I am a third-year beekeeper in Northern Vermont. My husband and I own a store in a small town where our customers are more like friends and family. I have one friend in particular who comes in every day, a native Vermonter. He’s a farmer, logger, and a beekeeper. My husband loves honey and we […]

1. Don’t get overwhelmed Langstroth or top bar? 10 frame or 8? Plastic foundation or wax? There are a number of various hive configurations and complimentary equipment available, so much so that it can quickly be overwhelming! Bees are adaptable. Pick whatever is in your budget, and know you can always make changes later as […]

Many new beekeepers and prospective beekeepers are urged to join beekeeping clubs and organizations to learn more about the art of beekeeping. Even experienced beekeepers find themselves with questions and want to connect with other beekeepers in the area. Locally, your state’s Beekeeping Association is one of the best resources for you to tap into. […]

Finding the queen bee in your hives can be challenging — even for veteran beekeepers. Some queens are plump and shine like a gold beacon on the frame, while others seem to have camouflage. Not only does your ability to find her depend on her size and color, but her behavior, too. Some queens flaunt themselves […]

Armed with these guiding principles, you’ll be able not only to plan your own space but also to impress friends with brief but impressively knowledgeable lectures on how to plant specifically for honeybees! QUANTITY, QUALITY, AND VARIETY Plentiful supplies of varied forage are essential to help honeybees withstand the impact of disease and harmful environmental […]

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 […]

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 […]

Honeybees work. They work all spring and summer to store up enough pollen and honey for their colony to survive the winter. However, sometimes, their best efforts are not enough and they can end up starving to death if their supplies run out. As you have read, in the early spring and late fall when […]

Bee stings can be deadly if a person is allergic to the venom. If you or a family member is allergic to bee stings and gets stung, remove the stinger and seek emergency medical attention right away. Do not rely on a natural bee sting treatment alone. Use an EpiPen (epinephrine auto-injector) if you have one. Any […]

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 […]

A walk away split is exactly what it sounds like. Split the hive in half and walk away. Let the bees do what bees naturally do. Honeybees are predisposed to maintain the species by swarming. A beekeeper can take advantage of this instinct and control the swarming action by creating a split. This keeps the […]

There are a few different ways to purchase a new colony of bees but packages or nucs are two of the most common. In this article I describe what each is, and some of the benefits/drawbacks to each.     What is a Bee Package?   A bee package is a wooden frame box with […]

There are so many knowledgeable beekeepers who don’t know the first thing about teaching. Despite their passion, the interesting subject matter and years of experience the information is lost on their audience. So, how can we better share our love of bees and educate our community? Read on for some helpful tips on how to […]

You really don’t need to know a lot to bring home your first bees. Just take care of some important basics, and learn as you go.

For the past hundred years, we’ve been keeping bees according to what works best for beekeepers. What would it look like if we began putting the bees’ desires and needs first? It looks something like this…