Video courtesy: Rusty Gomez As you become familiar with bee biology, you quickly learn duties performed by worker bees are done at particular ages. When a honey bee emerges, she stays inside the colony performing house duties such as cleaning...
When a hive swarms, the old queen and about half the bees leave, weakening the colony. You can usually spot it coming by checking for overcrowding, swarm cells, or a beard of bees hanging on the front. Prevention is key—adding space or splitting the hive can help keep your bees put and your colony strong.
I 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,...
It's H-E-R-E!! Experienced beekeepers are well aware of the risk of a stray swarm and have the hives to overcome the loss when it occurs. However, sideliner and hobby beekeepers might not be so accepting. Managing the space in a hive...
By: Ronnie Smith CALLI-POWELL RANCH, Texoma, TX Folklore or Fact Our family has been raising honeybees for three years. We have found the internet and Texas Bee Supply to be invaluable resources. In 2020 with COVID 19 causing limited interactions...
"This past summer a good friend of mine Stan Gore and I did a lot of story swapping and experimenting with the Shook Swarm Technique and found it to be a very useful tool in the bee yard." Why use the Shook Swarm...
By Blake Shook If you have to worry about this, that's a great problem! Keep in mind, when your top box becomes 80% full of bees, brood or honey, it’s time to take action! There are 3 primary options to...
If you’ve ever walked out to find a dead hive and thought, what happened?—you’re not alone. Hive forensics helps you read the clues your bees left behind, understand what went wrong, and protect your colonies moving forward.
By: Kim Townsend Master Beekeeper, Master Gardener - Owner and Chief Bee Wranger at Texas Swarm Troopers Though hard to imagine, would you believe that there are actually folks who have never seen a swarm of bees in “real” life? Sad,...
Navigating Bait Traps By: James Elam URGENT SWARM NOTICE!! NOW until Summer, 2021 12:00 PM CST Thousands or tens of thousands of bees are soon to be on the move as SPRING IS ON ITS WAY! These swarms will temporarily...
I caught a little swarm in December and now an early spring swarm on January 18. It’s kind of unusual behavior, as most bees only swarm in spring or when resources are plenty. “Swarming” is how bees reproduce. A successful...
