Does a screened bottom board have any value? My vote is a resounding “Yes!” even though they are basically useless as a way to control varroa mites. A screened bottom board, especially when used with a sliding varroa drawer beneath it, can be a valuable diagnostic tool for the beekeeper. And for the beginner, it […] Read more
Summer is coming to a close even though it was nearly a “non-summer” here on the Pacific Northwest coast. The corn hasn’t tasseled; the peaches look like walnuts. Nevertheless, my bees are healthy and I had a good honey harvest—much better than expected. My honey was capped and my hives are dry inside. What more […] 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
Yesterday I pulled the screened bottom board out of my top bar hive and dumped it. What seemed like an incredible number of moldy bees mixed with pollen and comb dropped heavily to the ground. It made a wet thud, like a saturated mop hitting the deck. Cleaning the unappetizing stew of deadlings off the […] Read more
Late on the second evening of the recent cold snap I checked the outside temperature. It was 15° F, and I was very glad I had taken the nucs into the garden shed where it was about 44°. My husband asked me if the nucs had enough ventilation, and I said, yes, each nuc had […] Read more
Yesterday a reader from Florida asked for specific instructions on how to keep a hive well ventilated in a hot and humid climate. This is a good question. Although colonies can usually survive hot and humid conditions, they will produce more honey and be less stressed if they don’t have to spend all their energy […] Read more