One of the best things about a Langstroth beehive is its adaptability. By using optional pieces of beehive equipment like a slatted rack and robbing screen, you can adapt your beehive to suit local conditions.
Read MoreAdd 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 …
Read MoreI remember seeing the queen in our first ever hive and thinking to myself, “I’ll never find supercedure cells since I’m going to do all I can to keep her alive forever.” Of course, that’s not the reality of beekeeping.
Read MoreA Langstroth hive is the most common beehive in developed countries. Lorenzo Lorraine Langstroth (the creator) observed that if 1 cm space was left between the cover of a hive and the top bars, that the bees would not fill it with burr comb or propolis—it was deemed walking around space.
Read MoreWill you utilize the most commonly used hive style, the Langstroth beehive or do you fancy yourself a top bar or Warre beekeeper? For protective equipment, you could use a veil, a jacket with vail, or a full body bee suit – which works for you? Location of your hive can impact your bees based on sun exposure (summer v. winter), wind exposure, accessibility, proximity to neighbors, and so on.
Read MoreIn the beginning beekeeping classes, I encourage new beekeepers to go into their hives at least every seven to 10 days to see how things are going. While a healthy colony of bees in a healthy environment will follow a generally predictable course, growing in population as spring advances, swarming, building again, then capitalizing on the summer honey flows, there are a lot of variations on this theme and a lot can go awry in a relatively short time. Problems tend to propagate themselves if not dealt with early, a small problem uncorrected becomes a bigger problem, then an even bigger problem, then a disaster. The beekeeper’s role is to keep things on course.
Read MoreAdd to Favorites I never thought that I would be keeping bees. In fact, my healthy fear of them as a child had me spending warm summer days indoors and …
Read MoreAdd to Favorites This year we started raising honey bees. I wanted to do this for the last couple of years but for one reason or another, it didn’t work …
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