Have you ever wondered why one hive may act differently than others? Or maybe why your once gentle hive is suddenly out to sting anything that moves? Hive temperament can be somewhat subjective (as some people are more tolerant of froggy bees than others), however, there is generally variation from one hive to the other. […]

When people ask me how they can help bees, I used to say, “Plant a pollinator garden!” I would then rattle off a list of bee-friendly flowers and shrubs to get them started. Then I had an epiphany. A tree provides much more forage than any patch of flowers ever could. It’s so obvious, but […]

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

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…

You may be surprised by the many benefits of using a top entrance either exclusively or in addition to a bottom entrance in your hives. Check out this DIY piece including a video tutorial.

Each time I open the hive, I risk injuring or killing the queen. Each time I open the hive I set the hive back. The bees have to repair what I messed up! When I first started as a backyard bee keeper I loved to look in the hives. I wanted to get in there every few days to check things out. I did not realize there should be a PURPOSE for each inspection. Here I share some reasons for hive inspections.

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?

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.

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.

Do chickens and bees mix? You might be surprised