Beekeepers Blog

Requeening a hive with an existing hive is relatively simple and easy once you get the hang of it. For colonies that have a queen a year or more older, April is a good time to go ahead and get...

Drone honeybee? He’s just a boy bee, right? He’s the one with a mother, sisters, a grandfather, grand -sons and yet not a father or sons. We all know he is characteristically very good at one specific thing- mating! Some...

Requeening a hive is only half of the battle when it comes to getting a hive to accept a new queen! Ensuring she is accepted is critical. Remember to wait at least 5-7 days before checking back after installing a...

By: Blake Shook Unfortunately, it's not uncommon to see an active queen and queen cells. But before we talk about what to do about it, let us first break down the different types of queen cells found in a hive....

By: Blake Shook There can be many signs & reasons to requeen a hive. In general, it’s a good idea to proactively requeen each hive every year before they begin to show signs of needing to be requeened. It’s important...

Re-Queening a Feral Hive By: Charlie Agar - CharlieBee.com So, you’ve captured a swarm or done a bee removal and now you’ve got yourself a wild, Texas hive in your apiary. Congratulations and welcome to the tribe of “Free Bee” chasers!...

By: Blake Shook There can be many signs & reasons to requeen a hive. In general, it’s a good idea to proactively requeen each hive every year before they begin to show signs of needing to be requeened. See How...

In this video, we discuss:

-Maintaining bees through the summer

-August management

-Finding queens

-Requeening

Requeening a hive is only half of the battle when it comes to getting a hive to accept a new queen! Ensuring she is accepted is critical. Remember to wait at least 5-7 days before checking back after installing a...

This 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...

Also read:  How often should I requeen my hive?  How to tell if my hive is queenless  Requeening a hive with an existing hive is relatively simple. Deciding if they need to be requeened and finding the queen is a bit more...

Queens 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,...

First, verify they are actually queenless. Depending on what part of the country you are from, queens either completely stop laying in the fall or at least dramatically reduce laying. If you are in an area that typically remains above...

This topic is often debated, and a frequently asked question. As usual with debated topics, this issue has pros and cons on both sides. I want to share my opinion based on my experience, then outline the pros and cons...

First, does your hive have eggs or larva but no capped brood? If that’s the case, the hive amost likely has a newly installed, or reared queen, and the new queen is just getting started laying. If your hive has...

If you have a laying queen in your hive, verified by seeing her, or you are seeing plenty of healthy eggs, larva & brood, and you are seeing queen cells, there are a few things you need to do.Read “Queen...

Also read: Queen Cells vs Queen Cups  If you read most beekeeping books, they explain that swarm cells (queens being raised in preparation for half the bees & the old queen to swarm away) and supersedure cells (queens being raised...

Whether you are getting a new queen to replace a failing one, or to split a hive, it’s exciting! Keep in mind that most queen suppliers begin accepting orders January 1st of each year. If you are planning to requeen...

Also read: Swarm cells vs supersedure cells A queen cell is simply a cell in which a queen is actively being raised. A queen cup, or emergency queen cup as they are often called, is an empty queen cup that...

Also read: What does a good vs bad brood pattern look like?  A poor brood pattern can be caused by many things. Below I’ve outlined the common causes, and how to fix them: A failing queen- As queens age, they...

A good brood pattern doesn’t mean a whole hive, or queen, is in good health. But, it’s one of the  indicators that the brood is overall healthy, and at the moment, so is the queen. If you are new to...