Every honey harvest is exciting, but our first is something I won’t likely forget! We’d been waiting and tending to our bees for almost two years… hoping, wondering and (frankly) worrying. But that first taste of golden nectar made it all worth it. Since our first harvest quite a few years ago, we’ve somewhat streamlined […]

When my husband told me he wanted to keep bees I was NOT on board with the idea. When I was 11 years old my dad was stung by a bald face hornet, had a terrible reaction, and went into cardiac arrest. He made it through, but it was one of the most terrifying experiences […]

The more we learn about honeybees, the more fascinating they become. They live not as individuals, but act as a super-organism and they are in every way adapted to live productive lives without wasting time, energy, or natural resources. Here are a few glimpses into their complex world. Of an estimated 25,000 known species of […]

It may sound counter-intuitive, or even irresponsible, to suggest that new beekeepers should plunge full-stop and buy two hives right off the bat. But it is in that inexperience where keeping two hives proves the most beneficial. By all means, if you can only afford one hive, then one is better than none, definitely. But […]

Every visit to the bee yard, I learn something new — either about beekeeping in general or about my particular colonies. In previous years, I have gone four to six weeks without opening a hive. This spring and summer, the longest is two weeks. It is one thing to read about bee behavior and quite […]

I remember as a child finding a small shrub in our wooded backyard with perfectly circular holes cut into the leaves. The leaf had the appearance of Swiss cheese. I remember thinking that the holes were perhaps made by a hungry caterpillar or ant, but the perfectness of the holes was something that I remember […]

About a month ago I had the pleasure of talking with Dave Hunter, owner and founder of Crown Bees, a company that “advocates for, raises, and sells hole-nesting bees that pollinate significantly better than the honeybee.” Dave is very enthusiastic about helping pollinators and has a wealth of knowledge about these important insects. He was […]

Ask 10 beekeepers the best way to remove bees from honey supers and you’ll get eleven answers. As with anything else, every beekeeper has their preferred method for accomplishing any task. In this post, I’ll examine how to remove bees from the super so the honey can be harvested. When a hive is opened, bees […]

The first warm, sunny day in early spring when the temperature reaches 45° to 50°F (7° to 10°C) is a great time to pay a visit to your apiary. This first visit of the year involves primarily a quick check of the hives, simply to make sure they are still alive. A trip to see […]

If you’ve been dreaming about beekeeping for awhile and want to make a go of it this year, early February is the time to get started. It’s easy to place an order for bees from your local beekeeping supplier, but March is the last month to do it. There are so many great reasons to […]

Sometimes it is necessary to feed honeybees through the winter, which can be accomplished by using one of several methods. That is the position we find ourselves in here on Five Feline Farm after two colonies have struggled through the fall with apparent robber bees. A colony of honeybees needs anywhere from 30 to 60 […]

There are generally two ways in which you can raise mason bees. You can go at it with a hands-off approach and let nature take its course or you can take some quick and easy additional steps to ensure a healthier mason bee population. Any help really that you’re willing to provide will be appreciated […]

Every beekeeper longs for the romanticized version of beekeeping. We like to imagine we have an understanding with our bees. A magical connection that keeps us from getting stung. Unfortunately, this isn’t the reality. Bees have good days and bad, just like us and they aren’t always in the mood for visitors! So, what do […]

We have decided what to do with the top bar hive for winter. We last examined it in mid-October to check out how much food it had. There are 14 or 15 full-size combs drawn out. The four in front had each had brood, but were mostly empty when we examined them. There was honey […]

For Northern beekeepers, it is way past the time to prepare for winter, but in the southeast, we still have 90° F days and the goldenrod is finally in full bloom! The weather this year has been a complete downer with it raining almost every day from 03 June until 09 September and then Hurricane […]