behavior
Let’s Talk About Dead Bees
Like many beekeepers, we’ve lost bees. Losing bees is never easy, and there can be many causes.
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Why do Bees Swarm?
Add to Favorites One of the most disappointing things that can happen to a beekeeper is to have a hive swarm. After it happened to us, we decided we really …
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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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Natural Bees Comb Building: Boon or Bust?
The construction of natural bee’s comb is a wonder to behold. Festooning bees clasp legs to form hanging chains, a behavior many beekeepers describe as measuring, and set to work building hexagonal cells using wax flakes they excrete from abdominal glands and shape with their jaws. Each bee appears to work independently, yet somehow cells built by many bees working on different areas of comb come together seamlessly.
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Propolis: Bee Glue that Heals
Honeybee propolis is a brown or reddish resinous substance made by bees to protect the hive against animal and bacterial invaders. The word “propolis” is a compound of the Greek words “pro” and “polis” and translates to, “Before the city.” Bees use propolis as a building material to fill gaps and crevices, varnish combs and shape entrances, sometimes creating fantastic gobs that supposedly aid ventilation in the hive.
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Beekeeping with the Warre Hive: The Original Homestead Beehive
Add to Favorites By Ernie Schmidt, Washington – Beekeeping with the Warre hive, for me, is the easiest way to care for bees. The Warre beehive was developed specifically to be …
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How Disease Can Cause Bee Population Decline
With movable frame colonies, beekeepers discovered pests and diseases that they only superficially knew about. Honeybees, like any other animal, are subject to the frailties of this sometimes pale existence.
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