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Nicotine Bees - Swarm Capture Springfield MO
We went on a swarm call the other day to a house in east Springfield, MO. The caller has a bee tree in their yard with a nice colony of bees about 20' off the ground. Well its swarm season and apparently these guys want a little nicotine in there diet lol. The swarm was hanging under a… Read More -
Varroa Mite Load Check Using Drone Brood
Following one of my favorite beekeeping experts, Randy Oliver of Scientific Beekeeping we created a video demonstrating our experience one day checking drone brood. Read More -
DIY Bucket Swarm Capture - Springfield MO
If you capture many swarms you will learn a few things are always true: 1. sometimes the swarms leave before you get there; 2. they are not always going to be honeybees; 3. and sometimes the swarm is just to high in they tree to reach easily. Its the facts of chasing bees, not all of them want to cooperate… Read More -
Week by week guideline for managing your new package of bees
Getting your first package this spring? Here is a week by week guideline for managing your new package of bees through their first 8 weeks. Read More
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Installing a Package
Unlike Jeff, this is only my third year of beekeeping and this is the first year I installed my first package of bees. My first year of beekeeping I bought two Nucs, starting my second year I had one hive left and was able to split it and capture a swarm. I went into the winter of 2014 with 3 strong hives. Unfortunately like many beekeepers I only had one out of three hives alive this spring. I wanted to grow my apiary and package bees were my best option.
May Journal
April and May are the two most important months in the yearly cycle of a beehive. Most of what they need to survive for the rest of the year is done in April, May and June. This is when they harvest most of the honey, draw most of the comb, and reproduce. The population reaches is peak during these months to accomplish these goals.
Sweet Ants and Honeybees
One of the most common pests in honey bee hives are sweet ants.
Most beekeepers see them under the cover and on top of the inner cover. Sometimes they are even under the tin on the cover. I have seen many beekeepers go a bit overboard trying to keep ants out of a hive. In our area of SW Missouri ants hold no threat to a colony of bees. Mostly they are just looking for a warm dry home and maybe an occasional bit of sweet food usually from the beekeeper. They do get into the hives on very weak hives but in most cases they are still not the problem or even a threat. The video below discusses the sweet ants in more detail and possible solutions like cinnamon.
Queen Bee Laying Eggs
Short video we took showing a calm Queen Honey Bee moving over her comb and laying eggs.
Our Philosophy
Beekeepers Monthy Activity Calendar
Confused on what you should be doing each month?