Beekeeping Today Podcast - Presented by Betterbee
Duane CombsProfile Photo

Duane Combs

Owner

Arizona Beekeepers llc is a family-owned beekeeping operation based in Litchfield Park, Arizona. He is a University of Montana Master Beekeeper and the current president of the Beekeepers Association of Central Arizona.

He says, "We started our company with three key goals: 1) We want to save and increase bee populations and help manage the threat of African “killer” bees in our dry desert environment; 2) We want to produce the best pure, raw local honey possible; 3) We want to use sensors and other tools to develop effective management techniques to help all kinds of beekeepers who are facing an increasingly harder environment and business."

Starting with two Italian bee nucs and using sensor technology, we can manage our hives and still minimize the disruption of our bees; solving a major problem with absconding African bees. Sensors have become so important to us that we have become the United States distributor for Bee Hive Monitoring, so that we can offer scales and sensors to other beekeepers throughout the United States. Bee sensors are sold through our website www.beehivemonitoringUSA.com

African bees are a real management challenge, and part of our commitment to wild bees was to save urban African bees by requeening them to reduce their defensiveness and making them compatible with urban beekeeping. As we could not make the economics work for this model, we have had to abandon this work. We now buy and sell honey, buy and sell bees, sell bee sensors, and teach beekeeping classes.

At our core, our mission will always be to grow bees and help people become successful beekeepers.

June 5, 2023

Late Spring Regional Beekeepers Update (S5, E51)

“All beekeeping is local” so the saying goes. On today’s episode, we welcome back our Regional Beekeepers, all from different parts of the country, to see just how localized beekeeping can be. And how much it can be the same, …

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March 20, 2023

Beekeeping in Arizona (S5, E40)

When you think of Arizona, beekeeping typically does not come to mind. On today's episode, we talk about beekeeping in Arizona with three Arizona beekeepers: Duane Combs, Joc Rawls, and Monica King. Duane has been on the podcast in the …

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Oct. 31, 2022

Regional Beekeepers: Fall 2022 (S5, E20)

This week, guest co-host Jim Tew is sitting in for Kim and we have invited four beekeepers to the podcast to talk about their season just past. We call it our Regional Beekeepers show. If you have been a long …

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July 11, 2022

Hive Heart with Duane Combs (S5, E04)

On today’s episode, we talk with Dwayne Combs about his business Beehive Monitoring USA and the line of beehive sensors, by a Slovakian company manufacturing the HiveHeart monitor. Dave’s business is the US distributor of the equipment they...

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