Why the smoker? A necessity for preventing bee stings, even more than wearing your trusty bee suit, the smoker disrupts the bees’ normal cascade of defense when they perceive a threat. Smoked bees will flee from the source of smoke (you!) rather than advance in a defensive reaction. The result is less flight and stinging […]

Winter survival of honeybees is one of the most common topics of discussion I have with people curious about bees. With extremely cold temperatures hitting most of the East Coast, this issue has come up again and again. A healthy full-size colony with an adequate supply of honey and a healthy queen can survive extreme […]

We recently checked back on our hive after installing the new beetle jails to replace the beetle blasters. As I wrote about earlier, I haven’t been entirely satisfied with the beetle blasters and was looking for alternatives. In the comments to my post, many other beekeepers have shared their own strategies there for trapping small hive […]

Moving from Beetle Blasters to Beetle Jails: Small Hive Beetle Management Small hive beetles are a pest and a terrible nuisance, but as we learned oh so painfully, they can destroy a weakened hive if they become established and do as they are wont to do:  reproduce prolifically.  I’ve never had a sadder (or more disgusting) […]

What is robbing? When I wrote this in July, my area’s (southeast Georgia) nectar flow has stopped and all that is available to the bees is some pollen. With foragers going out and returning empty handed, or finding nectar that is sub-par, I find that my hives get a little hot this time of year. When […]

I love the fact that bee keeping supplies are becoming mainstream in most local feed stores. When we first started beekeeping we’d either have to trek a 2 hour trip to the nearest hive supply company or order things online with often hefty shipping costs.   We pretty much have everything we need for our […]

Installing a Hive Top Feeder Sponsored By: Brushy Mountain Bee Farm Hive Top Feeders are a great resource to help feed your bees, even during the start of the winter months. Learn how easy it is to set up and utilize.

Swarm season!! It will be here before you know it and are you ready? It is still winter and you aren’t doing a lot in the bee yard. But there are things that you can do to get ready for swarm season in the spring. If you keep bees, you more than likely will have […]

You really don’t need to know a lot to bring home your first bees. Just take care of some important basics, and learn as you go.

  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.

In this article and video, learn the dos and don’ts of inspecting newly installed bee colonies for health and productivity.

If you read my previous post Overcoming my Fear of Bees, then you know that I used to be petrified of anything that went buzz. But after learning and working with bees, my fears subsided and curiosity and intrigue soon replaced any apprehension I had. I love our bees! They are amazing little creatures which […]

Top Bar hives are so cool. One of my very first colonies was a booming top bar hive that became our first “honey cow” for the backyard. I love watching the bees work the comb down the length of the hive. If you build one, make an observation window so you can check them out […]

If you happen to melt wax in your good double boiler or like me, ‘ruin’ something by dipping it in melted beeswax, it is salvageable. With hot water, paper towels, vegetable oil and dish detergent, you can clean those “ruined” items right up.