There seems to be a lot of ambiguity about whether or not it’s legal to kill honey bees. It should be said, there are plenty of ways to deal with nuisance bees other than killing them. For example, many beekeepers would be overjoyed to collect a swarm and add it to their apiary! And nowadays,…
The queen bee in a beehive is the focal point for many activities in the hive, including the production of worker bees, drones, and other queens when necessary. What will happen to the hive if the queen dies or does not return from a mating flight? How long will the beehive survive without a queen?…
Killing bees or other stinging insects can be tricky! But does a household cleaner such as bleach eliminate bees? After all… It seems like pretty toxic stuff! And it’s true, bleach is a potentially dangerous chemical. But you might want to reconsider using it as a bug killer. (I’d encourage you to reconsider killing the poor…
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….
Sunflowers may seem like the ideal flower for bees with their large flower heads that look so impressive. But do sunflowers really attract bees? And what benefit do the sunflowers offer bees and beekeepers? Contrary to what many people think, the answer might surprise you! Are Bees Attracted To Sunflowers? Bees are attracted to sunflowers….
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,…
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