You might not bee-lieve it, but weather impacts honey production.
That's according to Stephen Harrell, owner of Bee Dat Homestead, a beekeeping business in Elton.
Harrell has more than eight years of experience harvesting honey and said he produced the largest batch of honey this season, since he's been in business.
While some beekeepers prefer to buy their bees locally, Harrell said he prefers to capture his own.
"You can buy bees in nucleus colonies or in packages of just bees," Harrell said. "I go out and catch wild bees!"
Harrell houses thousands of bees in his front yard, removes their honey and supplies the community with pure, raw and unpasteurized honey.
While his pints of honey are a sweet commodity in Jeff Davis Parish, he said the weather forecast makes a difference in honey production.
"The rain will wash out the nectar from the flowers and the bees can’t get any," Harrell said. "That will decrease the honey production, but as far as the heat goes, all of my hives are on top of screen bottom boards...they’re screened up under the bottom and they can get plenty of airflow."
Harrell said while he likes to put honey on top of bread or ribs, the ingredient can be used for medicinal purposes too.
"Honey can actually be put on wounds," Harrell said. "It’s been done for thousands of years to help heal a wound, burns, things like that."
If you have a colony of bees near your home or business, Harrell said to stay away from it and contact a professional beekeeper.
"Do not spray them with any kind of poisons," Harrell said. "You’re not going to get them all and you’re going make the bees mad."
Bee stings can be dangerous and deadly.
According to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were 788 deaths from hornet, wasp and bee stings between 2011 and 2021.
That's why you should be mindful of bees that are buzzin' around.
