Fall Varroa Mite Discussion
Varroa is enemy number one! Kirk discusses the what, why, and when of our successful mite treatment program!
What to do if you find a supersedure cell
We can’t stress enough that hive inspections should be about looking for evidence of a queen, not about finding the queen. Look for eggs, larvae, and brood. What do you do if you find a supersedure cell? These are typically on the frame in the main brood area. As a general rule we leave them
Is it time to add another box to your hive?
Our general rule is that you add another box when the colony is covering 60-80 percent of the frames in a box. (Kirk says 80-90 in the video but don’t let them get that crowded if you can avoid it). This is a new package started 21 days ago in drawn comb from a deadout.
What to do about a queenless hive
What do you do when you don’t see evidence of a queen in your hive? Whether you smashed her during an inspection or something just happened to her, what are your options? This is a new package that ended up queenless as evidenced by no larvae or brood. Kirk walks through options, and decides to
Package Bees 2 Days after Hiving
We hived packages on our bee day 2 days ago. Going in to see if queen has been let out of her cage and how they are doing. It has been cold and rainy here with intermittent moments of sunshine.
Top Bar Hive Check Feb 18, 2022
Our daughter’s top bar hive is still alive! Good information on what is going on in all hives this time of year!
January 2022 in the Bee Yard
Hi fellow bee enthusiasts, I haven’t posted too much this winter, when its this cold you should be leaving them alone. I know its hard! I do expect winter losses to be high. A warm Oct, Nov and December is hard on overwintering bees, allows lots of mite migration. In the past this type of
June 22 Hive Check 1st Year Package
This week we see hives full of bees but they are not yet putting a lot away in the honey supers we added last week. The top deep box is full of bees, brood in almost every available cell, the population is really taking off! If we get a nectar flow they have the population
May 19 2021 Hive Check
Here is the hive check on the package bees we hived on April 23 and 24. We will also walk you through how we do a hive inspection, what we are looking for, and what is happening season wise as it relates to these 4 colonies. Hive check part 1 https://youtu.be/ymvNAPLnOzc Hive check part