January 22, 2024

Q  Preventing Varroa virus transmission  Has there been any research on practical methods to prevent the viruses that are transmitted through Varroa? We all want Varroa to go away but it seems like it will be here for a while. Could we treat or prevent the viruses from getting into the bee colony, fight the result of Varroa? For example,…

Why should we talk about small hive beetles in January? Wouldn’t it be more fun to talk about this Super El Niño and parse out the many fun beekeeping tasks we can accomplish on a mild, sunny day? Well, sure, you can keep pretending SHB isn’t a major concern. But your bees can’t — because SHB are still out there, lurking…

Honey bees are experiencing unsustainable colony loss rates, and many species of wild pollinators are experiencing range contractions and population declines. Pesticides are not the only reason for these problems, but hundreds of scientific studies show very clearly they’re contributing. For this and other reasons, some people think we should get rid of pesticides. But that’s not currently practical. Our…

The January 1870 American Bee Journal contained an article by J.L. Peabody, who presented a description and a picture of a honey extractor invented by his brother H.O. Peabody (see Figure 1). During this early time of developing a suitable honey extractor, numerous creative designs arose. Some of these designs would be surprising to the modern beekeeper –– the Peabody…

The kitchen of my youth smelled of lye soap, smoked bacon, and peck baskets of walnuts. A throwback to the 40s, the kitchen had a linoleum floor and a table topped with red-and-white checked oilcloth. (Oh, how I miss the lead in my diet!) In the center sat the perennial must-haves of the day: salt, pepper, a squat vase of…