Tag: honeybee biology
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Beelining
Stan has been tinkering with his Beelining box again today. It’s pretty cool. For those who don’t know, Beelining is a method to find feral honeybee colonies. You catch some bees in a specialized “beelining box,” then fill their tummy (honey sac) with sugar water. This makes them want to fly back to their colony…
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Should I get a 2- or 3-pound package?
First of all, if you are a brand new beekeeper, please consider purchasing a nuc. See Lesson 1: Nucs and Packages. You will have more success with a nuc. Promise. Then next year, when you are addicted to bees, get some packages. If you have decided on packages (find our more about packages here), you…
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What’s happening to our honey bees?
This article is from my days working for USU Extension. Thought it was appropriate to share here. What’s happening to our honey bees? By Alicia Moulton Honey bees are on the decline throughout the world. Here’s why. Honey bee Colony Collapse Disorder is a complex matter with many contributing factors that have compounded over…
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Bees vs Wasps
We often get calls for swarm removal. Before heading out, we like to make sure the colony we are dealing with is honey bees and not wasps. Here are some of the major similarities and differences between bees and wasps. In this photo, you can see bees and wasps drinking from the same sugar syrup,…
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Why we use deep boxes exclusively
We only use and sell deep boxes. This is a management preference. All beekeepers do things a bit differently and this is our favorite way. We think our way is more efficient because we don’t have to store several sizes of boxes and frames. (And we’ve had 25 years plus 4 generations of experimentation. Trust…
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Bees on the front entrance of the hive
Often in hot summer weather, bees gather around the entrance porch of their hive to cool off. This is normal. It would also be normal to see 2-3 times as many bees as this. When this photo was taken, it was more than 90 degrees Fahrenheit in early evening. Bees pictured are calm and walking…
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Should I assemble boxes with the rough side in or out?
Unassembled bee boxes often come with one side of the wood planed smooth, and the other left rough. When assembling boxes, you will need to decide weather to put the rough side of the wood on the inside or outside of the box. We recommend putting the rough side on the inside of the box. Here’s why.…