August 21, 2023

Monitor your mite load, or you’re beekeeping blind Forensic discussion is some of the most important bee talk we beekeepers share. No one should feel ashamed to talk about their hive losses. It’s part of the detective work we do. Telling our deadout stories at our bee clubs, and listening to other beekeepers’ opinions, helps us refine our management. If…

Crop pollination is critically important for farmers and it’s a major revenue source for many beekeepers. Depending on the crop and location, farmers currently pay from ~$30-250 per hive and stocking densities are recommended at ~1-4 hives per acre for the field where they’re placed. Given the importance of pollination, it’s equally important to assess whether stocking-density recommendations are sound.…

The history of apiculture is full of beekeeping books accompanied by unique hive designs created by their authors. To survive more than a century, books would be expected to fare better than hives, being sheltered indoors. The protection was far from perfect. Leaky roofs were a notorious and chronic problem in old houses, wetting and sticking book pages together, not…

Q  Queen footprint pheromone I recently read in an American Bee Journal article by Jake Barker that queens’ foot pheromones limit bees from creating queen cups. It stated that was why you see queen swarm cups along the bottom bar since queens spend less time in that area of a comb. That is the first time I have heard that.…

Feeling industrious one spring day, I tackled a dusty shelf of books I’d been avoiding. Concealed in a rarely visited room of the house, it was easy to overlook. But I knew what lay ahead. I sat cross-legged on the floor and began extracting books one by one. The old volumes, falling into desuetude with sun-scorched spines and musty odors,…