Never before have I been interested in collecting pollen, but suddenly I’m obsessed with it. Beekeepers often say that the worse part of pollen collection is having to empty the traps every day, and I suppose that duty could get old after a time. But right now, I can hardly wait to see what my […] Read more
For several reasons, I have never collected pollen from my hives. I never considered pollen to be human food, it seemed like a lot of work to process, and I never wanted to steal it from my bees. But this past winter I’ve learned some things that caused me to re-evaluate the whole pollen-trapping idea. […] Read more
We’ve all called those customer service hotlines where a recorded voice says, “Your call is important to us. Please hold for the next available representative.” Slight pause and then, “Your call is important to us. Please hold . . . .” You finally hang up, which is what they were counting on. Well, this question—and […] Read more
Oops. Unfortunately, bee-collected pollen can transmit the spores of American foulbrood just like honey. It works like this: A colony of bees has become infected with the bacterium that causes AFB. The disease only affects young larvae less than 48 hours old, but adult bees can inadvertently carry the spores throughout the hive. When a […] Read more
A shortage of pollen is a relatively new concern for beekeepers. Once upon a time, pollen was taken for granted. But today, a bountiful and diverse supply of pollen is sometimes lacking. Habitat loss, invasive plants, monoculture farming, and herbicides are just some of the reasons. A pollen grain is simply a small package containing […] Read more
If you are building or repairing your own bee “furniture” you will find there are many sizes of hardware cloth available. Usually, the ones you need are the hardest to find. Here in the States, hardware cloth is numbered according to how many squares fit in a linear inch. So #5 has five squares to […] Read more