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Early March in new england, USA, temps now typically 25-45F. I've got two insulated hives with stores that are now spread out (hives were not well consolidated in fall). I monitor hive temps at...

The gist of my vast 1 year/1 KTBH experience in Shirley, MA is in the W. Kelley Jan 2013 newsletter (edit- p.25). I didn't have the heart to subject the poor things to another winter in the KTBH. ...

Correction to my post #11 above: my claim of not over 20F with 2" foam was from memory, and wrong-- I went back and checked some data, and in the dead of clear night when outside temperature...

At 4F outside, the inner walls of a standard hive are almost certainly below freezing. With 2" dense foam insulation top and sides, my hives seem to be never more than 20F above outside-- and much...

This needs a sticky. Big box stores only sell stuff they can move in volume. Call your local hardware stores, if you have any left. Then keep going to them even when you can get somethng for a few...

If you have the usual top bars without gaps between them, I doubt ventilating the top above them will do anything. It certainly didn't in my climate (new england USA). My KTBH hive in a shady spot...

I imagine there are many reasons, including: 1) different animals with different physical characteristics (such as length of probiscus/tongue or weight of body) will prefer different flowers. 2) ...

I've read that for food within a certain distance (several 100 feet?) the returning scouts do a non-directional, distance-only dance giving out free samples, and presumably the foragers then hunt in...

OP here, thanks for all the replies. Yes, I have foundation bought with embedded vertical wires, no horizontal used at all. I wanted to get away from plastic frames that my bees really don't seem...

Without getting into why, I'm wondering if I can crush and strain with wired foundation. It's got hooks in the top, clamped with a nailed wedge, no side clips or wires. I've used crush & strain...

If half of feral hives swarm every year, then roughly half of feral colonies die out every year in a stable population. Coincidentally, roughly half of all humans in Europe were killed by bubonic...

After rendering clean wax, if you end up with waxy crud at some point, it makes a great fire starter.

Actually, I really liked mine in some ways. I learned a lot about bee behavior from it that I wouldn't have from Langstroths. If you want to produce honey I wouldn't bother, but if you're...

To raise it 6 feet, consider bolting it to the end of a 8' 2x4, then raising it up against the tree and strapping the box or maybe just the upper part of the plank against the tree. The 2x4 will...

I generally had ok comb except for 3 places where they wanted to curve one end onto the adjacent bar, even though the first several combs in the hive were perfect. After timid attempts to cut it or...

Or you can salvage the screen from old package boxes, sew it together with wire as needed. Big box stores don't carry 1/8 hardware cloth, patronize your small local businesses first or you won't...

You know bears are very comfortable climbing trees, right? Because that pine near it looks pretty close.

John, I'm not living in Germany at the moment and don't know any beekeepers, I just visit where my wife's from (Oberstdorf) once or twice a year. I guarantee you there're supplies closer than...

You mean Bamberg? Look up imkereibedarf (beekeeping equipment) in the local phone book (available from the local post office). Or when driving out in the country, just keep an eye out for small...

Be advised that after a year I was relieved to move my TBH to a Langstroth, so I'm not the best source of inspiration or advice. Once a comb was going well, it was fine and needed no attention. I...

I found once my TBH started building slightly skewed comb edging on to the next bar, they just didn't want to stop, and would continue building it crooked at that spot. I concluded the key was to...

After buying some from a local hardware (NOT big box!) for a top bar hive, I noticed my package bees came in boxes with #8 screen. It can be removed and sewn together with wire for bigger pieces. ...

My Kelley SBBs have a lower-height entrance than my no-name solid bottom, which I believe is more standard. Doesn't seem to make a difference, and I doubt very much it matters to the hive...

I had a chamber above my TBH all winter, made from 3/4" wood strips and covered with glass, accessed by spreading several bars below it and blocking the end gaps of the spread bars with short...

If you have sugar, fondant or pollen patty on wax paper or any other wrapper, it's probably that.