As winter approaches and the weather becomes cooler, your colony of bees will need less space than they did during the warmer months. Therefore some frames and supers (boxes) will need to be removed and stored securely until Spring. This is known as the winter shutdown. The climate where you […]
How To Store Frames Full Of Honey And Drawn Comb
You may be new to beekeeping and eager to get your first hive, but you already have a dog, or more than one. Naturally, you want to make sure your dog’s health and safety isn’t put at risk. So you need to ask – are bees dangerous to dogs? Or
Can You Keep A Beehive In Your Backyard If You Have Dogs?
As a beekeeper, choosing the type of protective clothing is important – but it’s also necessary to consider what you will wear underneath your suit. The main thing to remember is that the majority of beekeeping duties are performed when the weather is warm, during summer, spring, or fall. Hive inspections
What To Wear Under Your Bee Suit
As a beginner beekeeper, you may have come across the term bee nuc. But what is it exactly? And what is it used for in beekeeping? A bee nuc (which is short for nucleus colony) is a small colony of bees. It is usually stored in a single deep box
What Is A Bee Nuc And When Should You Use One?
A colony is divided to remove the bees’ impulse to swarm. This method is also known as artificial swarming. If your hive is in a suburban backyard it’s probably not ideal to allow your colony to swarm, as you need to consider the close proximity of your neighbors. In a
How To Split A Beehive And Prevent Swarming
Swarming is a natural biological impulse of bees and it is their way of making new colonies. Although a great way to start new hives, there are many reason why knowing how to stop bees from swarming is important as a beekeeper. For example, if you live in a built
How To Stop Bees From Swarming
Spring is the swarming season. This means the bee colony grows so much and so quickly they don’t have enough room. To overcome this, the workers grow a new queen and at an appropriate time, leave the hive with the old queen to find a new home. Catching a swarm
What To Do After Catching A Swarm Of Bees
In the past week, we’ve had a swarm in our garden, so I thought it was a good time to write a post about catching a swarm. What Is A Swarm Of Bees? The term swarm usually refers to a large group of flying insects moving together, in this case,
Bees need space to store honey. In the wild, they would build more comb as they need it. However, when you have bees in a hive on your property, you are the one who decides when to give them the extra space they require. The addition of another box or
When To Add A Brood Box Or Honey Super To Your Beehive
Conducting hive inspections is an essential part of keeping bees to help you understand your hive’s workings. Approximately one week to ten days after placing a new hive on your property you should undertake the first inspection. If it’s a new colony you can establish whether the queen has been
