Honey the way it was meant to be
In my last post, I suggested a function-based approach to identifying nucleus colonies (nucs). Rather than worrying about how big a colony is to determine whether it is a nuc, I define a nuc as a colony of honey bees … Read More »
Every beekeeper should maintain a few nucleus colonies (“nucs” for short) in the bee yard at all times. I tend to keep anywhere from five to twenty nucs in my bee yard and I find them enormously useful. A lot … Read More »
It is amazing the difference three weeks makes in a bee hive. Colonies that in late February looked “pretty good” today are booming along. In fact, I added boxes to several of the nucs that were filling all available space … Read More »
It is pushing 60 degrees today so I took a look in the hives for the first time since last November. It was a mixed bag, but all in all things looked pretty good for mid-February. A number of colonies … Read More »
I’m excited to offer nucs (small bee hives) for sale. Virginia state law requires that I have my bee yard inspected before selling live bees, so I invited Inspector Bob to visit. In all the years I’ve had bees, this … Read More »
I just read an article in a beekeeping magazine reporting on a study of honey bee queen longevity. The study results tend to support what I have argued for years, which is that colony collapse and the other crises facing … Read More »
Snow is one factor to consider in designing a hive stand. My bee hives that are on lower stands got half-buried in the snow. The ones on higher stands didn’t get buried, but the entrances did get blocked. My hives … Read More »
I have worked with many novice beekeepers who lost colonies because they either did not feed the bees at all or they did feed, but at the wrong time. Here’s the advice I offer them. The dates are for Fredericksburg … Read More »
I realize there is a lot of strong feeling about the Flow Hive (www.honeyflow.com) invented and marketed by Australian beekeepers Stuart and Cedar Anderson, but a number of friends have asked my views on the product and so I will … Read More »
My dad kept honey bees and helped me earn the Boy Scout Beekeeping merit badge when I was a kid. I bought my first packages of bees when I was 18 years old, but left them behind when I launched … Read More »