Family transitions teen's hobby to business

What began as an 11-year-old boy's interest in bees has become a full-family endeavor for the Dukes from Liberty Hill.

James "Bubba" Duke, now 14, has eight beehives between his home and the Heritage Community Garden in Georgetown from which he collects and sells his Bubba's Beez honey and beeswax, which is used to make lip and hand balms.

"[Beekeeping has] been in our family for four or five generations. Each grandfather had more than 100 hives," James said. "It skipped my father, but I decided to pick it back up."

In his entrepreneurial endeavor James' is responsible for the upkeep of the colonies, including inspecting the hives for pests and giving the hive a new queen when necessary.

James and his father, John, manage the beehives while his mother, Meredith, takes care of marketing beeswax products and managing the business's Etsy page.

When James, then a fourth-grader, told his mother he wanted to start beekeeping, Meredith made him write a report before she would agree to help him order a starter beehive and colony.

The equipment arrived three months before the 3-pound package containing between 9,000 and 10,000 European bees did. James had to wait a week for the hive to settle before he could check on the bees and waited a year to harvest any honey.

"You have to save [the honey] for the hive [to eat] in the winter," James said. "You can harvest some in the second year."

The Dukes sell beeswax products online and sell their locally produced, chemical-free honey by the quart, pint or half-pint online and at Georgetown and Round Rock Market Days, held the second and first Saturday of each month, respectively. However, the Dukes avoid selling their products outdoors in the summer.

"It's too hot," James said, explaining that heat can affect the flavor of honey. "Bees [also] find you when [honey] starts flowing in the summer, and it drives customers away."

Orders are taken online, and the family will work with customers to meet up to deliver products or ship orders. The family has shipped orders as far as Afghanistan and China since getting started.

Locally produced honey and bee pollen are considered by some to have a vaccine-like effect against allergies. James said he hasn't experienced seasonal allergies in more than a year since he started consuming his bees' honey and pollen.

Bee safety

If bees are discovered on someone's property, the Duke family suggests property owners not try to remove them on their own.

Bees are very protective of their hive and queen, and anything seen as a threat risks attack by the colony, James Duke said.

"Leave it alone," he said. "If they're in a tree or a house, call a beekeeper."

Africanized bees are known to be highly aggressive. In case aggressive bees attack, submerging yourself into a body of water or spraying a water hose on a person being attacked is a good way to escape the insects.

Residents can contact the Beekeepers Association of Williamson County at 512-863-6798 if they are concerned about a beehive on their property.

Products

Bubba's Beez honey, sold by the quart, pint and half-pint, beeswax hearts, lip balm and hand balm can be found on the business's website. Beeswax products may also be purchased at the online marketplace Etsy at www.etsy.com/shop/bubbasbeez.

Bubba's Beez, P.O. Box 268, Liberty Hill, [email protected], www.bubbasbeez.com

[Correction: The phone number for the Beekeepers Association of Williamson County has been changed. Residents may also contact the Williamson County Agrilife Extension Office at 512-943-3300 regarding a beehive on their property.]