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The first thing I do when I get a call for a cutout is to ask the requester to take some digital pictures of the "bees", location & height of hive etc. and e-mail them. Nowadays, most people either...

There are many reasons why one may transfer a frame between one hive and another hive. The general advice seems to be to remove the bees from the frame by either shaking them off or brushing them...

I am working on a screen trap out right now about 15 feet up in a hollow tree. One thing that I can say not to repeat. Don't make the screen funnel too long and narrow. The end of the funnel can...

Fully agree! Don't blame the bear! If somebody or their neighbor leaves "food" out for a bear to take, who encouraged the nuisance? Responsibly sustainable beekeeping in bear country includes an...

Interesting project. What kind of scale are you using? How are you adjusting for adding supers of frame exchanges if you have to make them? Thanks for sharing.

You either are an absolute whiz at finding queens/virgins in an emerging or settled swarm or something is hard to believe about these multiple queen findings in such quick succession.

Nice...

Very cool pictures! Your cone set up is done by the book! Well, it looks like a flat and single brick entrance made a bit easier to get a tight entrance seal. Thanks for posting.

I tried selling locally on Craigslist but did not get any takers at $10 per 3 pound jar or $150 per 5gal bucket=60pounds. Probably have to go lower in the price, which I hate to do.

Some suppliers have Fischer's Bee Quick still on back order. Is it being shipped at all this year? Please advise.

One of our hives swarmed yesterday. The swarm settled down about 20 feet from the hive location on some 3foot tall goldenrod. The goldenrod stalks could not take the weight of the bees and bent...

Yes, yes good idea and good luck to you!
Honor the bees freely and charge the humans fairly.

c10250, I saw some snow drops and crocus blooming today close to Lake Michigan. They produce orange pollen. Silver maple and witch hazel is blooming as well.

NuclearDruid,
Thanks for the post. Politics works in funny ways. Does this mean we may not have to have a double-sink and washable walls in our honey room?

In 2007 and less in 2008, I powder sugar dusted my bees a few times to counter the varroa mite. In 2009, I no longer sugar dusted as the hive genetics seem to have adjusted to this latest parasitic...

bnatural I agree burr comb can become a nuisance to the beekeeper.

Of consideration may be that there are differences between bee races in their tendency to build burr comb or propolise the...

Sierra, your contraption with the copper coil and propane torch sounds like a Burgess fogger. Could one use a 50:50 fogging solution of Fischer Bee Quick and mineral oil safely? I am interested in...

Well, they swarmed onto the bottom of a queenless hive and merged peacefully. Now, isn't that clever and resourceful!

I always thought that swarming appeared like an act of spring-time exuberance, a mass euphoria for exodus, an unbridled enthusiasm for the unknown. If you look at the apparent excitement and...

Tecumseh, I agree but the polling function in Beesource apparently does not allow for multivariate analysis. If there is a website where one can set up such a more sophisticated online poll with...

So, how do you estimate the maximum (or average?) number of bees in a single 10 frame deep? ....and what percent of the total population would maximally be out foraging at any one time? I looked...

1 cent per foraging bee sounds about right.
Just my 2 cents

For whatever it is worth, here are the results from a similar poll three years ago after the 2004/2005 winter. Keep in mind that there was no category for not keeping bees included in the 2004/2005...

What were your percent winter losses in the six month period from November 1, 2007 until April 30, 2008?

I agree with the Chef. There are too many beekeepers, swarm catchers, bee removal folks who are giving away their services, time and pain for free. That is all nice and sweet for the hobbyists but...

This poll is about the following scenario.
You inspect the hive every two weeks in the spring. On one inspection date you find many bees and frames with eggs, lots of fresh brood, capped brood and...