Winter hive check: what to look for
When you check your winter hives, what do you look for? How often? Should you open them? Should you use a checklist? What if something is wrong? The answer for me is simple: I get nervous as a cat if I...
View ArticleHow to light a smoker so it stays lit
Once you decide to light your smoker, how do you keep it lit? Many beekeepers report that before they’ve finished just one hive, their smoker is cold as night and they have to begin again. In truth,...
View ArticleHow to hide a beehive
The first question to ask yourself is “Should I hide my bees?” If you want to hide a beehive because beekeeping is illegal where you live, then I don’t recommend it. It’s probably easier to keep the...
View ArticleHow should we train the newbees?
Tis the season. My inbox is flush with “amazing” deals. Unfortunately, many of the hard-sell marketers are heading straight for the wallet of the soon-to-be new beekeeper. I’ve watched wannabees, still...
View ArticleHow to store honey at home
Both beekeepers and their customers are often confused about the best way to store honey at home. To many, crystallization, which is also called “sugaring,” means the honey has gone bad. “My honey...
View ArticleHow to identify a honey bee using wing veins
Because I don’t want to embarrass anyone, I am obscuring the details in this case of mistaken identity. Still, it’s worth sharing because I don’t want this to happen to you. Last week someone forwarded...
View ArticleThe Price trap-out: no bee left behind
I once described trapping out as a not-so-satisfactory way of removing a colony of bees from an enclosed structure or tree. Trapping requires much beekeeper input during a multi-step process. Even when...
View ArticleHow to feed stacked nucs in winter
Vince Poulin, a beekeeper in Vancouver, British Columbia, sent me an idea he had for feeding nucs that were stacked one atop another during the winter. This is a problem I’ve wondered about but never...
View ArticleBeeswax food wraps step by step
Everywhere you look these days, people are making, buying, and using beeswax food wraps. If the concept is new to you, a beeswax food wrap is a piece of beeswax-infused cotton fabric that is meant to...
View ArticleHow to keep bees like a scientist
As scientific thinkers, we need to re-examine our beliefs constantly and question what we “know” to be true. As we learn, our cumulative knowledge increases, often giving us a better perspective. For...
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