Unwrapping a brand new, wooden beehive is exciting! Most kits come with a few tools and simple veil to round it out which makes you feel like you’ve got everything you need to start keeping bees. A popular Costco kit proclaims on the box, “All you need to add is a package of bees!” Unfortunately, it’s […]

The interior of a hive is a wet, warm, stifling environment. Should we put our opposable thumbs to use and take over temperature control?

  Once you become a beekeeper, everyone you know will start buying you bee themed gifts. Your house will quickly fill up with cute, but useless bee tchotchkes. How many ceramic skeps can one person have? Okay, maybe you actually like bee trinkets so I have included a few, but I have balanced them with some […]

We finish up our discussion of the last few tenets of bee-centered beekeeping. And then reflect on how to apply them to our own location, our own style.

When to Feed Bees Feeding bees is all about stretching the food stores so that bees don’t starve from lack of nectar, especially during the cold winter months. Feeding bees is essential at different stages of keeping bees.Newly installed bee packages also need a boost of sugar water until they get their house in order. As a gardener […]

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 […]

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.

Catching a swarm is a total blast. There’s nothing quite like the feeling of getting some wild bees for free. You just gotta get a little courageous and suit up to your comfort level and go get ‘em. Here’s a neat little tip that might just get you a few extra bees this spring using some items that you may have in your garage.