Honeybees act as nature's Cupid, spreading love from flower to flower via pollen and buzzing the tunes of Boyz II Men songs. Harvest the nectar of amorous blooms with today's Groupon: for $39, you get one 90-minute intro to beekeeping class at Round Rock Honey, located in Round Rock (a $125 value). Producers of the best honey in 2008 according to the Dallas Observer, Round Rock Honey sells 100% natural honey that’s culled from local wildflowers and trains budding beekeepers how to tame honey-bearing bugs for residential use. The 90-minute beekeeping class—featured in the American-Stateman—imparts nectar neophytes with honey-harvesting basics, including an introduction to bees, hive handling, and how to whistle the “Flight of the Bumblebee” with a mouth full of honey. Students keen on cultivating their own liquid gold will learn how to keep bees through changing seasons and safeguard their swarm from disease and parasites. Finally, participants get to don full beekeeper's garb (suits are provided) and gain hands-on experience at Round Rock's on-site apiary, conducting buzzing swarms of worker bees, even while the queen bee is on a diplomatic mission to discuss trade relations with Vladimir Putin. Beekeeping pupils should protect sting-attracting appendages by wearing blue jeans, a long-sleeve shirt, and boots or other ankle-covering shoes. Classes for 2011–12 are available May 7, 8, 14, 15, 21, 22, 28, and 29; and June 4 and 5. Classes are held Saturdays at 3 p.m., 5 p.m., or 7 p.m., and Sundays at 11 a.m., 1 p.m., or 3 p.m.
Round Rock Honey
Named Best Honey in 2008 by the Dallas Observer, Round Rock Honey's 100% natural local wildflower honey is harvested from more than 90 sites by owners Konrad and Elizabeth Bouffard and their crews of trained beekeepers. With precision, they remove the liquid gold from hives by centrifuge, ensuring that pollen, trace minerals, and complex sugars are never compromised during the honey harvest. They then pour the honey through a stainless-steel sieve to remove potential bee legs and wings, wax caps, and miniature tiaras before bottling it and selling it to specialty stores, farmer's market visitors, and online customers.
A similar procedure happens in other parts of the country at Round Rock's beekeeping schools. During classes, Konrad Bouffard and Beekeeping Academy teachers impart their beekeeping knowledge upon suited-up students while they extract honey from a live beehive. Along the way, novices learn about the finer points of raising bees and keeping them healthy, as well as bee handling and lullaby-buzzing.