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 things go well, a trap-out can leave a dead queen and her brood to decay, and may allow untended honey stores to ferment […] Read more
It happens to nearly every beekeeper. You plant an array of flowering plants — from annual poppies to honeysuckle vines to crabapple trees — all tenderly selected to entice your darlings to forage. On the first balmy spring day, you watch your bees missile out of their hive and into the blue, but when you […] Read more
Imagine e-mailing someone you met once, three years earlier at a beekeeping seminar. In a short note you write, “Why don’t I come visit you? You can feed me, entertain me, and chauffeur me around until I decide to leave. Won’t that be fun?” Being an introverted recluse, this is unimaginable to me. The idea […] Read more
No one knows exactly when some of the ancient hunting wasps stopped chasing their meals and opted for veggies. We simply don’t have detailed records of early transitional species. What we do know is that some descendants of the early Crabronidae family of wasps gave up meat in favor of pollen, eventually becoming bees. By […] Read more
Silence is a powerful thing. I was on my way to the compost bin when I noticed an enormous mound of dead bees in front of my strongest hive. No buzz issued from the landing board. No industrious thrum from above. The absence of sound shattered the morning. I was dumbstruck. When I opened that […] Read more
The room was fluttering with bee conservationists. The seats were occupied by men and women from all over the Pacific Northwest who had agreed to donate considerable sums of personal time and money to tramp across the tristate area and survey bumble bees. Butterfly nets, catch jars, and t-shirts were stacked next to doughnuts, coffee, […] Read more
When the weather turns warm, propolis can string into fragrant tendrils like fresh-from-the-oven mozzarella cheese. When cold, it can shatter like bone china, yielding knife-sharp shards. In especially hot seasons, it can run like water down the inside of hive walls before hardening into translucent droplets that glisten like gemstones. As fascinating as propolis is, […] Read more