What do you do about a colony with a nasty disposition?

Thinking about Winter and Winter prep

How to recognize the signs of a laying worker and what you can do about it... if anything...

Queens live at the heart of a colony. Issues with the queen mean issues with the colony.

Should you reuse old comb?

Robbing of a weaker colony by a stronger colony occurs when nectar is not readily available.

Scenting is a critical part of the colony's swarming success!

An often overlooked piece of equipment!

The collection of water is an important job for the colony!

Why on earth would honey bee foragers go out on a freezing day in winter to collect water? Ice and snow everywhere, but there they are, trying to get a drink and bring some home for their sisters. Why?

Kim and Jim explore some of the reasons why. They explore the uses of water by winter bees an…

So, what do you do with your old wax? For some of us, as little as possible, but for others, there’s money to be made.

There are different kinds of wax based on a couple of factors, including how long it was in the hive and how it was used by the bees. Bees wax from the brood area tends to get …

In today’s episode, Kim and Jim continue their exploration of Bee Beards… though this time… they go big… really big bee beards you see in the movies, where they use 20 maybe 30 pounds of bees, and the person is covered from the top of his head to his shoe laces? How can they do that?

You have t…

A good rule when raising a few queens is to keep it simple. And not having to graft larvae from one cell to another is as simple as could be. So, how can that be done?

The Hopkins method is one way, where you simply put a frame with eggs and larvae in a queenless colony and let them do their th…

Pretty much every beekeeper, at one time or another, ends up with a queen that’s not doing what they think she should be doing or - not doing what all the rest of your queens are doing. So, what is happening and can you do anything to get her going?

Marginal queens are tough to identify. There …

So you have already put in your two packages (you did get two, right?) and a few days, or maybe a week later you checked them and…..something’s wrong!

What can go wrong with a new package? Kim and Jim chat a bit about the things that can and for some, will go wrong with new packages.

First …

Small, portable, usually single frame observation hives are ideal for meetings, demonstrations, lectures and even for study. They can be homemade or produced by bee supply companies, but there are a few things to keep in mind when using them…. especially when children are your audience. Kids are fu…

You can buy all of your beekeeping equipment already assembled and if wooden boxes, already painted. They cost more than if you do it yourself, but you don’t invest any time in assembly. Or, you can buy everything unassembled; nail and glue all the parts and pieces together, then paint it. You’ll n…

Back about 100 years ago, there was so much adulterated honey for sale that people were reluctant to buy it at all. Comb honey was seen as being different because that couldn’t be adulterated, right? Well, A. I. Root put up an award looking for fake comb honey because he was sure it couldn’t be don…

The December, 2021 issue of Bee Culture magazine arrived this month. In this episode, Kim and Jim look at this special issue and discuss why it’s special every December.

Starting right off, it’s the Interview issue, where the regular writers, and some others, introduce the readers to industry p…

Can You Put New Swarms on Old Comb?

You’ve caught your first swarm. Where should it go? You don’t have any new equipment to put it on, but you have an overwintered colony that didn’t make it. Can you use the combs from that colony? Always the best answer – It Depends!

First, ask yourself, w…