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Where To Buy Bees For a Hive
You chose your beehive, set it up and got it ready for it’s new little dwellers. What’s next? Now it’s time to get your first bee colony! If you are new to beekeeping, the question of where to buy bees for a hive is a very important one. It’s not as if you can go to the local pet store and order a box of bees. So where do beekeepers get their bees? How Do Beekeepers Get Bees? There are 3 ways beekeepers get bees. They either buy a package of bees, buy a nucleus colony, or they catch a swarm. The most common method for new beekeepers is to buy…
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Best Location for Beehives
As a beekeeper it is your job to provide the best living conditions for your bees as possible. Part of that is to find the best location for your beehives. You can have all the right equipment for your apiary, but if it is not in the right location, your colony may not thrive. This article will talk about how to find the best location for beehives. When choosing the best location for beehives there are several things to consider. Safety, accessibility, and environmental factors must be taken into account. If you have multiple beehives you need to also look at how far apart should beehives be placed. Ideal Hive…
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Waterproofing Beehives
Beekeeping supplies can be a bit of an investment, but they usually do not need to be replaced very often. If you want your beehive to last a long time, it’s important that you properly maintain them. That includes protecting them from the elements, such as sun, rain, and snow. Waterproofing beehives provides a protective layer to seal the wood to stop moisture from seeping in. This strengthens the wood and increases it’s longevity. Benefits of Waterproofing Beehives Beehives that have been waterproofed last a lot longer than hives that are not. That’s not surprising because beehives are made out of wood and are exposed to a lot of sun,…
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5 Mistakes New Beekeepers Make
Like any new hobby, new beekeepers have a lot to learn. They can learn a lot through reading and watching videos, but the best learning experience is hands on. All new, and even experienced beekeepers will make a mistake time to time, it is inevitable. Below I have compiled a list of common mistakes new beekeepers make, in an effort to help you avoid them. 1. Inadequate Equipment It’s pretty common for new beekeepers to start out with a lack of equipment. This may be due to trying to save money, or because they simply underestimate how much they need. While beekeeping starter kits do come with many necessities new…
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Caring For Bees in the Winter
Winter is a vulnerable time for bees. The 2 things they need to survive – warmth and food are not readily available during the cold winter months. If there are no flowers to forage from, what do bees eat in the winter? This article will discuss what bees do in the winter, what bees eat in the winter, and how to feed bees in the winter. What Bees Do During Winter Unlike bears or birds, bees do not hibernate or fly away during the cold months. Instead, they gather in their hive. When the temperature drops to the 50s it’s time for the bees to return to the hive…
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The Importance of Beekeeping in Agriculture
The following is a guest post from Microbial Insights. For nearly three decades, Microbial Insights has been a leading biotechnology laboratory, offering microbial diagnostic solutions through innovative Molecular Biological Tools (MBTs). Our MBTs provide comprehensive identification and accurate quantification of microbial communities. Have you ever wondered why the beekeeping business is on the rise today? Many people opt to do the beekeeping business because it has numerous agricultural and economic benefits to farmers and the ecosystem. Some people keep bees for income generation while others for medicinal reasons. Over the centuries, honey was the only sweetener in use, and the first people to introduce beekeeping was the Egyptians. Honey was…
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How to Adopt a Beehive
Do you want to help bees without becoming a beekeeper yourself? One of the best ways to do that is by adopting a beehive. By doing so, you can help honeybees and also support the beekeepers who care for them. What is the Adopt a Beehive Program? Many apiaries participate in an adopt a beehive program. The specifics of the program can differ, but they all work similarly. How it works is you pay an adoption fee to the apiary of your choice. The beekeeper will use that money to care for your beehive. In return, you will receive different gifts, depending on the apiary. Usually you will get a…
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Fall Management for Beekeepers
When the weather starts to get colder and daylight gets shorter, you know fall is approaching. For beekeepers, there are certain tasks that must be done in fall in order to prepare their hives for winter. Why Fall Management is Important Fall management is important for your hives because you want to make sure that your bees can survive the winter and then build up quickly in the spring. You want your colonies to stay healthy, well fed, and disease free. While the bees do most of the hard work to prepare for fall and winter, there are a few things that the beekeeper can do to help them out. …
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What to Do After Catching a Swarm of Bees
For beekeepers, a swarm can mean free bees. But they must know how to catch a swarm and know what to do after catching a swarm of bees. What is a Swarm? A swarm is basically a large group of flying insects. In beekeeping, swarms occur when a single bee colony splits into two. This is the colony’s natural way of reproducing. Swarming usually happens in spring, when the hive becomes overcrowded, but it can occur all season long. One sign that the colony is preparing to swarm is the production of queen cups. The queen will then lay eggs in the queen cups to make a new queen for…
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Varroa Mite Treatment
When you find that your hive has been affected by varroa mites, it is important to treat your hive quickly and properly. It is not uncommon for untreated hives to become infested with varroa mites and eventually lose the colony. In order to treat varroa, most beekeepers will stick to a varroa mite treatment schedule. That way, you can be sure that you get rid of all of the mites. What are Varroa Mites? Also called varroa destructor, the varroa mite is a parasitic mite that feeds on honey bees. They are very small and reddish brown in color. Varroa mites live and feed on adult honey bees, but they…
