Backyard Beekeeping

What’s Better? Buying Bees or Catching Swarms?

January 19, 2022 · Countryside Magazine Contributor · Beekeeping 101

There are several ways to start beekeeping. Most beginners start buying bees via packages because they are the most readily available. Another way is to catch a swarm.

LIST: Common Beekeeping Terms You Should Know

January 18, 2022 · Josh Vaisman · Beekeeping 101

Here is a list of some of the common beekeeping terms used throughout the hobby. While this list isn’t exhaustive, it should at least help you sound knowledgeable at your bee club meetings.

The Varroa Mite: Know Your Enemy

January 12, 2022 · Countryside Magazine Contributor · Health & Pests

Add to Favorites By Josh Vaisman – Honey bees currently face three difficult challenges to their survival — a lack of quality nutrition, ubiquitous pesticides in the environment, and the …

What are Ankle-Biter Bees?

January 12, 2022 · Rusty Burlew · Ask the Expert

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.

Bee Jobs

January 9, 2022 · Backyard Beekeeping Contributor · Beekeeping 101

From the day they emerge from their cells, bees know exactly what to do and when to do it. So, how do bees get jobs?

Cleansing Flights

January 9, 2022 · Kristi Cook · Health & Pests

As with other living creatures, the “outcome” of cleansing flights can be a helpful tool in determining overall colony health and hive conditions, allowing the attentive beekeeper to make informed management decisions.

Do Domestic Honeybees Impact Native Bee Populations?

January 9, 2022 · Patrice Lewis · Health & Pests

It’s jarring to be faced with an unpleasant paradox: By keeping domestic honeybees, beekeepers may be competing with wild bees.

Dreaming of Summer

January 9, 2022 · Bridget Mendel · Plants & Pollination

Back in the day, bees could take flowers for granted. They just emerged in the spring, feasted, mated, and generally enjoyed life. Nowadays, food and habitat are much more precarious.