backyard beekeeping

Tricked or Treat: Epic Fail of the Sugar Shake

The unreliability of sticky boards and the dead bee effect of an alcohol wash has beekeepers doing the sugar shake. It works by tossing a...

Ventilation Nation

Ask ten beekeepers how to ventilate the hive in winter, get one answer. Something’s not right. Does adding ventilation holes at the top...

Insulation Pontification

Some wrap their hives for winter, some don’t. Bees can survive either way, but there may be a difference in honey consumed, brood reared...

N x .0022 = Honey in the Bank

How much honey does your colony need to survive winter? This question is asked often, and the answer typically falls in the range of...

Win in Winter

Not surprisingly, the bees that carry the colony to spring are “winter” bees. Their increased longevity is the result of changes in their...

Super in the Sun: To Shade, Touche

It’s the middle of summer, and if your bees aren’t filling the honey super, it’s probably not because they hate plastic or prefer yellow...

Effect of Outside Temperature on Honey Consumption

Some of my hives got a late start last season, and some of them I started late. Despite fall feeding, many were a little light going into...

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