I was walking along a country road this afternoon when I spotted a dandelion in full sun-drenched bloom. Right away I remembered it was time to plant potatoes. Although this may sound like an “old wives’ tale” these associations are based in fact. Phenology is the study of periodic plant and animal life cycles in […] Read more
The myth goes something like this: If the queen’s wings are clipped she won’t be able to fly. If the queen is unable to fly, the swarm will return to the hive and stay with her. In truth, the clipped queen may attempt to fly anyway, then fall to the ground and be unable to […] Read more
Starter strips can be used in nearly any type of hive. They are used in place of foundation in hives where you do not want to introduce chemical contamination from commercial foundation. The purpose of starter strips is to get the bees to build comb in straight parallel lines. Bees need only a small amount […] Read more
I’ve always stayed away from eight-frame hive equipment. A few years back you could buy eight-frame brood boxes and supers, but it was hard to get specialty pieces like Cloake boards, slatted racks, and escape boards. That has changed—especially in the last year or two—but I still don’t like the idea of buying non-standard equipment. […] Read more
Footprint pheromones, also known as trail pheromones, are common in social insects. Researchers found that surfaces where honey bees have walked become attractive to other honey bees. This observation led to the discovery that honey bees secrete a chemical signal (pheromone) from their feet as they go about their daily business. At present not much […] Read more
After making some Langstroth brood boxes with nine frames and two follower boards (in positions one and eleven) I began to think that it would be easier to make a ten-frame Langstroth into an eight-frame Langstroth by putting follower boards in positions one and ten. In this way you could use two standard Langstroth frames […] Read more
You hear it all the time, so it must be true. Sometimes the person asks in a half-joking but tentative way, as if it might be true but they hope it’s not. Others are totally convinced it is true and want verification. And some are just curious because it’s something they heard. This myth is […] Read more