By Blake Shook I began beekeeping like many others: Slightly timid around bees, uncertain in my ability to find one queen bee amidst thousands of workers who all seemed to be doing the bee dance at once, and highly skeptical...
In today’s world there are a lot of circumstances that are affecting bee’s life cycles and habitats. Bees have been dying from a variety of factors including pesticides, drought, and habitat destruction. Bees are not only important for humans, but...
Part One By: Lynne Jones It is said, “If you ask twelve beekeepers a question, you’ll get at least 13 different answers.” Unfortunately, this applies to the question of selling honey as well. In this two-part article, I’ll try...
This article breaks down how much and when to feed pollen patties, how to avoid Small Hive Beetles, and what to do if your bees aren’t eating them—covering the essentials for effective protein feeding.
The "Notch" For beekeepers who use telescopic lids, inner covers are necessary as they prevent bees from propolizing the outer lid to the box. But are you taking advantage of another useful feature of these inner covers? How to Use...
Do the "shake method" mentioned in the video above to make sure the honey is cured. You can also use a refractometer to ensure the moisture content is under 19%. What are the flowers telling you? Are the major nectar...
By: Blake Shook While testing is the ideal method for determining your Varroa mite levels, there are some visual clues of a Varroa infestation. Keep in mind, if you are seeing visual clues, it often means your hive has an...
Topics Beekeepers Can't Agree On! By: Lynne Jones Last month we found beekeepers have a pretty clear preference on bottom boards, the obvious next question is: Which is better, telescopic, or migratory covers? On October 30th, I asked this question in...
By: James Elam Has this ever happened to you? You worked your bees extra hard on that really hot summer day. You made the dreaded summer splits, maybe re-queened several colonies, pulled some brood frames to manage and balance populations...
Happy New Year Beekeepers! Its hard to believe…2022! I remember thinking 2000 sounded like a futuristic space movie from my childhood and that was 22 years ago! Come on… I know I’m not the only one!? Do you think beekeeping...
IT’S BEE SEASON! Can you hear my excitement? I absolutely love making splits and building bees! It’s so easy! Oh, wait. I hear some of you grumbling at that statement. OK, OK … I’ll admit—it wasn’t easy the first few...
As winter temperatures drop, honey bees form a tight winter cluster to stay warm. By shivering their flight muscles, they generate enough heat to keep the colony’s core near 90°F—protecting the queen and conserving energy until spring. This remarkable adaptation allows honey bees to survive even the harshest winters.
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly By: Kellie Lynn Jensen Honey is not only delicious but is packed full of wonderful things that are beneficial to our health and well being such as antioxidants, vitamins, probiotics, amino acids, minerals,...
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...
