Beekeeping is a fascinating hobby that is enjoyed by thousands of people across the world. Beekeepers come in all ages and from all backgrounds. Almost anyone can become a beekeeper and you can keep bees almost anywhere. Are you considering embarking on the road to becoming a beekeeper? If so, you are in for an […]

I am a third-year beekeeper in Northern Vermont. My husband and I own a store in a small town where our customers are more like friends and family. I have one friend in particular who comes in every day, a native Vermonter. He’s a farmer, logger, and a beekeeper. My husband loves honey and we […]

Many new beekeepers and prospective beekeepers are urged to join beekeeping clubs and organizations to learn more about the art of beekeeping. Even experienced beekeepers find themselves with questions and want to connect with other beekeepers in the area. Locally, your state’s Beekeeping Association is one of the best resources for you to tap into. […]

I first became interested in bees by attending local beekeeping club classes. These classes taught me information on bee biology, how to choose the right equipment, and how to set up my first two hives. There are free online courses available and excellent books on the subject, but I found that personal hands-on help was […]

Two years ago we added bees to the Chiot’s Run Family. We picked up 10,000 ladies from Dave, a local guy who sells them. He knows what he’s talking about — these were the hives in his front yard. On our way home, Mr. Chiot looked at me and said, “This has the makings of a horrible […]

There are a few different ways to purchase a new colony of bees but packages or nucs are two of the most common. In this article I describe what each is, and some of the benefits/drawbacks to each.     What is a Bee Package?   A bee package is a wooden frame box with […]

Have you often thought about keeping bees but were discouraged by the high set-up costs? Frugal beekeeping is possible if you cut some corners. The price tag can cause sticker shock to anyone who looks into buying equipment and bees, keeping many potential beekeepers from jumping into this highly rewarding hobby/small business. Most people are […]

Are you thinking of getting into beekeeping or replacing a hive that failed over the winter? The bees you chose are vital to your success as a beekeeper. Here are nine tips when selecting honeybees that should be considered as you make your decision heading into spring. These tips can help you combat environmental challenges/stressors […]

Now that the hustle and bustle of the holidays are behind us, I like to start thinking about the spring to come. I’ve already separated our Buff Orpington chickens for breeding this spring. The seed catalogs are coming in and dreams of warmer weather and longer days are on my mind. Each night I sit […]

If you have multiple hives you want to elevate, you may want to consider a hive stand. You could easily fit four production colonies on just one hive stand, and if you’re using only nucs, you could put even more. Learn how to build the hive stand in this great video tutorial below.

Capturing swarms is a very exciting way to get more bees for your apiary and it’s much easier than you may have realized.  The reason that it is generally easy is because when bees are swarming and have clustered themselves on a low branch in a tree or bush, they only have one thing on […]

We picked up our bees last week. I always get a little rush of adrenaline holding a screened box of 10,000 buzzing bees. It’s not an angry buzz, just a gentle, busy buzz as they work to protect the queen. They surround her by “holding hands”. Each bee connects to the next until there is […]

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 […]

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.

I just attended a bee conference in Nashville, Tenn. for advanced Bee Keepers.  I had questioned whether or not to go but I figured, “It’s mid-January … not much going on … why not?”  I attended 6-8 schools last year promoting a rotatable beehive that I have been working on that is designed to take […]