Austin, TX
Honeybees are having a tough year — including in Austin
Beekeepers across the country are reporting high rates of honeybee loss this season, and Texas is no exception.
A recent survey from Project Apis m., a nonprofit dedicated to beekeeping science, found that American commercial beekeepers lost about 62% of their bees between June and March — the highest rate in almost two decades. In Texas, commercial beekeepers lost around 67% of their bees on average.
Beekeeping industry experts have sounded the alarm that these losses could have a detrimental impact on produce that relies on honeybees as pollinators, including California almonds.
Garett Slater, a professor and honeybee expert at Texas A&M University’s Department of Entomology, said it’s possible some Texas crops, such as watermelons, could also take a hit.
“It depends if the beekeepers can make up their numbers or not,” Slater said. “It’s kind of a waiting game, and we’ll learn more in the next few months.”
Scientists are still trying to figure out why honeybees are struggling. According to Project Apis m., experts at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and university labs are investigating a range of possible contributing factors, including pathogens, pesticide use and environmental impacts.
“The USDA … mobilized quickly to collect samples in California, and we anticipate results soon,” said Steven Coy, American Honey Producers Association President, in a statement shared by Project Apis m.
Michael Minasi
/
KUT News
Austin-area beekeepers reflect on losses
In Central Texas, hobbyist beekeeping has grown in popularity since a 2012 bill gave landowners the opportunity to gain an agricultural valuation on their property by keeping bees — effectively, a tax cut.
Sarah Denman’s business Bee Salty leases and maintains hives for landowners throughout Central Texas. Denman isn’t a commercial beekeeper — she estimates she maintains between 350 and 400 hives, compared to the thousands often overseen by commercial operations — but she, too, has noticed bees struggling this year.
“I have lost more bees this year than I have ever before, and I think there’s a bunch of variables for that,” Denman said.
Denman said she suspects pesticide use may be partially to blame. Additionally, she said unfavorable rain patterns in the spring and fall last year made it hard for bees to build up food stores before winter.
Kat Jones, who works with Denman and also owns her own small apiary, lost about a tenth of her own hives in early March.
“It was a very up and down winter, and that last really cold snap that happened right at the end of February was pretty hard on the bees,” she said.
Tiny enemies
Weather swings in Central Texas can’t account for nationwide losses, but Jones said she believes many bee habitats around the country are experiencing difficult climate shifts.
Slater, however, believes a long-time enemy of the honeybee is likely to blame: the varroa mite, a parasite that feeds on bees and transmits viruses. He said the mites have appeared more resistant to the pesticide commonly used to treat them over the past five years. It’s one possiblity scientists are currently investigating.
That’s why Slater’s lab at Texas A&M is focused on breeding bees that are resistant to varroa mites.
“Even if we switch to a new treatment, there’s always going to be a risk … of resistance,” he said. “So I think the most long-term sustainable solution is always going to be breeding.”
Denman said she believes the increased popularity of hobbyist beekeeping may also play a role in the spread of viruses. It’s great to have more pollinators around, she said — but there are also challenges that come with density, with more bees competing for resources and potentially sharing mites with other colonies.
“If you have an overpopulated area, it’s easy for disease to spread, right?” she said.
However, after around a decade of working with the pollinators, she feels hopeful that bees will bounce back: they’re resilient, she said.
“They came out of winter, a little bit more puny than they have in years past, but I see them recovering and doing a lot better now,” she said. “So I feel really hopeful for this year.”
KERRVILLE, Texas (KXAN) — The City of Kerrville issued a shelter-in-place Thursday morning, with heavy rain causing reported evacuations early Thursday morning. A Flash Flood Warning is currently in place for Kerr County as the Guadalupe River continues to rise.
Around 5:30 a.m., the National Weather Service said a “large and deadly flood wave is moving down” the Guadalupe River.
KXAN First Warning Weather Meteorologist Kristen Currie said approximately 11 inches of rain have fallen northwest of Kerr County since 10 p.m. on Wednesday. The Guadalupe River is expected to reach major flood stage in multiple areas.
Kerr County PIO Lisa Walter said “there have been multiple swift water rescues and evacuations.” Officials emphasized not to drive through flooded streets and to turn around if water covers the roadway.
Evacuations were underway in multiple areas, according to the county, including:
- Goat Creek
- Arcadia Loop
- Lowery/Guadalupe area
- Junction Highway low-water crossings
- Other low-lying neighborhoods
Emergency shelters are open at Impact Church (Goat Creek evacuation point), Calvary Temple Church and City West Church for people in West Kerr County, the county said.
Here are the latest headlines:
Live updates
7:03 a.m.: KXAN’s Kevin Baskar is in Gillespie County providing updates on the latest flood conditions in the area. Watch his update below.
6:37 a.m.: Kerr County officials emphasized not to drive through flooded streets and to turn around if water covers the roadway.
Evacuations were underway in multiple areas, according to the county, including:
- Goat Creek
- Arcadia Loop
- Lowery/Guadalupe area
- Junction Highway low-water crossings
- Other low-lying neighborhoods
Emergency shelters are open at Impact Church (Goat Creek evacuation point), Calvary Temple Church and City West Church for people in West Kerr County, the county said.
6:27 a.m.: Video shows emergency crews hauling boats and rescue equipment through Kerrville.
6:15 a.m. NewsNation correspondent Xavier Walton and his photographer captured a structure being swept up in river water and crashing into a Kerrville bridge. The structure appears to be some sort of shipping container, pushing against the bridge.
Watch the video below:
6:08 a.m.: Kerr County PIO Lisa Walter confirms “there have been multiple swift water rescues and evacuations.”
6:02 a.m.: The Guadalupe River at Center Point is expected to crest at 35 feet, which is the same crest as July 4, 2025.
5:57 a.m.: The National Weather Service said “a large deadly flood wave” is moving down the Guadalupe River.
5:49 a.m.: The Comfort Volunteer Fire Department said it has units in Kerrville and Centerpoint alerting people along the Guadalupe River. They’re helping Kerr County with evacuations along Highway 27 between Comfort and Centerpoint. They said all VFD personnel are OK.
5:30 a.m.: The Kerr County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post that it’s received reports of “street flooding in Ingram, and it’s likely many roads and city streets are flooded as well.”
AUSTIN (KXAN) — As flood threats continue across parts of South Central Texas, Austin Pets Alive! has activated emergency response efforts to support animal shelters affected by the inclement weather.
In a social media post, APA! wrote, “We began offering aid last night, working to secure fosters for 10 dogs in the Castroville shelter, an open-air shelter that sits at the bottom of a valley.”
APA! said the situation escalated overnight with additional shelters reporting flooding. One shelter confirmed that floodwaters reached its facility, APA! added.
Communities overwhelmed due to weather include Uvalde, Castroville and Sabinal.
The nonprofit is asking the Austin community to foster, adopt or donate to free up capacity for animals displaced by the disaster. APA! needs to clear out its facilities to assist the animals in need of shelter.
Here are ways you can help:
- Adopt: APA! is offering a “Name Your Own Adoption Fee” on all animals.
- Foster: The shelter is seeking foster homes for a minimum of three weeks.
- Donate: Proceeds will fund vans and response teams setting up a staging and triage center at the heart of the disaster zone, along with an expanded stockpile of preventatives, PPE and additional supplies.
If you would like to donate, click here.
AUSTIN, Texas — With heavy rain expected across parts of Central Texas this week and flooding top of mind, the city of Austin is proposing to put more money toward flood mitigation improvements in next year’s budget.
The proposal would invest in new flood infrastructure, add staff, and help move flood mitigation projects forward, according to city leaders. Austin City Councilmember Ryan Alter said the investments are aimed at keeping the city prepared for future flooding.
Residents who live near waterways say they have seen how quickly conditions can change. David Haderspeck, who lives near Shoal Creek, said the creek “fills up pretty fast” and “gets a lot higher than you’d expect.” He said he has watched the water rise dramatically after rain.
“I’ve seen it come up probably 10 to 15 feet to the ordinary high-water mark,” he said.
This week, parts of Central Texas, including the Hill Country, are expected to get heavy downpours. While Austin is not expecting the same impacts as parts of the Hill Country, leaders said the city is using this year’s budget planning to continue investing in flood safety.
Alter said the city has the expertise to address flooding risks but needs to follow through on projects.
ALSO| Central Texas urged to prepare as heavy rainfall sits in forecast over next two days
“We have the experts. We just have to put the plans into practice, and that’s what we’re doing in this budget,” he said.
Under the budget proposal, the city would provide about $134.5 million for the Drainage Utility Fund, which helps pay for flood mitigation, drainage infrastructure and watershed protection efforts.
Alter said the proposal would shift more of the funding balance toward building new infrastructure.
“What we’re going to do is shift that balance a little bit more to building new infrastructure so that when we do have large flooding events, we’ve got that infrastructure in place to keep people safe,” he said.
The proposal also adds staff and invests in both new and existing flood mitigation projects across the city.
Asked whether the proposed investments would be enough moving forward, Alter said, “I do…I think we’re doing the right thing and just making sure that our residents have the infrastructure to stay safe.”
Alter said heavy rain cannot be prevented, but the city’s goal is to have infrastructure in place to help keep people safe when it happens.
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