Category Archives: Beekeeping
More on High Temperatures and Bees
A couple of days ago, I posted about our all-time record high temperature. It was 37 ºC (98.6 ºF) – a temp that’s not too extravagant for many beekeepers, but the city of Calgary had never seen such a hot … Continue reading
Posted in Beekeeping, Books, Climate, Commercial Beekeeping
Tagged extreme weather, Langstroth
4 Comments
Our Hottest Day
My home town, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, just set a record for heat. In all the past decades of weather-watching here, we’ve never been as hot as it was today. Ever. (In recorded history.) Officially, it reached 37C, which is over … Continue reading
Expecting the unexpected
For the past two days, I described how we might predict a future honey flow. I mentioned how difficult soothsaying can be yet I went on to say that experience and a tool like a scale hive can help us … Continue reading
Posted in Bee Yards, Beekeeping, Climate, Commercial Beekeeping
Tagged Bee Yards, extreme weather
13 Comments
How to predict the honey flow
This post will be disappointing to anyone hoping for a quick and easy way to predict what the honey flow will bring. There is no substitute for experience. It may take years to gain the knowledge you’ll need because every … Continue reading
Posted in Beekeeping, Climate, Commercial Beekeeping, History, People
Tagged Alberta, August, dearth, Don Peer, nectar flow, scale hive, statistics, UBAC
2 Comments
What will August bring?
I had an email last week with a question about beekeeping. I couldn’t answer it. The reader asked, “What can I expect my bees to do in August?” It depends, of course, on where you are keeping bees. In the … Continue reading
A Taste of Honey
I checked the bees this morning. They started as packages on foundation but are all grown up now and starting to fill honey supers. The main flow has been going well for a couple of weeks, though interrupted by a … Continue reading
Honey for the house
We had a late spring. Our main flow hasn’t quite started. In another week, the bees will be gathering ten pounds of clover and alfalfa honey each day here in Calgary. There’s a nice flight today but five days ago, … Continue reading
Posted in Beekeeping, Honey, Tools and Gadgets
Tagged Alberta, beeswax, bottling honey, Calgary
4 Comments
Smokers, beware: Playing with Fire
Today, I will end this mini-series of blog posts about smokers with some safety tips. Smokers can be dangerous and yada, yada, yada – some readers have already tuned out. But here’s the cost. I know a South Dakota beekeeper … Continue reading
Smokers, beware: Bee Smoker 101
If you’re somewhat new at beekeeping, you haven’t been using a smoker for long. You might not know some of the peculiarities of the hot little machine. I’ll give some basics here. Tomorrow, we’ll look at smoker safety, aka, how … Continue reading
Smokers, beware: Stuff I’ve Smoked
Yesterday, I started a discussion about whether beekeepers should use a smoker. (Smoke or no smoke?) I think you should use one, but you’ve got to be smart about it. I’ll write more about smart smoking tomorrow, in a piece … Continue reading
Posted in Beekeeping, Books, Tools and Gadgets
Tagged Bad Beekeeping, bee smoker, Earl Emde, Florida, Saskatchewan, smoker fuel
8 Comments
