Help! My supers are still empty! Many beekeepers are dismayed to find their supers are empty at the end of the season. They want to know what they did wrong and how to encourage the bees to get to work. In the past I’ve shared ideas that I’ve heard about or tried myself. Now I’m […] Read more
Putting a new super on top of existing supers is called “top supering.” Adding it above the brood box but below the other honey supers is called “bottom supering.” Which is best? While honey bees remain indifferent to the entire subject, beekeepers get atwist over the mere thought of doing it wrong. In truth, there […] Read more
An article in today’s Seattle Times reports that three King County residents were recently affected by foodborne toxins. Unfortunately, one came from a sample of local honey. According to the article a man became ill after eating a portion of honey he had purchased at a local farmer’s market. He reported vomiting and “intestinal difficulties” […] Read more
Beekeepers often call them “honey excluders” for a good reason: worker bees hate to go through them. The theory I hear most frequently is that the bees don’t want to build comb in places where the queen can’t go. But there are ways to entice your bees through the queen excluder. One way is to […] Read more
I was hoping no one would ask the unanswerable question, but it just arrived . . . from my daughter, of all people. She wrote, “Why do the bees hang on the outside of the swarm trap? I always envisioned them going inside.” Hmm. When I discovered a swarm hanging from the bottom of trap […] Read more
Note: Today’s post was written by Karen Peteros, a beekeeper and beekeeping instructor in San Francisco. Karen took issue with my post, “Is too much hive inspection a bad thing?” and wrote a dissenting opinion. Her arguments are both articulate and valid. I thought it would be useful, especially for new beekeepers in urban and […] Read more
This morning, NPR reported on a semi that wrecked near Island Park, Idaho. The truck, traveling from California to North Dakota, spilled 400 hives onto U.S. Highway 20. Local authorities are concerned that the “river of honey” oozing across the pavement will attract grizzly bears from the nearby forests. But the item that caught my […] Read more