R&T Bee Ranch
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We are beekeepers in Pipe Creek, Texas focusing on Texas Hill Country honey and hive leases for ag valuation in Bandera and Kendall counties.
We received 5 inches of rain early this morning. The creek was dry yesterday. It’s flowing today.
Queen Bee Stories:
Is that a queen bee there on that wooden block? That was the question I asked on my morning walk today.
This hive has been insistent on making their own queen. After many hive management strategies, the bees finally thwarted my plans and made their own queen. At least for a little while.
But this hive’s entrance is dangerous for a returning queen bee. There is a family of spiny tree lizards that love to hang out at the entrance to this hive and have a quick and easy snack. I added the block of wood between the hive stand where the lizards hang out and the entrance to give a returning queen a good chance to enter the hive.
However, this doesn’t work if the returning queen lands on the top of the block and tempts the lizards. Which is exactly what this queen seemed to be doing.
As I walked toward the hive, the waiting lizard ran underneath the hive stand. After a moment of cleaning herself, the queen bee went down the wooden block and into the entrance. Hopefully, that was her last mating flight.
06/10/2026
This year's honey frames! We've started harvesting this year's Spring/Summer 2026 honey from our hives. We are expecting to have it extracted and ready to sell by mid to late July 2026.
Getting a few more hive inspections done this week in between the rains.
05/21/2026
Queen cells in the bee colony tell a story that the beekeeper reads. Identifying the different types of queen cells tells us as beekeepers the reason for the queen cell and what the colony is planning.
Bees make queen cells for several different reasons.
• Emergency queen cells (sudden loss of the current queen)
• Supersedure queen cells (replacing the current queen)
• Swarm queen cells (Preparing to reproduce by swarming)
The placement, size, and quantity of the cells help us determine which type of queen cell we are seeing. The development stage, if it’s opened, and how it was opened tell the story of the new queen inside.
Reading the story on the frames helps us work with our bees and guides management decisions.
Taking a moment after inspections to enjoy the hum of a busy beehive.
05/10/2026
I had the privilege of speaking about honeybees with a local homeschool group. The kids asked many great questions about bees and beekeeping. Thank you all for inviting me to share about bees!
05/03/2026
The bees are building new wax and filling it with nectar! It has been a rollercoaster ride this spring. 2026 started out really dry. We weren’t sure if there would be enough flowers to produce enough honey for the bees themselves much less any harvest. The last couple of rains have been a blessing and at just the right time. This week’s inspections showed new wax and nectar being stored in the recently added honey supers.
Synchronized waggle dances.
04/25/2026
It sure was hot ☀️ and humid today after last week’s cool and rainy weather. These bees were bearding. I opened up their entrance and put a couple of pennies under the inner cover. They were going back in by the end of the inspections.
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P. O. Box 63554
Pipe Creek, TX
78063