One of the challenges for new beekeepers is how to expand their number of colonies without buying in new bees. For example, if your existing bee colony is strong and a swarm splits off with a queen, will the bees move into an empty hive you place nearby? Will An Empty Beehive Attract Bees? An…
Introducing a new queen to a queenless hive is an important task to master as a beekeeper to ensure the survival of a colony and get your bees back into production. Knowing when, how, and why you need to requeen are crucial to understanding the principles to get your bee colony “queenright” again. How Do…
An abandoned or dead beehive may have some honey left over in the combs. But that seems like such a waste of lovely honey! If you’ve been in this situation, you probably wondered if harvesting this honey is safe and what it can be used for. For example, is it safe for human consumption, or…
Beekeepers feed their bee colonies sugar water for various reasons. Still, the primary motives are to provide food for a weak colony in times of dearth or to stimulate the production of workers in anticipation of the first nectar flow of the season. There are lots of other secondary reasons to start feeding like this….
Beekeepers should provide for their bees’ needs to keep them happy and productive in the hive. But one aspect many new beekeepers don’t consider is providing clean drinking water for the bees. And above all, how to prevent them from drowning while they drink! So what is the best way to provide water for your…
Just like any other living creature, bees do poop! But what does bee poop look like anyway? As a beekeeper, should you be worried about bee droppings? And is that yellow color normal!? In the summer, when honey bees are most active, you may notice a large quantity of yellow dots on your car, windows,…
Placing your beehives is a tricky business. Once you’ve located a suitable site, there are still many other things to consider. Get the position and orientation wrong, and you could cause problems! So quite naturally, beekeepers often ask what direction a hive should face. Thankfully, if you keep a few simple factors in mind, your…
Your role as a beekeeper is to look out for the best interests of your honey bees. And at various times of the year or in specific situations, you can use an entrance reducer to do this. Entrance reducers can be used for various reasons at different times of the season. But how do you…
When honey bees swarm, they say “whoopee”! Swarming is a bee colony’s idea of success. It’s a sign of a prosperous population and strong growth. There are so many bees that the hive now needs to divide in two. You might even congratulate yourself as a beekeeper on your flourishing colony 🙂 But losing a…
Most of the time, when you visit your beehive, your buzzy friends will be easy-going. But bees can be a bit moody sometimes. And certain seasons of the year more than others! Bees can show aggressive behavior in late summer, for example. But how do you explain why they suddenly seem so hostile? What changed?…
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