to
Setting Honey Prices, Labeling, and Marketing Homestead Honey
When we first started keeping bees, many friends and family wanted to buy honey from us. In the beginning, we didn’t have any extra, but after a while, we had more than our family could use and we decided to sell some. But we needed to make sure we were selling the honey legally and had a competitive honey price.
Read More
How to Make Fondant for Bees
Fondant for bees is a little different than the fondant that you find at the bakery. The bakery fondant can have high fructose corn syrup, cornstarch, coloring, and flavorings added to it. Making fondant for bees is a lot like making candy.
Read More
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 …
Read More
A Slatted Rack and Robbing Screen Can Improve Your Hive Entrance
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 More
How Do I Know if My Bees Are Too Hot?
Add to Favorites One of my favorite places to be on our property is in the bee yard. I will occasionally sneak in there with camera in hand and just …
Read More
How do Bees Mate?
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.
Read More
Tips for Planting Flowers That Attract Bees
Add to Favorites Bees contribute so very much to our world and unfortunately, we often neglect to recognize that. Oh, we know in our heads that over 150 fruits and …
Read More
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 …
Read More
Emergency, Swarm, and Supercedure Cells, Oh My!
I 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 More
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.
Read More