I often get this question from bee-curious people. It is the first hurdle of becoming a beekeeper: Can it work in my backyard? There are many things to consider before getting started with bees, but preparing the physical space your bees are to inhabit is an important one! Let’s delve into what you need to know. Delegating Space  A […]

Honey Corn Cakes 1/4 cup honey 2 cans (15.25 ounces each) whole kernel corn, drained 3 eggs 1 cup flour 1/2 cup milk 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt Combine all ingredients. Heat skillet lightly coated with olive oil to medium temperature. Pour 1/3-cup portions of mixture into skillet, and cook for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes […]

It has been five months since I brought my bright and beautiful, straw-woven Sun Hive home, and just three months since I escorted a small cast swarm up a wooden ramp and into its dark and enfolding interior…

Swarming is a good thing—really! And naturally-mated queens will give you the best chance for a thriving, surviving hive.

Bees are wild animals that forage on their own, but there are times when they could use a bit of help. Why should you feed your bees? And how should you do it? In this video, you’ll learn everything you need to know.

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…

Learn about three different varieties of pests in the beehive and how to deal with them effectively.

Late summer is yellow jacket season. Learn how to keep these hungry wasps from bothering—or demolishing—your hives.

As a beekeeper for over 20 years, I have accumulated pounds of beeswax as a welcome product of my hives. A substance formed by insects, it is simply amazing that it has been used for millennia, even found in the tombs of pharaohs, caulking the ships of Vikings. Think of it as the duct tape […]

The iconic Brandenburg Gate in Berlin anchors the famous “Unter den Linden”, Under the Linden Trees, which bees flock to when they bloom Beekeeping, especially urban beekeeping, is picking up steam and buzz! When I first attended my “Beekeeping Basics” class put on by the local beekeepers club twenty years ago, older men in coveralls […]

Lately, it seems like everyone I meet wants to get into backyard beekeeping. Maybe it’s the popularity of the Flow Hive that enticed this new wave of would-be beekeepers or maybe it’s the headlines about bee die-offs. If you’ve been thinking about getting bees, but haven’t taken the plunge yet, read on to find out exactly what […]

Mostly everything you need to know about your bees, you can learn without ever going into the hive. Sharpen your observations skills at the entry board, first.

A thing of beauty-perfect teardrop swarm   Swarm forming on branch As a new contributor to Keeping Backyard Bees, I have lots of swarm stories from 20 years of beekeeping. Averaging between 2 and 4 hives each season, I have certainly seen my share of mass exodus of carefully tended bees that decide to look for a new […]

You might just find that you can save money on a honey extractor after you check out this method of harvesting your natural honey.

I teach a series of beginning beekeeper classes called Bee-Centered Beekeeping: Putting Bees’ Needs First. My approach is non-treatment and minimal intervention, trusting the bees to take care of most things themselves. My guiding principle—“What do bees like?”—informs how I work with my hives.