It’s official: I overwintered all my colonies once again. In fact, in seven of the last ten years I managed to pull every single colony through the bleak northwest winter. Having said that, the questions I’m asked are always the same: “What mite meds do you use?” “How long do you feed?” “What is your […] Read more
Many people argue that wintering honey bees seldom die of cold. Instead they die of starvation, either because they could not reach the food or because their food supply ran dry. In truth, the reason a colony dies in winter is usually much more complex than simply cold or starvation. Thousands of bees but no […] Read more
Honey bees are masters at overwintering. But for the most part, our modern-day honey bees find themselves living in man-made structures that are not like the homes they would have built for themselves. To compensate for the difference, a beekeeper often has to tweak the hives to prepare the bees for long periods of confinement. […] Read more
Last week, a dusting of snow showed me exactly where the cluster in my top-bar hive had gathered. Dead center on the uninsulated gabled roof were two circles of meltwater, so I knew the cluster was right below it. “Aha!” I said. “When my Flir One thermal imager arrives, I will test it on the […] Read more
You have a small colony of honey bees that seems to have stalled. The frames of bees look normal enough, and they contain brood, honey, pollen, and a seemingly healthy queen. The bees are performing normal honey bee activities, but the colony doesn’t seem to thrive. Instead it just persists. Although the entire colony covers […] Read more
It is October or perhaps November. You open your hives for a quick inspection only to find there is no brood. None! Not a single cell, capped or otherwise. You panic, wondering whether you should replace your queens (tricky this time of year), combine your colonies, or just give up. You blame mites, mite treatments, […] Read more
My ancestors were hardy Pennsylvania Germans. They were diligent, clear thinking, and not predisposed to nonsense. Whenever I said something lacking in common sense—what they called horse sense—I got the withering glare, the one that said, “You’re no kin of mine.” No trait is more firmly etched on my brain than common sense and I […] Read more