Category Archives: Beekeeping
Urban Beekeeping Mug
Yesterday, Father’s Day, my family surprised me with this homemade mug. They had conspired to co-create this bit of art for the past few days. I heard the hushed tones and I saw people and things quickly disappear when I … Continue reading
Miel Carlota – Once the World’s Biggest Bee Farm
One of the world’s largest honey farms was a Mexican outfit started by a couple of guys on holidays from Germany. The Second World War broke out while they were rambling around the Mexican coast, so they stayed for an … Continue reading
Posted in Beekeeping, Books, Commercial Beekeeping, History, People, Queens
Tagged Alberta, Mexico, Miel Carlota, queen breeding, royal jelly
27 Comments
Mind the Gap!
If you travel metro in London (and many other cities) you might hear a polite admonition from the public address system, “Mind the gap!” It’s advising you not to get your footwear stuck between the train and platform while boarding. Beekeepers … Continue reading
Posted in Beekeeping, Ecology, Honey Plants
Tagged dandelions, feeding bees, June beekeeping
15 Comments
Swarm Season
It’s swarm season here in the north. That will end soon enough, but right now it’s pushed by long days and a heavy dandelion flow. Hives just can’t help themselves. In the old days of skep and gum beekeeping, a … Continue reading
Posted in Beekeeping, Friends, History, Swarms
Tagged beekeeping, California, Pennsylvania, Swarms
3 Comments
Long Live the (New) Queen
During the past week, we looked at how to requeen a hive. On Monday, we considered the reality of queen troubles and how our hives differ from feral colonies. Tuesday was about identifying a queen’s quality from her brood pattern, … Continue reading
Sticking the Queen In
Over the past few days, I’ve written a little about identifying poor queens by examining brood patterns. Then we discussed finding and pinching her failing heinousnesses. The next step in your requeening saga is inserting the caged queen. Here in … Continue reading
Posted in Beekeeping, History, Queens, Tools and Gadgets
Tagged Benton cage, queen cages, queenless hives
2 Comments
Pinching the Queen
Today I’ll write a few words about finding and murdering the old queen. We’ll assume that you have decided the queen must die. Harsh as that sounds, sometimes it’s the only way to save a hive. Think of the colony … Continue reading
Good Queen; Bad Queen
Quite a few commercial beekeepers replace queens every second year. It’s a scheduled event, sort of like a birthday. Half the hives will get a new queen in 2017, the other half in 2018, then back to the first group … Continue reading
Long Live the New Queen
Spring is typical requeening season. Sometimes you do it yourself; other times, the bees swarm or supersede. A young queen is the result. When a queen is failing, you’re told: Kill the old queen and replace her. Pretty straight forward, … Continue reading
Bad Beekeeping Blog 