Table of Contents
Letter from the President
I hope everyone has had a successful bee season as we wind down this year. It has been a interesting year for Beekeepers across the State. It started out wet, wet, and wet and it seemed like nothing was going to produce nectar. Then everything seemed to come in all at once. Following that the drought moved in and now we are all hoping for just enough rain to kick off a fall flow. But as all beekeepers do, we do what we have to do keep our bees going. I hope everyone is thinking towards spring already; checking honey stores and treating their hives.
To everyone that came to the ABA fall conference, I thank you and hope you all had a great time. To those that didn’t make it I hope to see you next year. I want to thank this year’s Board of Directors for coming together year long to plan the conference. You all did a great job. To all the volunteers that put in hours of your time to help your Board present a good conference, your time did not go unnoticed, and we could not have done it without you.
Finally I want to thank everyone that attended the conference, you are the most important part of the event.
May God bless you and your bees all.
Hal Hendrix
President ABA
Letter From the Vice President
WOW what an AMAZING fall Conference! Thank you for allowing me to plan and prepare for our 2025 Conference! Thank to everyone for your help setting up, IT for designing the program, many others for working our ABA store, kitchen help, those who taught break out classes and also to everyone attended! Attendance was great! Please let me know if you have any thoughts or ideas for next years conference! We will bee announcing our 2026 fall key note speakers in January and will start planning for another year of fabulous break out sessions!
A special congrats to Roslyn Horton who is our 2025 BEEKEEPER of the YEAR! It was a honor to bee able to receive her plaque for her in her absence due to her precious Mamas health. We love you ROS and are so thankful for all that you do for the love of beekeeping!
The HONEY show was very well visited this year a special thanks to all who entered, judged, and to our show secretary! Congrats to all who won! keep on entering!
We are finally heading into fall with some cooler temps! Pull your fall honey, treat your bees for mites, tighten up their hives and get prepared for winter – they say it’s coming!
A very special thanks to Jerry Hayes who is giving our fall Conference attendees a discount on Bee Culture magazine.
Ya’ll BEE BLESSED!
Allyson A. Andrews
Letter from the Secretary
Hello, I hope you have had a great year of beekeeping! I know that I wrote about Foxhound Bee Company in the last issue, but I want you to know that the old location in downtown Birmingham has officially closed, and we are hoping to set up and open the new location by the end of October.
Please come see it! Adam Hickman has big dreams for the Alabama Beekeeping Community, and this store will be a landmark. Unlike the old location, we will have heat, air conditioning, and running water, as well as twice the retail space, more selections, a classroom/event room that you can rent, a honey extraction room that can be rented, a pollinator garden, and so much more. It’s really designed well. I’ve never seen anything like it.
I started working at Foxhound after retiring from teaching in 2021, and it has been an amazing journey so far. I learn things every day that I’m there for both customers and co-workers. I get to be around a diverse group of very interesting and curious people. I had heard about Adam selling things out of the back of his truck before I ever knew him, and to see what he’s created just in the time I’ve known him is extremely impressive. I expect that I won’t be disappointed in the next few years either!
Get ready- 2026 is going to be a really great year for beekeeping in Alabama!
Amy Seiber, Secretary
2025 ABA Honey Show Results
Please use the scroll bar on the right side to see both pages
David and Lori White of Phenix City with Black Jar, Best of Show Ribbons and Grand Champion Ribbons.
“Thank You” Seems Hardly Adequate
On Thursday, Sept. 18, I woke up excited as my priorities that day were to complete a few farm chores, then hit the road to Clanton for the Fall Conference.
God knew differently. Mid morning I received word that my mother was in the emergency room for the third time within a week and about to be taken to ICU. She was five hours away I was the only one in the family that could drop everything and go.
Time seems to stand still in a hospital. It’s like you’re doing nothing and everything all at once. All your energy is focused on the wellbeing of another person, whether you’re doing small tasks they can’t do for themselves or hanging on to every word a health provider speaks trying to understand what’s taking place, and what may be next.
That’s where my head was on Saturday morning during the ABA business meeting. I was knee deep trying to get Mom to eat Jello when my phone started blowing up congratulatory texts. Don’t laugh at me . . . all I could think was, “Are they smoking crack down there?” Nothing made sense till our Vice President sent this photo:
Flabbergasted would be the best word to describe my reaction. It had been a bit of work to compile the list of Beekeeper of the Year recipients that was published in the previous Stinger. To have my named added to that list . . . well, I’m still wrapping my head around it. I have looked up to those men and ladies (I love you, Allyson!) for many, MANY years and never thought of myself in the same league as I’ve always considered them role models.
So I guess this is my acceptance speech. To say I am humbled is an understatement and my heart’s desire is to be worthy of this honor going forward.
I love you all,
Ros Horton
VIP Department of Agriculture Updates for October 2025
Two-Spot Cotton Leafhopper Confirmed in Alabama: What Beekeepers Need to Know
Professionals with the Alabama Cooperative Extension System have recently confirmed the presence of the invasive two-spot cotton leafhopper (also called the cotton jassid) in Alabama cotton fields.
Why This Matters to Beekeepers
Honey bees commonly visit cotton blooms to collect nectar and, at times, honeydew from aphids. Some beekeepers place colonies near cotton fields to build honey stores for harvest or winter feed, while others live in agricultural areas where cotton is a major crop.
To control the jassid, farmers are applying Bidrin (active ingredient: dicrotophos), a systemic organophosphate pesticide. Unfortunately, organophosphates are highly toxic to honey bees. When spraying coincides with cotton bloom, the risk of bee losses rises sharply—sometimes leading to dead bees at hive entrances, on bottom boards, or in severe cases, collapse of entire colonies.
Steps Beekeepers Can Take
- Avoid field edges: Place hives as far as possible from cotton field perimeters.
- Use natural cover: Position colonies under trees or shrubs, which provide some protection from aerial drift.
- Avoid closing hives: Sealing hives during the day can cause deadly overheating.
- Temporary cover option: For small-scale beekeepers who cannot relocate colonies, draping a thin, breathable sheet over hives may reduce exposure (leave ventilation space at the bottom).
- Feed syrup inside the hive: Offering supplemental feed before spraying may encourage bees to stay inside.
- Communicate with farmers: Building good relationships and learning spray schedules is the most effective way to reduce incidents.
If you observe unusual bee deaths near cotton fields, please report it immediately so it can be investigated.
Phillip Carter, Apiary Inspector Plant Protection Division
AL Dept of Agriculture and Industries
1445 Federal Drive, Montgomery, AL 36107-1123
334 414-1666 phillip.carter@agi.alabama.gov
Packaging for Holiday Sales
If you anticipate lots of demand for your honey at Christmas or plan to participate in any market events presenting your product with some holiday cheer could produce more sales. Most people who buy honey do so because honey is such a great gift, but sometimes that extra bit of pretty produces more sales when people are in a buying mood.
Switching your regular label for a Christmassy label is an easy way to accomplish this on the surface but could easily become an unnecessary consumption of resources for a small producer. The first consideration is time and cost for special labels. There’s also the issue of needing to change labels for inventory left after the Christmas rush.
The exception is if you have the capability of printing your own quality labels as needed. Two companies make this possible – Avery and Online Labels. Both have free internet design programs and both sell blank labels to print them on. Avery is more common as you can get labels from Wal Mart and office supply stores. Online Labels are mail order and offer a wider variety of papers including poly for laser printers. The advantage to poly is that labels aren’t affected by moisture, so dampness is never a concern. Online Labels also offers print service.
The other option to packaging for Christmas is to “pretty up” your regular product. This is easily accomplished with a clear bag or a piece of cellophane tied with ribbon. Drop it in, tie it up and it’s all dressed up! Plus, it keeps fingerprints off your jar. You can add a piece of honey candy for fun or add a dipper. Tulle is another material that allows you to see the product inside. Christmas colors are fun but neutral works too. It’s your product, your decision.
For those of you who make value added products with your honey and beeswax, (cream or comb honey, bath and body products, candles, etc.) gifts sets are a fabulous way to showcase and move more product. Cellophane can be used (shown below) but a basket or box is a great option for this too. The sky is the limit with gift sets and you can make your special collection as large or small as you wish.
If you’re ready to give it a try many items are available locally. Stores like Hobby Lobby and Dollar Tree have a good variety of wrapping items. More specialized products, like boxes with clear lids, can be ordered on the internet from sources like Papermart, ULine, Amazon, and the ever so humble Wal Mart.com.
Here’s hoping your 2025 sales exceed your wildest expectations!
This and That
A Good Tool in your Varroa Arsenal: If you missed the Fall Conference one great piece of information that many will be implementing is that you can mix a “wash” for checking varroa using 2 tablespoons of Dawn Ultra mixed with 1 gallon of water. In the long run it’s more cost effective and it’s supposed to give equal or better results.
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Who needs botox?
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