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Thanks, Dave.
I've got four pieces of wood now with 92 holes per piece, 5/16" diameters. I'll need a bunch of those paper inserts before long. Which brings me to another question:

For those...

Hello,
I'm trying to create my first "homes" for mason bees, and I'm wondering how deep the holes need to be. I've bought some untreated 4X5 inch pine from Home Depot, and I could either drill...

Thanks for your reply. So, there is a mason bee that's adapted to California. That's great news. Does anyone know if there are any commercial sites that offer these particular masons for sale?

Hi all,
Simple question: are there any mason bees in the San Diego area? I've read that they need mud to build their nests, which they'd find in abundance in the NW states like Oregon and...

Ernie, I think they walked. The supervisor keeps the door open for long periods of time while he brings boxes of veggies into the cooler. The question is, how does the mouse know when to get out...

Hello all,
I've got some bee boxes with wet comb in them which I've been storing in a walk-in cooler (at 40 degrees F). Someone who works at our farm suggested that the mouse they found in there...

If anybody has the answer to this question, I'd love to know---are there any types of plants whose pollen (or nectar or both) are toxic to bees? One candidate might be the castor bean plant. Another...

Sherpa, Thanks. Clear as a bell. These are the instructions that should have come with the package of Terramycin!

Flyer Jim, thanks for the link. Very useful!

Thanks, Tecumseh, looks like we've finally got it figured out. bluegrass, you're quite correct--I wouldn't have had to ask these detailed questions if the instructions on the bag were clear and...

Tecumseh, I'm glad to find someone who is familiar with the product. The bag I have is yellow and white, yes from Pfizer, but no mention of "25" potency anywhere I can find. The reason I started this...

bluegrass, I worked in an infectious diseases molecular biology lab for years, so I know the issues regarding antibiotic use better than most, and I completely agree that it is most unwise to use it...

I'm one of those beekeepers who likes to disturb his bees as infrequently as possible, so I want to be as prepared as I can be when I do open the hives to inspect for problems. I'm also one of those...

This morning I was working with an old beekeeper who said that bee venom is a histamine, so beekeepers (or anyone else) who gets stung would get relief from anti-histamines. Is there any truth to...

I hope the owners of www.beeworks.com won't mind me advertising their site, but I just called them today, and apparently they have just received a shipment of Certan from Germany. Certan (actually, I...

Jeffrey, I just posted a private note to you. I really need to find a lab that will test for AHB.
Thanks.

Bullseye, don't your bees go berzerk if you don't calm them down with smoke? As I'm sure you know, smoke termporarily interrupts their alarm pheromone sensing system. My beekkeeping teacher tried to...

Thanks, Michael. knowing that will be a relief in case I see multiple queen cells when I get to the bottom (brood chamber) of my hives--if I see them, I won't freak. As much as I love bees, I feel...

Thanks, Brent, actually I was hoping to learn what bad technique looks like, so I can avoid those pitfalls. Any examples that anyone wants to share would be most welcome.

Kirk-o, hope you see this. I'm a greenhorn when it comes to beekeeping, so I'd appreciate any tips on good technique vs. bad technique---this fellow who used "poor technique"--what did he do, or not...

Two friends of mine who live just north of San Diego were called to a hive where the bees had become very aggressive. They killed the hive with CO2, then opened up the hive to see what it looked...

aidah and all,
I'm a beginner and I'm going to open up my hives for the first time this weekend. I know what wax moth larva damage looks like, but I'm not sure what SHB (Small Hive Beetle)...

Here's a cool story for you. Back in grad school in Madison, Wisconsin in the mid 1980s, my landlord and landlady were Mansel (yes, that's his first name) and Dottie Johns. Mansel told me that, some...

Wow, what a diversity of opinions. Reminds me of pulling petals off a daisy, "Orientation matters, it matters not, it matters, it matters not...." I had no idea my question would prompt such a...

Got a question for you all--I just moved a wild hive from an irrigation box on the farm into a regular Langstroth hive box. As it was situated originally, the wild combs hung from the lid of the...