Many people do not realize they should provide water sources for bees. We keep our bees in man made boxes. We are responsible for helping them survive. This includes providing water sources.

If you like the idea of getting bees for free then you’ll want to check out setting up bait hives.  Bait hives are just that – a bait or type of lure designed to attract a swarm of honey bees that are looking for a new home.  Prior to the actual swarm casting from a […]

Although honeybees can swarm from the hive at anytime, they tend to swarm most during spring. Sometimes honeybees swarm when they believe they have outgrown their hive. However, other times there is nothing that you can do to prevent swarming from happening. The bees simply have an instinctual desire to create another colony. Here are some tips […]

Capturing swarms is a very exciting way to get more bees for your apiary and it’s much easier than you may have realized.  The reason that it is generally easy is because when bees are swarming and have clustered themselves on a low branch in a tree or bush, they only have one thing on […]

We picked up our bees last week. I always get a little rush of adrenaline holding a screened box of 10,000 buzzing bees. It’s not an angry buzz, just a gentle, busy buzz as they work to protect the queen. They surround her by “holding hands”. Each bee connects to the next until there is […]

You may be surprised by the many benefits of using a top entrance either exclusively or in addition to a bottom entrance in your hives. Check out this DIY piece including a video tutorial.

Last year our colony was doing great! So well infact that we bought another hive thinking that our robust colony might split and swarm. We had an excellent honey crop the year before, and expected things to go just as well last year. Until we did an inspection in late summer.         […]

Each time I open the hive, I risk injuring or killing the queen. Each time I open the hive I set the hive back. The bees have to repair what I messed up! When I first started as a backyard bee keeper I loved to look in the hives. I wanted to get in there every few days to check things out. I did not realize there should be a PURPOSE for each inspection. Here I share some reasons for hive inspections.

Are Conditions Right to Inspect the Hive?
When is the best time of day to inspect your hives? Does the weather play a part in inspections? I would like to share a little of what I have discovered over four years of beekeeping.

With the temperature rising above 50 degrees for a few days, it’s time to do a curiosity evaluation. With a smoker in hand and winter patties in the toolbox, I set out to do a quick inspection while the sun is shining and winds are calm.  I notice bee activity at the entrance. A beekeeper waits […]

After your bees have started going to work in their new hive that you put them in, you will need to check in on them periodically to see how things are progressing. If you installed a package of bees, one of the first things you will be checking on as a beekeeper is to see […]

I have been keeping bees for four years in the Northeastern United States. With a background and career in science, I am always examining things, sometimes through a different set of glasses than others. Up until recently, there has been little research dedicated to bees. It seems as though now as people realize that we […]

Seeing honey bees swarming affects people differently. Beeks start thinking about how to capture the swarm and non-beeks, well, they don’t.  If you don’t have bees then this is for you and if you do have bees you may want to share this with your non-beek friends. I was tagged in a post this morning on Facebook by […]

Guest post by Monica and Todd Warner The outside world thinks that a farmer or beekeeper’s season starts when the flowers begin to bloom or the last frost passes. Where we live, that last frost date is right around tax day in mid-April, but really a beekeeper’s “Spring” begins when that first flower blossoms (early […]

With warming temperatures, you may find yourself mesmerized enough by the increasing hive activity to be tempted to open the hive. But reconsider. There may be another way to evaluate your hive without opening it sooner than you should.