Sammy's Southern Honey

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West Monroe, LA
Sammy's Southern Honey

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Creating liquid gold for over 40 years.

07/03/2025

🍯 Our 2025 Honey Harvest Is Here! 🍯

We’re excited to announce that our 2025 harvest of local, unfiltered honey is now available for purchase!

Sourced straight from our hives in West Monroe, Louisiana, this year’s batch is rich, raw, and packed with all the natural goodness you expect from real honey - no additives, no filtering, just the pure stuff.

Available in:
16 oz jars
32 oz jars
5-gallon buckets (for serious honey lovers!)

Whether you’re restocking your pantry or gifting a taste of Louisiana, now’s the perfect time to grab a jar (or a bucket!).

06/01/2025

What you’re seeing isn’t just bravery—it’s calm, experience, and timing. Honeybees aren’t naturally aggressive. If a colony is healthy, not feeling threatened, and conditions are right (good weather, nectar flow), bees can be surprisingly gentle—even when crawling on bare skin. 🐝🖐️

Beekeepers learn how to move slowly, avoid strong scents, and read bee behavior. No swatting, no sudden moves. Just steady hands and mutual respect. That’s how you build trust with thousands of tiny lives. And yes—sometimes they still sting, but when you treat bees gently, they usually return the favor.

05/31/2025

When the queen bee moves through the hive, she’s always surrounded by loyal attendants. These worker bees don’t just tag along—they play a crucial role in her care. They feed her a special diet (often royal jelly), groom her to keep her clean, and even help her navigate through the comb. But their job doesn’t stop there. 🐝

These attendants also spread her pheromones—the chemical signals she releases—throughout the hive. This scent tells the rest of the colony that the queen is alive, healthy, and doing her job. Without that constant update, the hive would go into panic mode and might even try to raise a new queen.

It’s a beautiful example of teamwork in nature. One queen. Thousands of caretakers. One thriving colony. 🐝

05/30/2025

Only female honeybees sting—workers and queens. 🐝 But here’s the twist: worker bees have barbed stingers designed to lodge into soft skin. When they sting, that barbed stinger stays behind, tearing part of their abdomen with it. The result is fatal—they die shortly after. It’s a one-time act of defense, a true sacrifice for the hive.

When a sting happens, venom is pumped into the skin, causing a sharp, burning pain. A red, swollen bump quickly forms. For many, symptoms like itching or swelling may last a few hours to several days, depending on sensitivity.

Queens, on the other hand, have smooth stingers and can sting multiple times—but they rarely do, and usually only when fighting other queens. Male bees (drones)? They don’t sting at all. Their sole purpose is mating… and they die after that too.

05/29/2025

That big ball of bees you’re seeing is called a swarm—and it’s not as scary as it looks. 🐝🌳 Swarming is a natural part of bee colony reproduction. When a hive gets too crowded, the old queen and about half the worker bees leave to find a new home. While they’re in transition, they cluster like this around her for protection.

They’re not aggressive during this time (they’re full of honey and focused on house-hunting!), but they do need to be relocated safely by a beekeeper. It’s one of nature’s coolest moving days!

05/28/2025

Just like us, bees need water—not just for drinking, but to cool the hive, dilute honey for feeding, and help with brood care. 💧🐝 After a good rain, you might spot them sipping from tiny puddles or droplets. It’s a simple but essential part of their survival.

Want to help them out? Place a shallow water dish with pebbles near your garden—just make sure it’s clean and easy for them to land on!

05/26/2025

Where you place your beehive can make or break your colony’s health and productivity. 🐝 Bees thrive with morning sun to jumpstart foraging early in the day, while afternoon shade in hot climates (like Louisiana!) helps regulate hive temperature. Shelter from strong winds—like near a fence or natural barrier—prevents stress and keeps bees from working overtime to stabilize conditions inside.

Don’t forget easy water access! Bees need water for cooling the hive and feeding brood. A shallow water source nearby (with landing spots) is perfect. And finally, avoid placing hives in high-traffic areas—both human and animal. Constant disturbances make bees defensive and can lead to stings or absconding.

Microclimate matters more than you think: the right setup improves honey flow, boosts bee activity, and minimizes stress all year round. 🌱🏡

05/24/2025

Even seasoned beekeepers slip up—here are four key missteps to watch out for:

1️⃣Overfeeding or underfeeding 🍯: Too much syrup can lead to comb buildup instead of real honey, while not enough can starve the colony. Know when they need a boost and when to back off.

2️⃣Ignoring mite checks 🔍: Varroa mites are silent killers. Regular inspections and timely treatments are crucial to keeping your bees healthy and your hive thriving.

3️⃣Missing swarming signs 🐝➡️🌳: Queen cells, overcrowding, and reduced laying can all hint at an upcoming swarm. Stay observant—swarm prevention is easier than retrieval!

4️⃣Poor ventilation 🌬️: Especially in warm climates, stuffy hives can lead to moisture buildup and disease. Make sure there’s good airflow year-round.

Mistakes are part of the learning, but awareness helps us grow better keepers—and keep happier bees! 💛

05/22/2025

A brood frame is like a snapshot of your hive’s health—and learning to “read” it is a superpower every beekeeper should have! 🐝 A healthy brood pattern is tight and compact, with minimal empty cells in the middle of the cluster. Think of it like a well-organized honeycomb puzzle—each cell filled with eggs, larvae, or capped brood, all neatly grouped.

But if you notice scattered, patchy brood or random empty cells? That’s a red flag 🚩 It could mean a failing queen who’s slowing down or laying inconsistently, a disease like chalkbrood, or even a sign of poor nutrition affecting larval development. Spotting this early can help you intervene before the hive declines.

05/20/2025

Ever wonder what goes on behind those wax caps? You’re looking at developing honeybee pupae—future workers forming their wings, eyes, and antennae inside the safety of the hive’s nursery! 👶🏽🐝

A honeybee’s life begins as an egg, hatches into a larva, and after being fed royal jelly and bee bread, it spins a cocoon and pupates—just like this! 🐛➡️🦋 In about 12 days (for workers), they’ll chew their way out, ready to join the hive’s workforce.

This stage is critical. Any disruption—pesticides, disease, mites—can harm an entire generation. That’s why good brood care is a beekeeper’s priority! 🧑🏽‍🌾💛

Address

West Monroe, LA
71292

Telephone

+13183879833

Website

http://www.sammyshoney.com/

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