Beekeepers Blog
RSSSearch Our 100s of Articles, Videos, & Posts!
-
Finding a queen is probably one of the most frustrating aspects of beekeeping! You are literally trying to spot one bee amongst tens of thousands of other bees, all while they run around on a frame. While there is no easy answer, I do have a handful of tricks I use after finding thousands of queens over the past decade.Read now
-
REQUEENING A HIVE MADE EASY
Deciding if a hive needs to be requeened and finding the queen can be the most challenging aspect of requeening. Here is a step by step guide.Read now -
Clipping a queen’s wings- good or bad?
Read nowI don’t recommend buying queens with clipped wings, nor do I recommend clipping the wings of a queen. The theory is that it will prevent a hive from swarming, since the queen cannot fly away with the swarm. However,...
-
Marked vs unmarked queens- what’s better?
Read nowThis is largely a question of preference. It doesn’t generally hurt a queen to get her marked, but it does cost extra, since beekeepers have to find a queen, pick her up, and mark her. It is far easier to...
-
What to do if your queen wasn’t accepted
Read nowThis is frustrating, but fairly common. You introduced a queen to your hive properly, following all the steps in “How to requeen”, but she wasn’t accepted. If this happens to you, here is what to do: Read “How to tell...
-
What Time of the Year is best to requeen Hives
Read nowQueens are readily available for purchase April-September. Thus, it is best to plan to requeen during those months. Hives most readily accept new queens when there is a natural honey and pollen flow, or you are feeding the hive. So,...