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What Causes Colony Collapse Disorder in Honeybees?

What is colony collapse disorder (CCD) and what causes it? Maurice Hladik tackles this confounding question.

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6 Simple Beeswax Uses
October 4, 2022 · · Honey & Beeswax

Since we started keeping bees a few years ago we’ve learned about so many beeswax uses. We had no idea it was so versatile.

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Starting Beekeeping: Find a Beekeeping Mentor

Mentoring is a traditional way for beekeepers to teach people starting beekeeping about tending bees. However, finding a mentor, someone who is both knowledgeable about hive management and interested in teaching you, can feel difficult, especially if you don’t know anyone who keeps bees in your area.

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How to Help Bees During Spring Rain and Storms
March 5, 2022 · · Health & Pests

Spring rain is a welcome sight to a homesteader who is busy sowing seeds and planting crops. However, those same spring rains can turn into devastating storms that often leave beekeepers wondering how to help bees weather the storms?

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Top Bar Beehives vs Langstroth Beehives
December 8, 2021 · · Hives & Equipment

Not long after our teenage son started raising honey bees, a family friend built him a top bar beehive with an observation window using beehive plans from a homesteading book. It was such an amazing gift.

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Why Honey Bees Dying in the Hive Should Be Investigated
November 4, 2021 · · Health & Pests

Honey bees dying while you learn to care for the colony and hive is disappointing. It is important to look into the cause of honey bees dying to avoid it happening again.

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How do Bees Mate?
June 15, 2021 · · Health & Pests

An interesting and deadly dance takes place all across the world; in fact, it’s necessary for human survival and yet goes unnoticed by humans year after year. The dance is actually the mating ritual of honey bees.

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5 Tips for Starting Beekeeping

Will 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.

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From Point A To Point Bee

When I sell bees to a new beekeeper, the question of moving bees often comes up. I get questions like, “Why do you move them after dark?” or “Can I move them again once they are set?” or “Why do they have to be moved at least two miles away?” These and other questions about the subject are not easily understood and can be very confusing to beginners. Yet, the more we learn about bees the easier they are to understand.

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Successfully Installing Packaged Bees

Packaged bees have become an annual addition to many beekeeping operations, so the skills you learn successfully installing them the first time will be repeated in the years to come.

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