how-to
How to Customize Your Hive With a Screened Inner Cover and Imirie Shim
Add to Favorites Just as you can alter the entrance to your Langstroth beehive, you can also alter the top. Two pieces of optional equipment to consider are a screened …
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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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8 Ways to Be a Courteous Backyard Beekeeper
Add to Favorites Being a good beekeeping neighbor is something all backyard beekeepers should be concerned about. Be respectful and thoughtful of our neighbors by following good beekeeping practices. Know …
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How to Decrystallize Honey
Add to Favorites Every so often someone asks me how to decrystallize honey. Now, they don’t use those exact words. Usually, the conversation goes something like this. “Um, I’m not …
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Let’s Talk About Losing Bees
Like many beekeepers, we lost bees this winter. New packages failed to build up in a normal way last summer and were unusually slow to build comb and put away stores into fall. In September, aggressive yellow jacket predation weakened them further leaving them unable to carry themselves through the cold.
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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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Judging the Best Honey in the World
Add to Favorites Marissa Ames – Where does the best honey in the world come from? And how is it determined “best?” That question has no definitive answer, since every …
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How to Make Beeswax Candles
Add to Favorites Story and Photos By Laura Tyler, Colorado – Beeswax comes in a range of colors, from lemon-yellow to warm, grizzly brown — depending on its age and what part …
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What do Bees do in the Winter?
Add to Favorites Unlike birds, bees don’t fly south for the winter, nor do they hibernate. So, what do bees do in the winter? They try to survive. They spend …
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The Basics of Making a Bee Hotel
Add to Favorites Even though we have several honey bee hives on our property, our strawberries were not getting pollinated. After a bit of research, we learned that strawberries aren’t …
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