Spring is here! No wait, it isn’t, where are my gloves? Never mind, look at those blossoms—spring is here. Um, is that tulip actually shivering? Spring, gone again… Spring has somewhat sprung; BEE SEASON definitely has. SW Michigan has received a couple major package...
We’re getting swarmed (pun intended) with calls from new and first year beekeepers wondering about spring bee activities. Here are some of the FAQs, and my responses. As always, these are my answers. Others will have different opinions, experience and insights. How do...
These occasional warm days have probably revealed, for far too many newbees and plenty of us oldbees, that some colonies did not survive the winter. Whether you’ve just killed your first hive or your 41st, it still stings. The beekeeping learning curve is long and...
It’s the first week of January and we still have all but one of our hives alive, knock on wood! How do we know this? We knocked on wood. We’ve been (dreadfully) missing both our bees and sunshine, so when the clouds parted January 4, we did what I recommend all...
I’ve been keeping bees since 2008, and this is the first time I’ve been able to wish them a Merry Christmas in person. On one hand—that’s a good thing. Until I aggressively treated Varroa (this was the first year that I would classify my treatments as aggressive), I...
For most beekeepers, what to get us as a gift is easy—bees. Like chocolate and money, you can probably never have too many. But, if your budget or backyard don’t allow you to get more bees for your favorite beekeeper, here are a few other gift suggestions. One of the...
Background: I began keeping bees with a death threat hanging over my head. My husband Tom had been diagnosed with colorectal cancer, and needed me to care for his two bee-loved colonies while he aggressively fought the disease. Wanting to support him however I could,...
My apologies. Yes, it has been too long since I posted a blog. My excuses? Been working our own hives, a couple dozen others with beekeepers, or for beekeepers (they can’t help it if they ended up in the hospital), AND – posting more on Facebook. FB makes it easier...
Here are some things to consider for your apiary this time of year, if you live in a climate similar to SW Michigan … Watch out for the Small Hive Beetles: Argh. We’ve got way more than we’d like to find in a half dozen of our hives. In one hive, that’s...
The question I’m hearing most frequently these days is “how is my hive doing?” It is challenging for a newbee to know if progress is appropriate, in the dance of two billion factors that influence colony success. Marshall and I decided to work about 20 hives this...
