Hobby Beekeeping

In this podcast, I discuss a presentation made by Dr. Thomas Seeley 11 months ago, and how it is an important and valuable training tool for hobby beekeepers.

The bad air has made the bees jumpy and swarms continue to keep moving in.

Eliminating the stress bees face is very beneficial to their health, ability to produce large amounts of honey, and overall survival. Here are some thoughts on why it seems our bees are pretty chill.

I finally figured it out, hence this bonus podcast. If you are one of the few, here's the link to more information on the class. Remember the discount code is POD7 https://hankbee.gumroad.com/l/zwzsp

Two months ago, a swarm moved into a Warre hive. It is exploding with bees. What should I do this late in the season? Here's the link to the class, remember the discount is POD7 https://hankbee.gumroad.com/l/zwzsp

We have reduced entrances on all of our hives. It's one of those rules that has helped them survive. But now at night, we see them reducing their entrances even more. It's not all of our bees, but mostly those with a history of survival. What could be happening, and another reason why continuous hive entrance monitoring is valuable for the hobby beekeeper.

As I look for a bit of honey, several new findings emerge. Bees move honey around the hive so the queen can lay eggs and a steady flow of nectar despite the drought.

With all these hives and bees, I'm not sure what to do next. Here's a farm update and some ideas on the summer splits.

Looking at how to select the hives to split again and why it's a good idea.

Transferring a nuc into a standard hive within the beehouse was an enjoyable experience—updates on this new project and a beekeeping myth that is hurting our bees.

Maybe things will work out after all.

We take the month of June and refrain from touching our hives. It's tough, as we want to go in and look at things. Here's why we leave them alone with some split and swarm updates.

We have three different swarms that have chosen to live with us on the farm so far this year. Here are some hive updates and some thoughts about IPM.

Some of my 2 frame splits worked, many did not. What happened, what I did wrong, plus a new question and answer live session tonight at 7:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.

What happened when I checked out the mouse hive and an update on the progress of our other hives.

Here's a strategy I use and discovered by accident, that is ideal if you only have a few hives and want a split strategy that only takes a minute or two.

It took 150 years for health care professionals to wash their hands between patients. How long will we delay using proven practices to save our bees?

This morning, the temperature hit -5 C, with a wind chill of -10 C. Yesterday, some bees were flying at 7-9 C. What could this mean?

Under the Darwinian black box selection technique I'm supposed to let them die. But this isn't an easy thing to do. I talk through my thinking on this and ask you what would you do?

It's important to watch the hive entrance at this time of year to signal if the hive may be ready for splitting. Here are some of my plans, plus the problem with having a good winter survival rate.

Although the research proves that these strategies could help not sure why we don't do them.

How these 2 frame nuc's will help with sustainability.

Possibly the most futuristic, but helpful this strategy would be a no brainer for me to initiate if I were starting with bees today.

It was talked about some time ago, but should we not consider it today? The other important point is to ask the right questions when investigating the current issue with hive loss. This could help.

Here are two more hobby beekeeping strategies I would use if I started today. Splitting twice a year I think is the most important.