Featured Stories
What Yield Can I Expect Per Hive Per Season in Maryland?
When I have a colony overwinter — and they have no spring/summer issues such as a queen dying or an unexpected swarm — I generally get around 75-100 pounds of honey from each hive in Colorado.
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Setting Honey Prices, Labeling, and Marketing Homestead Honey
When we first started keeping bees, many friends and family wanted to buy honey from us. In the beginning, we didn’t have any extra, but after a while, we had more than our family could use and we decided to sell some. But we needed to make sure we were selling the honey legally and had a competitive honey price.
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How to Talk to Vegans About Honey & Bees
I have yet to meet a beekeeper—commercial or hobbyist—who doesn’t adore his or her bees. There is a beauty and a romance to beekeeping that begins with the sun, and, if you are lucky, ends in a bonanza of the best tasting honey you have ever known.
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How to Treat Varroa Mites — A New Perspective
My wife and I took a beginning beekeeping class before becoming backyard beekeepers. We learned about wax moth treatment and how to manage ants in beehives. We also learned how to …
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Hive Robbing: Keeping Your Colony Safe
Honey bee robbing is an almost desperate commitment, en masse, to maximizing a resource. Here’s why it happens, how to prevent it, and how to stop it when you see it.
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Does Peppermint Deter Wax Moths?
David writes: Have you had any results from putting mint near your hives to prevent wax moths? While I have heard of folks suggesting mint could be a deterrent to …
Read MoreWhich Bees Make Honey?
While not all bees make honey, there are many species that do—perhaps hundreds.
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Should I be Worried About Practice Queen Cups?
First off, if her laying pattern is still good, the colony population is to your liking, and the workers haven’t tried to replace her yet, you could consider just leaving her in there.
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Steps for Successfully Filtering Beeswax
When people find out that we are honey bee farming, they always ask about the honey. But bees also produce beeswax and something will need to be done with the …
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Top 10 Reasons to Become a Beekeeper
You don’t have to get up at 2:00 in the morning to check if they are hatching or calving. You can also go on a reasonable vacation without commissioning a bee sitter.
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