Hello. I’ve often said “the bees are laughing at me, I might as well join them.” I’ve chronicled the events that lead to their laughter in both my book, Dronings from a Queen Bee: The First Five Years, and a column I’ve written since beginning beekeeping. In...
Last blog I reviewed the seven things I do inside each hive in September. If you read the entry, you know there were actually ten. I like to exceed expectations. The winter forecast is quite foreboding. Due to other obligations, we haven’t done the “September 7” to...
After presenting to a group over the weekend about getting their colonies ready for winter, I realized how far behind I was. So, on Sunday I rolled off the couch and went through our four power hives. I started with them because we knew we had many hives with...
Things to Bear in Mind for this Time of Year Happy Labor Day. Your bees have been laboring for us all season. Now is an especially good time to evaluate how we can help with that. August and September are critical months for setting them up to succeed over the winter....
Flying, stinging insects: Got two swarm calls last week. The first guy told me the “honeybees” were flying out of a gray-brown conical shape attached to his eves. I told him that sounded like wasps, but he claimed he knew honeybees and they definitely were honeybees....
Great time of year to be a beekeeper. Honey is starting to come on (for those of you with power hives), and there’s generally plenty out there for bees to enjoy. Here are some ramblings, and things to Honey, Bear in Mind this time of year. Colony Progress In about a...
One of our newbees embarrassingly said he “made a mistake” by not getting into his hive for about a month. He found the second box almost fully drawn, with lots of capped brood and capped honey. (He also saw bees emerging, always amazing to catch that.) I don’t...
Hello Beekeepers! I use this blog to update folks with some timely considerations, if you have a new colony in a climate comparable to SW Michigan’s. These considerations may / not apply to you, depending upon your apiary management approach, colony progress, etc....
We celebrated the first day of summer by removing the debris boards from the rest of our first year hives. Usually those are out earlier, but it has been a cool, wet season. So what else should you be thinking about if you have first year colonies in a climate similar...
It’s been a while since I’ve posted more information, but you’re likely past the first few critical benchmarks with a new colony of bees. Now it’s mainly a matter of letting them build. Random thoughts and suggestions: Entrance reducers: If your bees are lining up to...
