When people find out I’m a beekeeper, usually the first question is, “Do you ever get stung?” I usually reply, “Only when I do something stupid”, which is pretty much the truth. Honey bees are judicious with their stings because to sting you is to die. Every now and then, Read more…
One of the downsides to top bar hives is that new comb is very fragile since it’s only attached to the top bar. In a Langstroth frame, the comb is attached to the foundation that provides stability, or if you are not using foundation, it gets supported on the 4 Read more…
We’ve been having a lot of hot weather the past 2 weeks (hit 102ºF on June 21st), which has made hive inspections problematic. When it’s really warm, new comb can easily collapse, especially if it’s loaded with nectar or honey. A collapsed comb full of nectar is a sticky mess Read more…
I started out this year with one hive and one queen. Through splits and swarms and packages, I’m now up to seven queens for seven hives (brides for brothers?). Of the seven, two queens are home grown (raised from eggs of BnB1’s queen). All of them seem to be doing Read more…
On Saturday, I looked in to all the hives to see how the splits and packages were doing. I pulled out the queen cages earlier in the week from the package hives, but now I needed to see if the queens were alive and laying. Left Hand Hive When I Read more…
Ah, springtime in the Rockies. Crab apple trees in full bloom, deep blue skies, daffodils and tulips popping up everywhere, temperatures in the 70’s and a winter storm watch for the weekend with the potential of 10-18″ of snow here (and 2-4 feet in the foothills). I took advantage of Read more…
The promise of a moist El Niño spring is still eluding us, but who am I to complain about a 74 degree day? We could really use some moisture, but despite the lack of that, the crocuses are blooming and my girls are bringing in pollen from maples, ash and Read more…