American Bee Journal

Q  Temperatures that kill wax moths and small hive beetles  I am trying to look up the minimum temperatures at which small hive beetles (SHBs) and wax moths can no longer survive so that I can minimize my expenditures on prevention. It is 7:30 a.m. now and it is 50°F (10°C) outside. I understand that it is 95°F (35°C) or…

In the previous article, we made a detailed examination of reversing hive bodies, which is a method to maintain colony growth in the spring. To review briefly, by early spring some clusters have ascended up under the cover, leaving empty combs below. Up under the hive cover, colony growth can stall. In a vertical hive design, the cluster more readily…

When we consider planting for pollinators, we often focus on crop plants or garden flowers that bloom at eye level or below. These range from tiny forget-me-nots to swaths of clover to prickly jungles of raspberries. For whatever reason, we rarely consider trees for our pollinator gardens. We may think trees are slow to grow, deposit messy litter on the…

Last fall, I took my two dogs for a walk in the woods behind my house. The black Labrador mix came home with 56 ticks (my daughters meticulously counted as we pulled them off of her!). The Boston terrier came home with only one tick. I could have predicted my Lab would bring home more ticks. She engaged in several…

These seasonal events are complicated simplicity First and foremost — the “nectar flow” If you are new to beekeeping, the primary nectar flow is the period, in your area, when major nectar-producing plants do their seasonal flowering thing. It’s why beekeepers constantly make plans for this intensive part of the year. Oh yes, it’s a glorious time to keep bees.…

Last year I installed bees in large multi-comb (wide and tall) observation hives with frames (when a usurpation swarm interrupted my work). This article continues that work, showing one of its benefits. These observation colonies went in my bee house, originally designed to house 30 single-comb top-bar observation hives. This way I can begin confronting the bee management for these…

Q  Can laying workers produce female offspring? I received two questions on this topic. I list both questions before providing my answer. I am a southern California backyard beekeeper and have been enjoying the hobby for ten years or so. The articles “The Honey Bees in Africa” & “The Cape Bee, an Unusual Pest of European Bee Colonies” in the…

A hallmark of beekeeping Swarming, a complicated bee behavior A swarm of honey bees is a biological wonderment. For most people who don’t keep bees, a single encounter with a swarm becomes a lifelong memory. For the established beekeeper, hiving a swarm is an economical moment — free bees. For the public, it’s a spicy moment of danger and fear…

Witch hazel has always flustered me. As a kid, witch hazel-scented products reminded me of a suffocating aunt who delivered too many perfumed hugs. If I smelled it at a picnic or a church supper, my stomach would flip-flop. Even the name tormented me. For decades, I avoided anything to do with witch hazel until an icy morning last October…

One of the more controversial topics among beekeepers, conservationists, and land managers is the impact that managed honey bees can potentially have on native wild bees and native plants via competition for resources. I decided to wade into the science on this topic in last year’s March and September Notes from the Lab columns . I highlighted two papers that…