Boone, Iowa
About Jamie
I am Jamie Beyer, owner and the guy that gets the stings while tending to my bees at Beyer's Bees. I have lived in central Iowa all of my life, growing up in Jefferson and then moving to the Ames area to attend Iowa State University. I graduated with a Masters Degree in Fish and Wildlife Biology in 1977.
Keeping honey bees has been my passion since 2015. I started with 2 packages in the spring of 2015, and gradually have increased the number of colonies that I manage to 60+. My goal is to reduce my hive count to around 40 hives in 10 apiaries (bee yards).
I have been increasing my hive count by catching swarms - either by using swarm traps (bait hives) or simply catching swarms that are hanging in a cluster. In 2020 and 2021 I caught 32 swarms and 31 swarms respectively. Most of the swarms in both years originated from my own hives. At one apiary, I only had 6 hives but I caught 14 swarms, 11 were caught in the bait hives. So clearly some of those swarms came from other locations.
All of my apiaries are located in northeast Boone County and northwest Story County. They are located in places that are between my home and Ames. These locations allow me to visit my apiaries on a regular basis without additional travel, since I go into Ames every day to do chores at my fish hatchery.
For anyone that is interested in local honey -- this is it. I do not and will not sell honey that is sourced from outside central Iowa.
I also spend much of my personal time volunteering for several organizations:
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I mentor the Ames High School Bee Club - the club has several hives near the Ames High School.
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I am the President of the Central Iowa Beekeeping Association. Please join if you are interested in more information on beekeeping.
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During the winter months I volunteer as a lobbyist for the Iowa Honey Producers Association (IHPA)
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I am the District 4 Director of IHPA.
I have been doing presentations on honey bees since 2018 and if you are interested in a presentation, please contact me on my Contact Jamie page. One my main topics that I enjoy presenting is swarm capture -- either by using swarm traps or by catching the clusters. Another topic is techniques for treating bees for the varroa mite. I will be expanding the subjects that I present on as I develop more knowledge.