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.

I think spring is finally here to stay. We’re still getting cool weather, but for the most part we’re above freezing. We just had the last maple syrup boil of the season and the insects and spring bulbs are starting to appear. Early spring is a critical time for honey bees. Their honey stores are […]

With some spring-like weather finally arriving in Northeastern Pennsylvania over the Easter weekend, my wife and I were finally able to break down our hives and switch the big supers from top to bottom. As I mentioned in the last column, we had wrapped some of our hives in black shrink wrap, some in the […]

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 […]

Learn about the amazing mating ritual of the queen bee and her drones.

In my last post I talked about feeding stations for my bees. Instead of disturbing the bees and to save time I decided to set up feeding stations made from food grade buckets filled with sugar water. I did not want to assume just because they were bringing in pollen they would have food stores too. I […]

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 […]

For those of you just starting out in bee keeping, here is an overview of different frame types, different foundation options and the pros and cons of each.

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 […]

              When the bees start flying I can’t wait to get out there and dig in the hives and the dirt. There’s a huge variety of herbs that are not just great for cooking and medicinal purposes, they’re great for the bees. Planting herbs that attract honey bees is […]

I have decided to set up feeding stations in my bee yard and I want to share my experience with you.

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.

If you study a honeycomb, you’ll notice that it’s composed solely of hexagonal (or six sided) designs in wax. Why, of all the possible shapes, why do bees prefer these ones?