Beekeeping Information Newsletter

Most of the time, honey bee swarms are not very harmful. Honey bees that are swarming feed just before swarming, which lessens their capacity to sting. Bees are also less aggressive and unlikely to sting unless provoked when they are far from their nest, where their young and food storage are located. You typically do not need to take any action when a honey bee swarm is discovered on a tree, bush, or house. Bees will move on if you patiently ignore swarms since they are transient. You are welcome to observe and enjoy the bees from a safe distance while keeping others away from the swarm.

How can we incorporate ancestral Indigenous ways of knowing and being to protect our environment and, ultimately, our species? An ancestral practice, Maya stingless beekeeping integrates ecological and cultural ways of knowing that are linked intrinsically with Maya dwellings, traditional crops, and native species in the tropical forests of the Yucatan Peninsula. 

Bees like to accumulate at the front of the hive on a hot and humid day in a bearding-like shape so as to create room and added ventilation inside. The bearding-like shape that these insects create to create room on such days is known as Bearding. Bearding is a healthy sign for bees since the temperature and the humidity within the hive should be kept within a precise percentage. When bees are bearding, you will see them clustering at the front, especially on both the entrance/landing front and the front panel of the hive. They do this so as to create space inside the hive, especially on a very hot day.

In the magnum opus last week I discussed how bees discriminate nestmates from non-nestmates at the hive entrance. Inevitably I had to discuss the processes of drifting and robbing as these activities, together with the peripatetic drones, largely account for the ‘foreign’ bees arriving at a hive entrance. When you’re considering Varroa control you should not restrict your thinking to your hive, or the hives in your apiary, but should instead consider a much larger area encompassing other colonies “within range”.

In North America, the most popular bees to order are the Italian bee breeds. Apart from being excellent honey producers, they are known for being gentle. Apis mellifera carnica, often known as the Carniolan honey bee, is particularly renowned for being kind and exceedingly simple to work with, making them ideal for backyard beekeepers worried about aggressive behavior. Additionally, they are among the greatest bee breeds for cold areas.

The science of identity … how guard bees recognise nestmates, why drifting bees are accepted into other hives and why robbers are only sometimes rejected. Honey bees are eusocial insects. The ’eu’ before social is derived from the Greek for ‘good’; these insects – not just honey bees – exhibit the highest level of social organisation, involving the division of labour (nurses, scouts, guards, foragers and in reproductive and non-reproductive sub-groups), cooperative brood rearing and overlapping generations.

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In order to combat Varroa, various nations have utilized pyrethroids, organophosphates, essential oils, and organic acids. In the past, Varroa was managed chemically. In reality, wherever Varroa has been introduced, chemical-based, in-hive treatments have been used as a precaution. It has been shown that Varroa mites can swiftly develop a resistance to chemical treatments. Chemical Varroa treatments have other negative impacts on honey bees, such as lower queen lifespan, decreased sperm loads in and longevity of drones, brood death, and altered queen laying patterns.

Honeybees evolved as tree-dwellers, so it’s not surprising that their main source of forage is still flowering trees and bushes. However, in recent times, media messaging has overlooked this fact; setting an agenda all about wildflowers, seed bombs, and wildflower meadows. In recent years, the role of wildflowers in feeding honeybees has been widely misunderstood. Yes, wildflowers are a precious resource. Yes, there are not nearly enough of them. But no, they are not going to save the day. No matter how many packets of bee-friendly wildflower seeds are nobly given out and scattered, they are just not going to supply enough forage to turn the tide. 

A situation where there is no viable candidate for queen develops. When there is no chance of a new queen being born and raised in the Colony, since no fertile larvae are in the hive and the queen has either died or disappeared, the Colony will only produce new queens for some time. A common rookie mistake for beekeepers is failing to see signs that a settlement has lost its queen. You are ignorantly succeeding. Hummingbirds and bees are in the air. Everything is how it should be, as well as the spotless cleanliness of the outbuildings. If you do that, you could start to see a change. 

Here’s a roundup of the most common furry animals that eat honey bees. Beekeepers focused intently on wasps, birds, and invading insects may sometimes forget the four-footed kind of predator. In addition to birds and bugs, there are many 4-footed animals that eat honey bees.

The use of a Snelgrove board to control swarming is therefore a common topic rather than a single “Snelgrove approach.” In order to regulate swarms, the Snelgrove board can be used in a variety of ways, although the one outlined here is the most basic. The original purpose of Leonard Snelgrove’s new board was to prevent swarms (much like the demaree method), in which the beekeeper would wait to manipulate the bees until they were nearly ready to swarm. In his work, he does go on to suggest ways for increasing variations that would control swarming.

The science of identity … how guard bees recognise nestmates, why drifting bees are accepted into other hives and why robbers are only sometimes rejected. Honey bees are eusocial insects. The ’eu’ before social is derived from the Greek for ‘good’; these insects – not just honey bees – exhibit the highest level of social organisation, involving the division of labour (nurses, scouts, guards, foragers and in reproductive and non-reproductive sub-groups), cooperative brood rearing and overlapping generations.

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If a single bee is hovering around you, it is likely that bees are drawn to you due to your clothing, perfume, or something sweet you are consuming. If you don’t try to hurt them, they will leave you alone eventually. However, if there are more bees pursuing you, it is possible that they do so because they see you as a danger to their colony. If so, you need to get out of there right away.

Honey bees (Apis mellifera) are the go-to pollinator for early-blooming fruit trees like cherries, apples, and almonds, but they aren’t the best pollinator for these crops. An incubator that draws excess heat from a honey bee hive warms up managed Osmia lignaria bees so they can pollinate early-blooming fruit trees such as cherry, apple, and almond. A new study shows the hivetop incubators are effective, with little effect on the honey bee hive temps below. Shown here is a hivetop incubator atop a honey bee hive, with a small exit hole from which O. lignaria bees can be seen emerging.

As so many variables are at play, including the bee’s diet (in terms of pollen and protein), the precise timing of the initial orientation flights is impossible to predict. Bees will return to the original hive if you separate and relocate the nursing bees. This finding may suggest that nursing bees remain sedentary and only go on orientation flights once they transition into forager bees.

The only two bee families that have plentiful cocoon spinners are the Apidae and the Megachilidae. These two families comprise the long-tongued bees. Throughout the remaining five bee families — those comprising the short-tongued bees — cocoon-building is rare. Taxonomists consider it a primitive behavior in solitary bees, passed down from their ancestors, the hunting wasps. Over time, cocooning disappeared from most of the solitary bees.

Some people doubt its legitimacy, but that’s only because it’s so difficult to get. There are a lot of factors at play here, but it’s amazing to think about how purple honey couldn’t be made in a certain manner. One plausible explanation is that it has something to do with the flowers bees like to visit for nectar. Elderberries and huckleberries are two recommendations often made. The preceding situation, in which two hives are lo

The most popular part of a beehive may be the bee brood box. Why are beekeepers so enthralled by the happenings in this section of the hive? The answer is simple. It contains the heart of the hive. This area holds the next generation of worker honey bees. Conditions inside the brood box tells the beekeeper a lot about the current status of the colony and the future.

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White is the traditional color to select for a hive’s coating, but virtually any color will do. Although some beekeepers in colder climates paint their hives dark for this precise reason, it is better to avoid black or another dark color because these colors may cause the hive to get too hot in the summer sun, depending on the location. Any exterior house paint that is still on your brush will do.

Surely you have heard the saying about asking ten beekeepers and getting eleven different answers. Well, it is true because beekeepers are constantly having to choose what methods and what equipment they want to use. We are, for the most part, rather flexible and willing to try various things.

If you want to preserve the honey’s possible health advantages, it’s better not to cook it for an extended period of time or at a high temperature. However, heat is not dangerous, and you can safely disregard many more outlandish claims about honey and cooking. Here is our whole guide to heat, honey, and peril.

Everyone is talking about the new AFB vaccine. A vaccine for bees is a miraculous milestone in honey bee management, but how much will it help? A vaccine for AFB (American foulbrood) in honey bees is a mind-bending achievement. But will it change the landscape of beekeeping or will colony loss continue unabated? To answer that question, let’s look at how the vaccine works.

This video features Laurie from Beepothecary discussing the many benefits of propolis.

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The Comb Assistant, created by Jim Barry of West Alabama Bee Company, is a kit that helps you create comb honey. This allow you to reuse your frames, saving expenses when you sell comb honey.

As a natural sugar, honey is applauded for being a high energy snack. But, who wants to carry around a jar of honey in your pocket? No one. That is why having a small serving in a portable pack is so appealing. When you learn how to make honey sticks at home, you can be sure that they were made under the very best conditions.

To get your hives ready for the winter, you need to know how your climate affects bees and what happens to them throughout the colder months. The bees will remain in the hive for the cold season, consuming honey to keep themselves warm. But if the temperature outside rises beyond 40 degrees, some bees may depart the hive to reduce the garbage they produce. All of the hives at a bee farm need nourishment, hydration, and warmth over the winter.

Queen cups provide sturdy connections between brood combs and fully developed queen cells. Worker bees build many queen cups in anticipation of swarming or supersedure. A queen cup is like the foundation of a house. It provides an anchor point for a large queen cell and gives the colony a  “head start” in case it needs to replace a queen in a hurry.

Although honey bees like a refreshing dip in a saltwater pool, it’s best to have a reliable water supply before your colony starts driving away the swimmers. Honey bees utilize water for more than just hydration. During the colder months, honey bees often utilize water to dilute honey that has thickened and to dissolve honey that has crystallized.

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The number of brood cells available for mite reproduction in a colony can be greatly impacted by a brood break.  Varroa reproduces while being safely shielded from grooming bees while they are in capped brood cells, which also serve as their haven. If you can establish a colony without any capped brood, the varroa cannot reproduce at that time, and the remaining mites in the hive are all phoretic (running loose) and have a higher likelihood of settling on the ground and being groomed by the bees.

The signs of queenlessness are different in a newly queenless hive compared to a hive that’s been queenless for days or weeks. Queenless colonies change from panicky to listless as the days go by. In order to save your colony, learn to recognize the signs of queenlessness early, even before you open your hive.

On top of their heads, they have a pair of antennas. Honey bees are insects, and they share five traits with other insects in general. An exoskeleton, which is their tough exterior, is present. They have a three-part body: a head, a thorax, and an abdomen.

Synopsis : Join a beekeeping association, get a mentor, get local bees, manage your hopes and  expectations, get your bees through the winter. Simples. Beekeeping is an essentially local activity. The bees forage within a radius of 2-3 km of the apiary. The available forage influences how the colony develops as the season progresses, the local weather determines which trees and flowers grow and produce nectar, and when that nectar is produced.

Honey is a natural food made by bees. Some people consume it because they think it helps them with seasonal allergies. But, honey is not everyone’s friend. When it comes to allergies, we must remember that anyone can be allergic to almost anything.  Allergies are defined by a reaction of our bodies to a substance that may be harmless to others.

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We enjoy many products that come from the honey bee hive.  One unusual item is bee pollen.  Because it is highly valued by nutritionists, some beekeepers are interested in learning how to collect bee pollen.  Whether you want it for personal use, or to sell to customers –  it can be a valuable hive resource.

This unique idea is an improved variation of the popular J Hook Hive Tool. Chris Kuenzer of Kuenzer Honey Farm demonstrates his hand-forged hive tool.

Every beekeeper has one. Some have two.
An essential piece of equipment for any beekeeper is the smoker. They are available in all sizes with different features, from the ones with heat shields to the old trusty, rusty smoker that your grandfather used. They are basically of the same design and provide the same function of producing smoke to calm the bees or to chase them away. Their smoke can even help you escape when that nasty colony decides it doesn’t like you.

Propolis is a compound made up of different concentrations of beeswax and resins that honeybees (Apis mellifera and stingless bees) collect from plants, especially from flowers and leaf buds but also from conifers, and then carry to the hive-like pollen pellets on their hind legs.

Keeping bees is one of the best adult hobbies ever because where else can a grownup play with bugs, carry around fire, and play mad scientist all at the same time? Even better is the built-in fortress beekeepers have for those times we want a little peace and quiet — after all, how many non-beekeepers do you know who are willing to follow a beekeeper into the bee yard unprotected?

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