions.
So, I hope we give this new board a chance. Not unquestioned support. Not a free pass. And
certainly not freedom from accountability. Give them the opportunity to lead. Participate. Ask
questions. Offer ideas. Volunteer. Attend your local association meetings. Encourage your local
club to become more involved with the ABA. And when something concerns you, communicate
directly.
Most importantly, let’s get back to talking about bees.
There is an interesting lesson inside a honeybee colony. A healthy colony isn’t made up of identical bees doing identical jobs. Its strength comes from thousands of individuals performing different roles toward a common purpose. Nurses, guards, undertakers, food processors, comb builders, and foragers don’t contribute in the same way, but the colony needs them all.
Maybe our association isn’t so different.
We come from different parts of Alabama. Some of us manage a couple of colonies in the
backyard; others manage hundreds. Some are researchers, educators, queen producers, honey
producers, sideliners, or beginners who are still trying to find the queen.
We aren’t going to think alike. We don’t need to.

But we do need to remember why we’re here.
Fourteen years ago, I didn’t walk into my first ABA conference because of an election, a board
position, a bylaw, or a political disagreement.
I went because I was fascinated by a little insect called Apis mellifera.
Somewhere underneath all our disagreements, I believe that is still what brought most of us here.

Maybe that’s where we begin again.

Vince Wallace
Central Region Director
Alabama Beekeepers Association
Cell/Text: 205-339-3318 (text preferred)
Email: wallacebees@gmail.com

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ABA Call for Volunteers

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Congratulations to our 2026 Honey Show Winners

Congratulations to Craig Ramsey for the Black Jar Award

Congratulations to David White for Best In Show and Sweepstakes Awards

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The Work Between Hive Inspections

The harvest ends. The sticky doorknobs live on.

Some of my honey customers are surprised to learn that I don’t harvest honey year-round. In my operation, we may have one harvest a year. Now, granted, that harvest could last a couple of months, but still. The honey someone buys in December might have come out of a hive in May. It is still good honey; the bees simply aren’t filling bottles to order for the holidays.

As beekeepers, we know this. But it reminds me how much of our work the public never sees.

Now that fall is here, there is still plenty to do with the honey already harvested, the equipment it passed through, and the colonies that produced it. A surprising amount of that work happens without ever opening a hive.

People picture beekeeping as someone holding a beautiful frame of bees, perhaps with sunlight catching the honey. I enjoy that part, too. It’s my favorite. But I would also like to submit, for consideration, the bottoms of my work boots.

Wax sticks to them. Then I walk through dirt. Then more wax, more dirt, and assorted debris join the collection until it looks like I have stepped in poop. I haven’t. Usually.

My hive tool is the perfect tool for cleaning my boots—in my driveway, which then accumulates wax, which accumulates debris. Now my driveway looks like a gas station parking lot, too. We’re so gross.

My clothes tell a similar story. During honey harvesting, I touch my face, push my hair back, adjust my clothes, or open a door—and suddenly everything is sticky. Every doorknob becomes evidence of where I have been. Cleaning up after honey production can feel like its own separate occupation.

And can we talk about cleaning frames from dead-outs? Yuck. Ever had a wax moth larva squirt you in the eye? Come on.

Then there are the creatures that appreciate our equipment. Palmetto bugs—I’m being polite here by not saying “cockroaches”—seem to love empty boxes the most. I would prefer that they find another nesting location. Eventually, though, you do become a bit desensitized.

Working outside also means becoming accustomed to spiders, snakes, ticks, wasps, mosquitoes, and a variety of things I didn’t really sign up for. I’ve had those little bumblebees buzzing around me that simply would not leave me alone, and their sting is way worse than a honeybee’s. And it’s funny how my camera roll may have just as many pictures of other bugs as it does my bees.

I can love working in nature and still object to parts of nature crawling up my pants. Have we all heard, “Bees crawl up and sweat goes down”? Add the sweat, small hive beetles, and the constant need to stop for a drink, and the peaceful beekeeping picture gets a little more complicated. Let’s be real. It’s hot. I stink.

Between inspections, I’m washing buckets, rendering wax, cleaning equipment, mixing syrup, assembling frames, counting foundation, planning my days, managing bottle and label inventory, and trying to put things where I can find them again. Sometimes I have help bottling honey, but the rest of this mess is very much a firsthand experience. Honestly, some of it isn’t what we’d choose to put in front of customers. They have no idea. Bless them.

But preparation isn’t all buckets and equipment. Some of the most important work between inspections depends on what I write down while I’m in the hive.

The biggest lie I tell myself in the bee yard is, “I’ll remember.”

I won’t.

I might remember that a colony needed something. Remembering which colony, what it needed, and when I was supposed to return is another matter entirely.

I love the brick method. In my yard, a brick standing upright on a hive means it needs something. And hopefully I wrote down what, exactly, it needed.

Whether it goes in my calendar, in a beekeeping notebook, or in Sharpie on the hive lid, it needs to go somewhere besides my memory. By the way, I’ve found that Sharpie Extreme doesn’t fade in the sun as much as regular Sharpies. POSCA pens are great, too.

Notes made during an inspection give me something useful to work from afterward: what I saw, what I did, and what needs to happen next. I like to use voice-to-text in my notes app because, honestly, typing on a phone or writing in a notebook in the apiary can be complicated. You know—wax, propolis, gloves, and all that.

That matters especially as we prepare colonies for winter. An observation only helps if I remember to act on it. A note also lets me look back and see whether something has changed, instead of trying to reconstruct the last inspection while standing over an open hive.

The bees will keep being bees. If I want to manage them, I have to take responsibility for my part—including the follow-up. I’m a beekeeper, not a bee-haver. I’m managing my livestock. Doing my best to make sure that they are healthy and well cared for.

So, when I spend a day cleaning equipment, organizing supplies, and reviewing notes, I am trying to give that work the credit it deserves. It makes the next inspection, the next harvest, and the next season possible.

Beekeeping includes the beautiful brood frames, the gorgeous honey supers, and the moments when everything goes right. It also includes dirty buckets, tick bites, sweat, and a note that saves me from forgetting something important.

And if you visit my honey room, consider this fair warning: the doorknob may be sticky.

Rebekah Hargraves at B’s Bees Apiaries in Loxley, AL

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An Imperfect Beekeeper’s Blog – A Small Hive Through the Fall

Late August through Late September edition

Hi all!
In our club in Madison County (North Alabama) we’ve been following one particular small, new
hive through the Fall in a series of blog posts. It’s been well received, so now we are glad to
share a summary with you in the Stinger. For better or worse, with all of its bumps and bruises,
we will be trying to get this little group of gals ready for winter.
Come along and enjoy.

MEET OUR LITTLE HIVE
It was brand new this past spring, created from a split made with a swarm queen cell. It hasn’t
had much attention. If I had been more on top of things I would have been doing more to
check and help it over the late Spring and Summer. That’s why this is ‘An Imperfect
Beekeeper’s Blog’. Life happens, and beekeeping is rarely perfect.

WHY NEW BEEKEEPERS MAY WANT TO PAY ATTENTION
The colony was still small when we first began sharing it on the blog in late August.

• 5 Frames Covered by Bees – a solid population
• 5+ frames drawn out with wax
  This hive resembles what many beginner’s hives would look like after installing a package or
  nuc last spring. It’s going to be a very good comparison. For new beekeepers out there, either
  you’ll learn what works…or learn what not to do if my management goes horribly wrong.

VARROA MITE SAMPLING
In late August I did an alcohol wash with a 300 bee sample, and it came out with:

• 2 total mites – 0.7 mites per 100 bees (late August)

That is pretty low. That’s below the 2 mites per 100 bees treatment threshold recommended
by the Honey Bee Health Coalition.
Mites were under control. This hive did get a Varroxsan extended release oxalic acid treatment
back in mid-June, and it seemed to have done its job (results on other hives in the same apiary
varied). It kept mite levels low following the split in the spring, which is how this treatment
works best.
I did not treat further. I did another mite sampling in late September, as things can change
rapidly over Fall:

0 total mites (late September)
Having mites under control really enables all of the other management we’re going to do. If
mite levels were high, this hive would have a lot less chance going into Winter.

POOR RESOURCES
The late August inspection looked at the brood nest frames. There was barely a little fresh
nectar, and barely any pollen band. There were no spare frames of honey, which normally are
on the outer edges of the brood nest. Hefting (lifting) the hive it didn’t weigh much. They had
healthy brood, but all resources looked to be going hand-to-mouth.

FEEDING CAMPAIGN – FEED, FEED, FEED IN QUANTITY
Beginning in late August, I fed with a 5 lb jar (approximately a half gallon) of sugar water (1:1)
through the hole in the lid of my migratory cover. This is my favorite feeding method. I did not
feed using the interior frame feeder in the photos, just to show you what can be done with jar
feeding from above.
The thirsty gals have been taking down that 5 lb jar in about a day or less. That’s

• Half Gallon in 24 hours!
  So over the last month in this feeding campaign we’ve fed:
• About 6 Gallons
  They probably would have taken more if I had kept refilling it every day.

For the beginners out there, the takeaway is that using a pint or even a quart jar isn’t the best
option. Feed in quantity. Find yourself a 5lb glass jar.
In late September the resources stored in the combs have drastically improved, but we are not
up to winter weight yet. The feeding continues into October, when I will likely switch to a
higher sugar ratio like 1.5:1 or 2:1.

DRAWING COMB IN FALL
We started with five drawn frames in late August. All of that feeding that we’ve been doing, in
combination with having a strong and healthy population of hatching nurse bees has led to
great wax generation. There has been white wax everywhere.
By late September we’ve been able to swap in additional undrawn frames, and we are now at 8
of 10 frames drawn.
Takeaway – Yes, you can draw white wax in the Fall with:
a) enough feeding of sugar syrup and
b) a good population of new nurse bees with varroa and viruses under control

WHAT NEXT?
For now, we’re continuing to feed into October. The Little Hive is doing extremely well. We’ll
give a report how all of this goes hopefully in the December Stinger.

For more photos, come follow us on Instagram at:
https://www.instagram.com/madisoncountybeekeepers/

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More Fall Conference Photos

And a note from your President

This is what being a member of ABA and the ABA conference looks like to me most of the time! Working together, fellowshipping together, laughing together, serving together, breaking bread together!   
THANK YOU to every single volunteer within our association and outside our association!  THANK you to the sponsors, vendors and every single person who made ABA fall conference a priority and a success. 
A special THANK YOU to Chilton County FFA and Chilton County Master Gardeners for their help with set up and registration!  It really takes a HIVE folks!
THANK YOU to Foxhound Bee Company for sponsoring our first ever Movie Night following the banquet. It was AWESOME! 

Other highlights were Beekeeper of the year, steak dinner, Door Prizes, and a special treat with our very own Donald Short playing the bagpipes for us in conjunction with our theme this year, America the BEEUTIFUL. Donald played Amazing Grace. We also observed silence during TAPS to remember all of our service folks who have dedicated their lives for our country, as well as several beekeepers who have gone on to God’s apiary in Heaven….WOW I did see a few wet eyes in the crowd!

We are really BLESSED!
ALLYSON

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Thank you for visiting The Stinger. This is YOUR newsletter for you to share what’s going on in your bee yard, your town, your club and your part of Alabama. So don’t be shy. Your thoughts, ideas, photos and “whatever” is always welcome. Email to stinger.editor@gmail.com.