Featured Stories
What are Ankle-Biter Bees?
Purdue ankle-biters are a type of honey bee developed at Purdue University after beekeepers noticed that some honey bees bit the legs off dislodged varroa mites. Individual bees with this hygienic trait were inbred in order to increase the incidence of the genetic alleles that produced the behavior. The result of this breeding program yielded the so-called ankle-biters.
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What Bugs Your Bees in Winter? Know the Lineup of Beekeeping Pests.
Even before we open our first beehive, we are warned about pests that may live within. Small hive beetles, wax moths, and varroa mites are things we dread, so early in our training we learn how to deal with them.
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How Bees Communicate with Pheromones
Honey bees are eusocial, meaning they live in highly complex social colonies, with multiple casts and tens of thousands of individuals of overlapping generations.
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Make Your Own Beeswax Wraps
Add to Favorites By Amanda Paul – As we are all aware, plastic is everywhere — in our households, landfills, and even in the deepest depths of the ocean. Beeswax …
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Urban Beekeeping Benefits You and Your Neighbors
The list of urban beekeeping benefits is extensive, so long as we approach it in a neighborly way. Being a courteous beekeeper in a city or suburb goes a long way.
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Hygienic Bees Smell Disease and Do Something About It
One form of social immunity is called hygienic behavior, wherein many young workers resist the spread of pathogens and Varroa mites by detecting, uncapping, and removing unhealthy brood.
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What is Honey Bee Dysentery?
Beekeeping is rife with confusing terminology that can baffle even experienced beekeepers. Honey bee dysentery is a perfect example.
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Can I Feed Bees Honey From Another Hive?
The real problem with feeding honey from another hive is whether the honey is contaminated with spores of American foulbrood (AFB). If any of the colonies that produced it had AFB, the honey can easily become contaminated. And when you have a large bucket, the honey is likely from multiple colonies, which increases the chances of contamination.
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5 Honey Bees to Consider, Including Buckfast Bees
One of the first questions a beekeeper asks is, “What kind of bees should I keep?” There are many bees to choose from: Carniolan, German, Italian, Russian, and Buckfast bees, to name a few. Which is the right one to keep?
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Solar Bleaching Beeswax: The Safest Method for Lighter Wax
Solar bleaching, on the other hand, has been around for thousands of years and is still the most common and safest method of bleaching wax with a negligible learning curve, promising a lighter wax on your first attempt with just a few steps to keep in mind.
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