We help our annual picnic/ potluck on Saturday, September 19, 2026 at Prairie Lane picnic area in Jubilee State Park (near Kickapoo, Illinois). 22 members and guests were present. Alex with Lex-tra Crispy provided the chicken and vegetarian options. Many brought side dishes and desserts as well.

The food was quite tasty and everyone had a great time catching up (especially since our recent field trips have been affected by severe weather.

I ran a honey tasting station. Everyone go to taste different varieties and I asked them to rank the honey first, second, third. I provided local clover honey, raw honey (also local), Kamahi honey from New Zealand, Rata honey (also from New Zealand), Manuka honey (yep, New Zealand again), and sintgless bee honey from Borneo. I also observed the local yellowjacket wasps trying to sample the honey. However, they ignored the New Zealand and Borneo varieties entirely. I suspect this makes sense because they would have no experience with those scents.

For those who are curious, Rata honey was the preferred honey by most. Second place was a tie between Manuka and Kamahi. Third place was typically stingless bee honey. Oddly, no one picked the clover or raw honey as their favorite (even that is what we all grow up on around here).

I have included a gallery of photos taken at the event. Although I set up the sheets for night insect observing, we encountered a fair amount of rain as it grew dark so I shut everything down and mercury vapor lamps and rain do not mix well. Hope to see everyone at our October field trip.