CLINTON – Mauricka McKenzie didn’t grow up imagining he’d become a beekeeper one day.
By profession, he is a civil engineer and president of Cornerstone Engineering, LLC, in Clinton.
“I love it so much out here,” Mauricka McKenzie said about his honey bees at Kickapoo Honey on Friday, June 12, 2026, in Clinton. “Sometimes, I just come out here, sit and talk to my bees.” Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi TodayHis path to beekeeping began in one of those subtle, unexpected ways: as a casual, out-of-the-blue suggestion from a friend after McKenzie purchased acreage along Kickapoo Road in rural Clinton that was once a pecan orchard.
“I thought, ‘I’ll rejuvenate this pecan farm.’ Sell pecans,’” McKenzie said. “But Mother Nature had other ideas. Those trees just weren’t producing like I knew they could. One day, a friend of mine said, ’Get you some honey bees.’”
For McKenzie, that planted a seed.
“I liked the idea of it,” said McKenzie. “Honey bees.”
Even now, the thought of those first inklings makes him smile. And Kickapoo Honey was born.
“So I started doing the research. I learned about types of honey bees, cross-pollination, which flowers attract bees and the honey they produce. My bees are Italian honey bees. They’re gentle and famously industrious,” he explained. “They’re known for their calm temperament and steady honey production. Ideal for Mississippi’s long, warm seasons.”
Kickapoo Honey worker bees deconstruct a damaged queen cell containing new queen larvae, Friday, June 12, 2026, in Clinton. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today“My first year, I started with two nucs, consisting of a queen and ten thousand bees,” McKenzie said. “My bees did pretty good and I realized how much I loved being out here. They fascinate me and I admit, I’ve become a bit obsessed. I also planted a couple of acres of wildflowers and white clover.”
Nucs, pronounced “nukes,” is short for nucleus colonies of bees. They are “starter” beehives and are the most popular way for people to begin their journey into beekeeping. Italian honey bees, like McKenzie’s, have been prized in American apiaries since the 1850s.
By year two, McKenzie had grown his apiary, a bee yard, to six nucs and had successfully caught two swarms, producing 10-15 gallons of honey. However, disaster struck in his third year. Mites decimated nearly half his hives.
“That was unexpected and kind of scary, and I knew I had to do more research,” he said. “I learned a lot online and from other beekeepers like Mack Busby in Soso. He’s been a beekeeper for ages. I treated my bees, saving those the mites hadn’t reached.”
Beekeepers treat their bees against mites using miticides – organic acids such as formic acid and oxalic acid, or synthetic chemicals used in vaporizers. A popular, nontoxic method is dusting bees with powdered sugar. Bees groom themselves and other bees. Powdered sugar compels bees to groom, which rids them of mites before the mites can attach.
An Italian honey bee from Kickapoo Honey gathers pollen and nectar from a white clover blossom, Friday, June 12, 2026, in Clinton. Kickapoo Honey’s spring honey is produced by honey bees gathering pollen and nectar from white clover. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi TodayOut at his farm, McKenzie spotted a swarm trap he’d placed in a nearby tree, covered in hundreds of honey bees. He explained how he traps wild bees or bees that have swarmed from his own hives by tricking them.
“See all these bees on the outside of the trap? That tells me the box is full and it’s time to move these bees to a hive,” he said. “For the trap, what I do is soak a cotton ball with lemongrass oil. It smells similar to a queen bee’s pheromone. A scout bee picks up the scent and alerts other bees to my box.”
He donned a beekeeper’s suit and ignited the contents of his smoker before heading to the hives. McKenzie took a moment to survey his hives, watching his honey bees zip to and fro to gather pollen and nectar before returning to the hives.
“The smoke doesn’t hurt them,” McKenzie said. “It just blocks their pheromone signals to attack. They’ll tell you what they need if you pay attention.”
Kickapoo Honey’s fall honey, left, and spring honey from white clover are shown Friday, June 12, 2026, in Clinton. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi TodayHe checked on a frame covered in bees and honey.
“Sometimes, I come out here and just sit and talk with them. It’s calming listening to them, their rhythmic hum. And their honey boosts immune systems by providing antioxidants. You know, a lot can be learned from that hive mentality. It teaches how to work together for a common goal, for the good of the family.”
This bear of a man doused his smoker, and sat on a bucket watching as his tiny honey bees covered his outstretched, gloved hand.
“You see, they don’t panic. They just work,” McKenzie beamed. “They love the white clover I planted out here, and they make the most delicious raw spring honey. My busy li’l bees turn fall wildflowers into a darker, richer honey, but the spring honey is my favorite and really popular with customers.”
This is the honey that is building Kickapoo Honey’s reputation: clean, light and unmistakably tied to the land.
Contact Kickapoo Honey: 600 E. Northside Drive, Clinton. The honey store is open 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday. Before you go, call to be certain someone is at the store: 601-946-4450.
“All these bees on the outside of my bait box tells me the box is full and it’s time to relocate these bees to a hive,” said Kickapoo Honey owner Mauricka McKenzie, Friday, June 12, 2026, in Clinton. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today Kickapoo Honey owner Mauricka McKenzie shares bee ambrosia or bee bread, a mixture of pollen, honey and bee digestive enzymes with a worker bee, Friday, June 12, 2026, in Clinton. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today Kickapoo Honey owner Mauricka McKenzie discovers multiple queen cells, (the tan, nut-like structures), in one of his hives. The queen cells are a sign that the current queen is old and not producing as many eggs as she once did. The yellow substance on the tool is bee ambrosia or bee bread, a mixture of pollen, honey and bee digestive enzymes. It is used to feed larvae and young worker bees, Friday, June 12, 2026, in Clinton. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today A curious drone bee, right, noses around a damaged queen cell containing new queen larvae, Friday, June 12, 2026, in Clinton. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today A cotton ball soaked with lemongrass essential oil attracted these wild honey bees to a swarm trap or bait box. The scented oil mimics pheromones released by scout bees that will attract the rest of the colony to the trap location, Friday, June 12, 2026, in Clinton. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today Kickapoo Honey worker bee gathers pollen from a white clover blossom, Friday, June 12, 2026, in Clinton. Kickapoo Honey’s spring honey is produced by honey bees gathering pollen and nectar from white clover. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today Kickapoo Honey owner Mauricka McKenzie uses a smoker at one of his hives effectively masking the warning signals from guard bees to attack a perceived threat to the hive, Friday, June 12, 2026, in Clinton. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today A smoker is used to mask warning signals from guard bees to attack a perceived threat to the hive, Friday, June 12, 2026, in Clinton. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today Kickapoo Honey owner Mauricka McKenzie pulls a frame from a hive to check on his bees, Friday, June 12, 2026, in Clinton. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today Italian honey bees tend to cells in their hive at Kickapoo Honey, Friday, June 12 2026, in Clinton. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today Kickapoo Honey owner Mauricka McKenzie shows a frame of honey bees pulled from one of his bee hives, Friday, June 12, 2026, in Clinton. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today Kickapoo Honey owner Mauricka McKenzie scrapes away old honeycomb because over time, beeswax degrades and exposes the hive to toxins and diseases, Friday, June 12, 2026, in Clinton. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi TodayHence then, the article about sweet as kickapoo honey civil engineer finds harmony as a beekeeper was published today ( ) and is available on Mississippi Today ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
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