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My bees are crazy about building queen cups. I swear, they do it just to amuse themselves. I used to really fret about this, but I have continuous brood production, and I rarely see a change in the...

Thanks!

My friend tells me that the bees are out foraging today, which is a hopeful sign.

Oddly, more urban areas will have flowers year 'round, where rural areas will have a summertime drought-dearth.

I keep bees in Oakland, which is Urban Bee Heaven.

Update (you can read a more detailed version of all this on my blog.)

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6080/6058808599_7816123197.jpg

I brought a frame of newly-laid eggs from my hives, just in...

Turns out there is an oily residue all over the landing board, and a seven foot circle of dead bees in front of the hive.

Following up on the idea that pesticides applied elsewhere might have killed the bees...

Can anyone give me names of consumer-grade garden chemicals that might have the power to do this? The hive...

Indeed. I'm going to check prices on wildlife cameras.

She describes finding thousands of dead bees in front of her hive.

If anyone can explain this another way, I'd be curious to hear what they have to say.

What possesses people to behave this...

I think she's going to.

My friend said that some bees are still alive. If I switched out the gear (especially the landing and bottom boards) might we be able to salvage the hive? I guess it's worth a try. I'm guessing...

This year, I set up a gardening friend with a hive of bees. She had the space, I provided the gear, the bees, and I did the work. She's got a six-foot tall fence all the way around the back yard.
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Yes. I admit I mis-figured the math.

A very well respected beekeeper in our area does multiple splits (five is the number that comes to mind) of his colonies.

Can you split this colony into two?

Any other thoughts?

Thank you for your thoughtful replies.

"Festooning" is the sign of a colony having a queen? I did not know that.

And for what it's worth my bees have always built tons of queen cups.

Would the experienced beekeepers please take a glance at my blog, and give me their opinions on what's going in inside of my two hives?

I split them on March 27th, and now I don't seem to have any...

But isn't this just a vicious cycle. You feed this to the bees, and it's still contaminated?

What am I missing?

According to the packaging, we should have taken all the honey supers off.

Hello beekeepers

I'm hoping for some advice about what we should do with the honey from a hive that died out or absconded this week. I'm in Northern California, so we're beekeeping in a very mild...

I think you gave them a more secure home than they might have made in the eaves of someone's house, or in a hollow tree.

It's hard not to fret, when you're just starting out.

Let the bees get...

Less noxious than a meth lab...

I've spent some happy times in East Greenwich! Nice to "meet" you.

I wonder if this question issue get at the issue Of job allocation in the honeybee colony. We've all learned that at certain ages, the bees have certain tasks. But how does this work in the winter,...

My bees are explorers. I've had to excavate them from inside my bra, and out of my knickers.

So, yeah -- I wear a full suit.

Wearing the full suit keeps me calm, which is good for the bees....