Category Archives: Beekeeping
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
Smokers, beware: Smoke or no smoke?
Smoke or no smoke? Good question. It surprises me that there are beekeepers who have completely forsworn smokers. Such quixotic folks ply their trade without smoke, believing (perhaps correctly) that a bee smoker invalidates the organic status of their honey. … Continue reading
Minding the June Gap
I ran this piece last year, but it’s worth repeating. After the natural spring bouquet has begun to fade, honey bees may become hungry. The hives are (usually) strong with lots of brood. If there is a long gap between … Continue reading
Posted in Beekeeping, Ecology, Honey Plants
Tagged Alberta, dandelions, feeding bees, June beekeeping, Pennsylvania
2 Comments
Package Bee Population
Yesterday, I wrote about bee populations in a hive that starts as a package. The original bees slowly die while the number of new bees, arising from eggs laid by the package’s queen, rapidly increases. In yesterday’s example, the immigrant … Continue reading
Posted in Beekeeping, Queens, Science
Tagged Florida, package bees, queenless hives, Saskatchewan
9 Comments
A Depleted Home
A few days ago, a friend invited me to visit her bees. In one part of her apiary, there were three hives, neatly lined, single-storey. These hives had started the season as packages five weeks earlier. Two were excellent. They … Continue reading
Posted in Bee Biology, Beekeeping, Queens
Tagged Alberta, package bees, pollen substitutes, queenless hives, Tolstoy
7 Comments
Ron on PolliNation!
I’m so excited to share a link to PolliNation, the fantastic podcast about . . . Pollination! This podcast episode features the show’s host in conversation with me! Dr Andony Melathopoulos, the bee scientist running The PolliNation Podcast, invited me … Continue reading
Posted in Beekeeping, Culture, or lack thereof, Friends, Outreach, Pollination
Tagged Andony Melathopoulos, podcast, Pollination
2 Comments
Package Hive Update
Three weeks ago, we installed two packages in our backyard. We started with mostly new equipment, though we had six drawn, white-comb, deep frames for the bees to nest in right away. I considered using 100% foundation and letting the … Continue reading
