Once your beehive is full of honey bees it gets pretty tricky to paint it! So painting beehives is something you need to consider before you set up and install them. It’s the kind of thing a new beekeeper can easily overlook, and you need to plan ahead and allow enough preparation time. I don’t…
If you have ever opened up a hive for inspection only to find some sticky wax comb in places that you didn’t expect, then you have already experienced burr comb. Burr comb is also known as brace comb or sometimes bridge comb. So what is Burr Comb? Burr comb is wax comb which bees have…
Sometimes beekeepers need to relocate their hives. Perhaps the original location was a bad choice, or you simply want a better situation for hives during a cold winter. Once a hive is established, bees learn its location and know how to find their way home. So how do you make sure your bees don’t get…
When I first got interested in beekeeping, I wanted to get started right away! But then I looked outside at the snow and realized it was January, and maybe now wasn’t such a great time. When should you start a beehive? Spring is an ideal time of year to start a new hive. April is…
Beekeeping isn’t something that most of us learn while growing up. So it can seem like an intimidating hobby or profession to get into. Is beekeeping hard? Being responsible for an entire colony of living things can be hard work. There’s some heavy lifting and physically difficult tasks involved, especially when it’s time to harvest…
When I decided to start keeping bees, a big concern for me was whether it was allowed where I live. Luckily for me it was. But what about in your area? The answer varies widely depending on where you live. Do I need permission to keep bees? It seems like every city has their own…
Choosing the right type of honey bees to populate your hive is an important consideration for any novice beekeeper. Different races of bees have slightly different characteristics. To choose the right kind of bees for you, keep in mind that there is not one single best kind of honey bee, and your final choice depends…
One of the most unnerving ideas for new beekeepers (me included) is the possibility of getting stung. As a beekeeper you’re in close proximity to your beehives on a regular basis. But you also have to consider other people moving around your hives. Neighbors, friends and family obviously need to be taken into account. This…
I know it’s captivating to watch your bees at work, so it’s very tempting to go and take a peek at your bees whenever you fancy. It’s very cold here at the moment and disturbing bees during the winter obviously isn’t acceptable. But that got me wondering what would be the best temperature to inspect…
Smoke has been used by beekeepers for centuries, even before the modern bee smoker was invented. Bees can feel threatened when anything which resembles an enemy approaches their beehive. That probably includes you! So no matter how docile your bees are, you need something to pacify them during hive inspections. Smoke has the effect of…
