What exactly is Bee Bearding? Is it: A. When a bee collects pollen under its chin resembling a human beard? B. When bees gather outside the hive entrance in a shape resembling a beard? C. Bees who are exceptionally fuzzy? D. Hipsters who keep tiny beehives in their beards? If you answered B then you’re […]

If hive robbing was going on in your bee yard would you know? What can you do if hive robbing happens at your bee yard? First thing? Reduce that entrance!

If you live in a generally warmer climate, you may run into small hive beetles.  These pests are NOT indigenous to North America or Europe, and the European honey bees have some difficulty managing to keep their numbers under control in the hive.  Hive beetles left unchecked will either cause your colony to abscond, or […]

Recently, Anand Varma was asked to photograph the life of bees for National Geographic. He found a local Berkeley beek named Alice Rosenthal who agreed to let him use her hive for the project in exchange for a warm place for her hive to recover over winter. What resulted is nothing short of spectacular. Learn […]

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.

In order to remember what was going on in each of my hives between inspections or even from season to season I find it helpful to use a beekeeping journal.

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 […]

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.

Editor’s Note: This is not a place for ad hominem attacks, but rational commentary and concern. Several experienced beeks have shared their concerns about the Flow Hive setup, even after watching all promotional material. To be clear: experienced beekeepers are on both sides of the fence. We share their opinions below, but that share does […]

This article serves two main purposes: (1) To educate you on what the term means and (2) to show you the definite advantage that one has over the other and why you should know more about small cell bees.

The first picture is a beehive setting on the deck with more than 100 bees lay dead.  This makes one wonder what is going on inside the beehive. It’s late November and just had a record setting cold spell a week earlier.  Waiting for the chance to open up and see what is on the […]

Ants are a common and frustrating pest in the bee yard. Here, I share a few methods which I use for ant control.

Bee stings are going to happen. Learn about the different type of reactions you could experience and a weed in the bee yard to help treat the sting .

It’s mid December and I find myself going in circles.  Checking dates that become available for surrounding bee schools and also watching weather reports so I can check my bee hives that I have out.  I feel that most of my hives are in good shape but needing warmer temperatures of at least 50 degrees in order to do […]

Propolis is another one of the unique products made by our fuzzy friends. It can be a pain to deal with in the inspection process but it is a necessary component to the beehive.