Hobby Beekeeping

Bee's are often placed for reasons that have nothing to do with the food available within a 2 mile circumfrence of their home. Maybe this idea could help?

Something strange is going on in the hive. Bees are carrying out some objects that look like mites. I discuss this rare event as well as updates on the model to predict hive survival or failure.

What impact will this have on the bees and I look at planning hives for this year.

Some 900 or so years ago, Aborginal cultures began making decisions based on the outcome that would impact their people and planet, some 7 generations into the future. The 7th Generation Principle has been interpreted many different ways since then. Can we adapt this wise Principle to Beekeeping?

As I prepare for this coming year, I wonder if queen excluders are harmful or helpful to bees. I know they seem to help with the honey harvest. What are your thoughts?

It can be a tough decision if you think your bees are running out of food because of the cold weather. What should we do?

Most of us today want to help natural bees, honeybees and nature. Here is a breakdown of the 3 different types of beekeeping that likely you are doing.

In this recently released study, I discuss the incredible finding of what happens to honeybees when microbiota from children with autism is placed in the gut of honeybees. What are the lessons we can take away from this for our own physical health and that of the honeybee hives.

Raising bees without treating them for mites has been happening for many years in the UK. Over 3,000 beekeepers and counting. What a great discovery and helps me wonder why aren't we doing this in Canada and the US?

For years I've been trying to understand how new drones know where to go to be able to find a drone congregation area and hook up with queens. This recent research solves that puzzle.

This latest research points to the fact that if we have booming hives in the spring or even fall they are more likely to fail when compared to weak or medium ones. What could be going on? This new study gives us some ideas and may guide what we do this spring.

We were able to complete our first research paper and through our experience and the science, this new model is born. I explain it a bit and urge you to go and read the article and give us your comments. You can find the article here. http://dx.doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.31126.73283

It's simple to do but most of us don't do it. How this strategy is guarantted to help you increase your hive survival.

Pesticides in and outside of your hives impact hive survival. This latest research and our farm experience help explain the problem.

With the extended warm fall, the stronger bees are taking down the weaker. Here's my discussion of this part of nature that is tough to watch.

The hostile takeover in late summer has lead to the death of this hive. What do you think?

Vaccinate your bees? Why do we follow these stupid ideas and just fall into line. As early as 1999 a solution was found to Foul Brood. Stop the madness.

We all do this but likely we are hurting our bees. Also, why aren't more beekeepers using this simple technique to help with winter survival?

I take a look at the peer reviewed literature that all seems to point in the same direction. Treating bees for mites might kill the mites but also harms the bees. So why do we do it?

From acid treatments to mite strips back to back, I'm trying to understand the business of Livestock beekeeping. it's not easy but we have to try to listen to perspectives that really don't fit our approach. We can all learn from each other.

It's a great time of the year to look back and get clear on what I've learned from our project thus far. Some pretty surprising but common sense strategies that you can start using today.

In an amazing discovery scientists have discovered that honeybees develop traits to fight mites while in capped brood. In this podcast I discuss this new finding as another reason we should ask ourselves are we helping or hurting bees by using chemicals to control mites.

This fact propels the evolutionary impact of how different strains of bees if left alone will adapt to the environmental strain they are facing. We humans are also evolving. This fact is also why the bees are able to adapt to mites quickly, if we just let them.

This one is hard to believe. What would you do?

You don't need to open your hive to see if they are healthy. Here are 3 simple signs your hive is doing well.