Beekeeping Articles

Article / Updated 10-28-2024

During summer months, about 60,000 or more bees reside in a healthy hive. And while you may think all of those insects look exactly alike, the population actually includes two different female castes (the queen and the workers) and the male bees (drones). Each type has its own characteristics, roles, and responsibilities. Upon closer examination, the three look a little different. If you're a beekeeper, it's important to know one from the other. These are the three types of bees in the hive: worker, drone, and queen. Her majesty, the queen Let there be no mistake about it — the queen bee is the heart and soul of the colony. There is only one queen bee in a colony. She is the reason for nearly everything the rest of the colony does. The queen is the only bee without which the rest of the colony cannot survive. Without her, your hive is sunk. A good-quality queen means a strong and productive hive. And for some real fun, try raising your own queens from your best performing hives. As a beekeeper, on every visit to the hive you need to determine two things: “Do I have a queen?” and “Is she healthy?” The queen is the largest bee in the colony, with a long and graceful body. She is the only female with fully developed ovaries. The queen’s two primary purposes are to produce chemical scents that help regulate the unity of the colony and to lay eggs — and lots of them. She is, in fact, an egg-laying machine, capable of producing more than 1,500 eggs a day at 30-second intervals. That many eggs are more than her body weight! The other bees pay close attention to the queen, tending to her every need. Like a regal celebrity, she’s always surrounded by a flock of attendants as she moves about the hive (see the image below). Yet, she isn’t spoiled. These attendants are vital because the queen is incapable of tending to her own basic needs. She can neither feed nor groom herself. She can’t even leave the hive to relieve herself. And, so, her doting attendants take care of her basic needs while she tirelessly goes from cell to cell doing what she does best: lay eggs. A queen and her attentive attendants The gentle queen bee has a stinger, but it is rare for a beekeeper to be stung by a queen bee. I have handled many queen bees and have never been stung by any of them. In general, queen bees use their stingers only to kill rival queens that may emerge or be introduced into the hive. The queen can live for two or more years, but replacing your queen after a season or two ensures maximum productivity and colony health. Many seasoned beekeepers routinely replace their queens every year after the nectar flow. This practice ensures that the colony has a new, energetic, and fertile young queen each season. You may wonder why you should replace the queen if she’s still alive. That’s an easy one: As a queen ages, her egg-laying capability slows down, which results in less and less brood each season. Less brood means a smaller colony. And a smaller colony means a lackluster honey harvest for you. As a beekeeper, your job is to anticipate problems before they happen. An aging queen — more than a year old — is something that you can deal with by replacing her after checking her egg-laying, before you have a problem resulting from a poorly performing queen. The industrious little worker bee The majority of the hive’s population consists of worker bees. Like the queen, worker bees are all female. Worker bees that are younger than 3 weeks old have working ovaries and can lay eggs, but they are not fertile, as the workers never mate and, therefore, lack sperm to fertilize eggs. Workers also look different than the queen. They are smaller, their abdomens are shorter, and on their hind legs they possess pollen baskets, which are used to tote pollen back from the field. Like the queen, the worker bee has a stinger. But her stinger is not a smooth syringe like the queen’s. The stinger is three-shafted, with each shaft having barbs (resembling a fish hook). The barbs cause the stinger, venom sack, and a large part of the bee’s gut to remain in a human victim — a Kamikaze effort to protect the colony. Only in mammals (such as humans) does the bee’s stinger get stuck. The worker bee can sting other insects again and again while defending its home. The life span of a worker bee is a modest six weeks during the colony’s active season. However, worker bees live longer (four to eight months) during the less-active winter months. These winter workers are loaded with protein and are sometimes referred to as “Fat Bees.” The term “busy as a bee” is well earned. Worker bees do a considerable amount of work, day in and day out. They work as a team. Life in the hive is one of compulsory cooperation. What one worker could never do on her own can be accomplished as a colony. During the busy season, the worker bees literally work themselves to death. The specific jobs and duties they perform during their short lives vary as they age. Understanding their roles will deepen your fascination and appreciation for these remarkable creatures. From the moment a worker bee emerges from her cell, she has many and varied tasks clearly cut out for her. As she ages, she performs more and more complex and demanding tasks. Although these various duties usually follow a set pattern and timeline, they sometimes overlap. A worker bee may change occupations, sometimes within minutes, if there is an urgent need within the colony for a particular task. They represent teamwork and empowerment at their best! Initially, a worker’s responsibilities include various tasks within the hive. At this stage of development, worker bees are referred to as house bees. As they get older, their duties involve work outside of the hive, as field bees. House bees The jobs house bees do (described in the following sections) are dependent on their age. Housekeeping (days 1 to 3) A worker bee is born with the munchies. Immediately after she emerges from the cell and grooms herself, she engorges herself with pollen and honey. Following this binge, one of her first tasks is cleaning out the cell from which she just emerged. This cell and other empty cells are cleaned and polished and left immaculate to receive new eggs or to store nectar and pollen. Undertaking (days 3 to 16) The honey bee hive is one of the cleanest and most sterile environments found in nature. Preventing disease is an important early task for the worker bee. During the first couple weeks of her life, the worker bee removes any bees that have died and disposes of the corpses as far from the hive as possible. Similarly, diseased or dead brood are quickly removed before becoming a health threat to the colony. Should a larger invader (such as a mouse) be stung to death within the hive, the workers utilize propolis to deal with that situation. Obviously, a dead mouse is too big for the bees to carry off. So, the workers completely encase the corpse with propolis (a brown, sticky resin collected from trees and sometimes referred to as bee glue). Propolis has significant antibacterial qualities. In the hot, dry air of the hive, the hermetically sealed corpse becomes mummified and is no longer a source of infection. The bees also use propolis to seal cracks and varnish the inside walls of the hive. Working in the nursery (days 4 to 12) The young worker bees tend to their baby sisters by feeding and caring for the developing larvae. On average, nurse bees check a single larva 1,300 times a day. They feed the larvae a mixture of pollen and honey, and royal jelly — rich in protein and vitamins — produced from the hypopharyngeal gland in the worker bee’s head. The number of days spent tending brood depends on the amount of brood in the hive and the urgency of other competing tasks. Attending royalty (days 7 to 12) Because her royal highness, the queen bee, is unable to tend to her most basic needs herself, some of the workers do these tasks for her. They groom and feed the queen and even remove her excrement from the hive. These royal attendants also coax the queen to continue to lay eggs as she moves about the hive. Stocking the pantry (days 12 to 18) During this stage of their life, young worker bees take nectar from foraging field bees that are returning to the hive. These house bees deposit this nectar into cells earmarked for this purpose. They add an enzyme to the nectar and set about fanning the cells to evaporate the water content and turn the nectar into ripened honey. The workers similarly take pollen from returning field bees and pack the pollen into other cells. Both the ripened honey and the pollen, which is often referred to as bee bread, are food for the colony. Fanning (days 12 to 18) Worker bees also take a turn at controlling the temperature and humidity of the hive. During warm weather and during the honey flow season, you’ll see groups of bees lined up at one side of the beehive entrance, facing the hive. They fan furiously to draw air into the hive. Additional fanners are in position within the hives. This relay of fresh air helps maintain a constant temperature (93 to 95 degrees Fahrenheit [34 to 35 degrees Celsius]) for developing brood. The fanning also hastens the evaporation of excess moisture from the curing honey. The workers also perform another kind of fanning, but it isn’t related to climate control. It has more to do with communication. The bees have a scent gland located at the end of their abdomen called the Nasonov gland. You’ll see worker bees at the beehive entrance with their abdomens arched and the moist pink membrane of this gland exposed. They fan their wings to release this pleasant, sweet odor into the air. You can actually smell it sometimes as you approach the hive. The pheromone is highly attractive and stimulating to other bees and serves as an orientation message to returning foragers, saying: “Come hither, this is your hive and where you belong.” This helps direct other members of the colony back to the hive. Beekeepers can purchase synthetic queen-bee pheromone and use this chemical to lure swarms of bees into a trap. The captured swarm then can be used to populate a new hive. Becoming architects and master builders (days 12 to 35) Worker bees that are about 12 days old are mature enough to begin producing beeswax. These white flakes of wax are secreted from wax glands on the underside of the worker bee’s abdomen. They help with the building of new wax comb and in the capping of ripened honey and brood cells containing developing pupae. Some new beekeepers are alarmed when they first see these wax flakes on the bee. They wrongly think these white chips are an indication of a disease or mite problem. While the bees are working, the wax flakes will fall to the bottom. Nothing to be alarmed about. Guarding the home (days 18 to 21) The last task of a house bee before she ventures out is that of guarding the hive. At this stage of maturity, her sting glands have developed to contain an authoritative amount of venom. You can easily spot the guard bees at the hive’s entrance. They are poised and alert, checking each bee that returns to the hive for a familiar scent. Only family members are allowed to pass. Strange bees, wasps, hornets, and other creatures intent on robbing the hive’s vast stores of honey are bravely driven off. Bees from other hives are occasionally allowed in when they bribe the guards with nectar. These bees simply steal a little honey or pollen and then leave. Field bees When the worker bee is a few weeks old, she ventures outside the hive to perform her last and perhaps most important job — to collect the pollen and nectar that will sustain the colony. With her life half over, she joins the ranks of field bees until she reaches the end of her life. It’s not unusual to see field bees taking their first orientation flights. The bees face the hive and dart up, down, and all around the entrance. They’re imprinting the look and location of their home before beginning to circle the hive and progressively widening those circles, learning landmarks that ultimately will guide them back home. At this point, worker bees are foraging for pollen (see the figure), nectar, water, and propolis (resin collected from trees). Foraging bees visit 5 million flowers to produce a single pint of honey. They forage a 2- to 3-mile radius from the hive in search of food (even more, if necessary, for water), and propolis. That’s the equivalent of several thousand acres! So, don’t think for a moment that you need to provide everything they need on your property. They’re ready and willing to travel. Foraging is the toughest time for the worker bee. It’s difficult and dangerous work, and it takes its toll. They can get chilled as dusk approaches and die before they can return to the hive. Sometimes they become a tasty meal for a bird or other insect. You can spot the old girls returning to the hive. They’ve grown darker in color, and their wings are torn and tattered. This is how the worker bee’s life draws to a close, working diligently right until the end. The woeful drone This brings us to the drone, the male bee in the colony. Drones make up a relatively small percentage of the hive’s total population. At the peak of the season, their numbers may be only in the hundreds. You rarely find more than a thousand. New beekeepers often mistake a drone for the queen, because he is larger and stouter than a worker bee. But his shape is in fact more like a barrel (the queen’s shape is thinner, more delicate, and tapered). The drone’s eyes are huge and seem to cover his entire head. He doesn’t forage for food from flowers — he has no pollen baskets. He doesn’t help with the building of comb — he has no wax-producing glands. Nor can he help defend the hive — he has no stinger. He is not the queen or a worker — merely the drone. The drone gets a bad rap in many bee books. Described as lazy, glutinous, and incapable of caring for himself, you might even begin wondering what he’s good for. He mates! Procreation is the drone’s primary purpose in life. Despite their high maintenance (they must be fed and cared for by the worker bees), drones are tolerated and allowed to remain in the hive because they are needed to mate with a new virgin queen from another colony (when the old queen from that other colony dies or needs to be superseded). Mating occurs outside of the hive in mid-flight, 200 to 300 feet in the air. This location is known as the drone congregation area, and it can be a mile or more away from the hive. The drone’s big eyes come in handy for spotting virgin queens who are taking their nuptial flights. The few drones that do get a chance to mate are in for a sobering surprise. They die after mating. That’s because their sex organ fits something like a key into a lock so they can effectively discharge their sperm into the queen. The queen will mate with several drones during her nuptial flight. After mating with the queen, the drone’s most personal apparatus and a significant part of its internal anatomy is torn away, and it falls to its death, a fact that prompts empathetic groans from the men in my lectures and some unsympathetic cheers from a few women. Once the weather gets cooler and the mating season comes to a close, the workers do not tolerate having drones around. After all, those fellows have big appetites and would consume a tremendous amount of food during the perilous winter months. So, in cooler climates, at the end of the nectar-producing season the worker bees systematically expel the drones from the hive. Drones are literally tossed out the door. For those beekeepers who live in areas that experience cold winters, this is your signal that the beekeeping season is over for the year. Depending on where you live, the calendar of events for you and your bees varies depending on temperature ranges and the time of year.

Article / Updated 09-05-2023

What in the world did anyone do before cyberspace? Not even the most determined library search of years gone by would have turned up the plethora of bee-related resources that are only a click away on the web. Just enter the word "beekeeping" or "honey bees" into any of the search engines, and you'll come up with hundreds (even thousands) of finds. Like all things on the Net, many of these sites tend to come and go. A few are outstandingly helpful. Some are duds. Others have ridiculous information that may lead you to trouble. Each of the following sites is worth a visit. Apiservices — Virtual beekeeping gallery This European site, Apiservices, is a useful gateway to scores of other beekeeping sites: forums, organizations, journals, vendors, conferences, images, articles, catalogs, apitherapy, beekeeping software, plus much more. It can be accessed in English, French, Spanish, and German and is nicely organized. The Barefoot Beekeeper At the Barefoot Beekeeper, Phil Chandler offers lots of information on natural beekeeping and Top Bar hives, including a full set of plans and instructions on how to build your own Kenyan Top Bar hive. BeeHoo — The beekeeping directory BeeHoo is a comprehensive international beekeeping directory has many helpful articles, information sheets, instructional guides, resources, photos, and links of interest for the backyard beekeeper. The site is viewable in English or in French and is definitely worthy of a bookmark. Beemaster Forum A popular international beekeeping forum designed to entertain and educate anyone with an interest in bees or beekeeping. Here you can share images, send messages, and participate in live forums. This secure site is moderated and is completely family friendly. It was created and is maintained by hobbyist beekeeper John Clayton. Bee-Source.com Bee-Source includes a nicely organized collection of bee-related articles, resources, and links, and it features sections on bees in the news, editorials, an online bookstore, a listing of beekeeping suppliers, plans for building your own equipment, discussion groups, bulletin boards, and much more. Facebook — Top Bar Beekeeping Top Bar Beekeeping is a closed group on Facebook that has more than 3,200 members with more joining all the time. There are some lively discussions that can provide you with basic information and help you start thinking more about a subject. As with all Facebook pages, the information is mostly anecdotal, so checking things out is a must before you adapt any techniques being promoted. Mid-Atlantic Apiculture Research and Extension Consortium (MAARAC) MAARAC is a research and extension consortium is packed with meaningful information for beekeepers worldwide. Download extension publications; find out more about videos, slide shows, software, and courses that are available from the organization; and read about honey-bee research currently underway. You can also discover important local beekeeping events planned in the Mid-Atlantic region and other national and international meetings of importance to beekeepers. National Honey Board This nonprofit government agency supports the commercial beekeeping industry. The folks at NHB are enormously helpful and accommodating. The well-designed site is a great source for all kinds of information about honey. You'll find articles, facts, honey recipes, and plenty of beautiful images.

Article / Updated 06-01-2023

When you extract honey from a hive, the wax cappings that you slice off represent your major wax harvest for the year. There's also the excess comb you remove during each routine inspection of a hive. Save all of this wax. You'll probably get 1 or 2 pounds of wax for every 100 pounds of honey that you harvest, plus whatever burr comb you remove. You can melt down and clean this wax for all kinds of terrific uses, such as making candles, furniture polish, hand cream, lip balm, and so on. Pound for pound, wax is worth more than honey, so it's definitely worth a bit of effort to reclaim this prize and start some fun, bee-related craft projects! The solar wax melter The solar wax melter (see the figure below) is a great way to render the beeswax to use for other purposes. Essentially, you melt the raw wax into a block that you can refine for various craft projects. And, best of all, this device is all natural, using no electricity — only the awesome power of the sun. Following, I provide the materials list, cut list, and instructions for building a solar beeswax melter. Vital stats for the solar wax melter Size: 27-3/4 inches x 189/16 inches x 18-1/2 inches. Capacity: Depending on the size of the pan you use in the melter, this design should provide ample capacity to render up to 6 to 8 pounds of wax at a time. Degree of difficulty: The butt joinery is the simplest method for assembling wood, and this design has one straightforward dado cut. All in all, an easy build. Cost: Using scrap wood (if you can find some) would keep material costs of this design minimal, but even if you purchase the recommended wood, hardware, glazing, and fasteners, you can likely build this solar wax melter for less than $75. The most expensive single item is the greenhouse glazing. Materials list for the solar wax melter The following table lists what you'll use to build your solar wax melter. In most cases, you can substitute other lumber as needed or desired. I've included a few more screws and nails than you'll use. You might lose a few along the way — better to have a few extras on hand and save another trip to the hardware store. 1, 10' length of 1" x 3" knotty pine lumber A 2-pound size disposable aluminum loaf pan (approximately 8" x 4" x 2") 60, #6 x 1-3/8" deck screws, galvanized, #2 Phillips drive, flat-head with coarse thread and sharp point 2, 4' x 4' sheets of 3/4" exterior plywood A large, disposable aluminum roasting pan (approximately 17" x 14" x 3") 8, 5/32" x 1-1/8" flat-head, diamond-point wire nails 1, 2' x 4' polycarbonate dual-wall 6mm greenhouse panel (available from greenhouse supply stores and sometimes found on online auction sites like eBay) A quart of flat black exterior paint (either latex or oil) Optional: weatherproof wood glue Use the recommended "plastic" (polycarbonate) glazing for the window. Not only does it work well, it also avoids all the potential dangers associated with fragile window glass. Keep in mind that this melter typically sits on the ground, and a playful child or bouncing pet could be seriously injured stepping on a glass top. Invest in safety and use the polycarbonate greenhouse panel. Its dual-wall design is also more effective at retaining heat than a single pane of glass. Cut list for the solar wax melter The following breaks down the solar wax melter into its individual components and provides instructions on how to cut those components. Lumber in a store is identified by its nominal size, which is its rough dimension before it's trimmed and sanded to its finished size at the lumber mill. The actual finished dimensions are always slightly different from the nominal dimensions. For example, what a lumberyard calls 1 inch x 3 inch lumber is in fact 3/4 inch x 2-1/2 inch. The Material column in the following table lists nominal dimensions and the Dimensions column lists the actual, final measurements. Floor assembly Quantity Material Dimensions Notes 3 1" x 3" knotty pine 6-1/2" x 1" x ¾" These are the retaining cleats that hold the aluminum pans in position. 1 3/4" exterior plywood 18-1/2" x 15" x 3/4" This is the upper floor. 1 3/4" exterior plywood 15" x 9-1/2" x 3/4" This is the front panel. 1 3/4" exterior plywood 15" x 9-1/4" x 3/4" This is the lower floor. 1 3/4" exterior plywood 15" x 6-3/4" x 3/4" This is the rear panel. 1 3/4" exterior plywood 15" x 2-1/2" x ¾" This is the riser. Inclined side panels Quantity Material Dimensions Notes 2 3/4" exterior plywood 27" x 17-1/2" x 10-1/4" x ¾" These are the inclined side panels. To create an incline of approximately 15 degrees, the front edge of the panel is 10-1/4" high and the rear edge is 17-1/2" high. Glazed top assembly Quantity Material Dimensions Notes 2 1" x 3" knotty pine 27-1/2" x 2-1/2" x 3/4" These are the long rails of the frame. Dado a 5/16" wide by 3/8" deep groove along the entire length of what will be the inside of each rail. Position the bottom edge of the dado 1-1/2" from what will be the bottom edge of the rail. 2 1" x 3" knotty pine 18-1/2" x 2-1/2" x ¾" These are the short rails of the frame. Dado a 5/16" wide by 3/8" deep groove along the entire length of what will be the inside of each rail. Position the bottom edge of the dado 1-1/2" from what will be the bottom edge of the rail. 1 Polycarbonate dual-wall 6mm greenhouse panel 28-1/8" x 17-5/8" x ¼" (6mm) This is the window. Cut it to size using your table saw and a general purpose blade. Putting it together After you've cut all the pieces of your solar wax melter, it's time to clear a good work space and put all this stuff together. You start with the floor of the solar wax melter and work your way to the top. Attach the riser to the lower and upper floors. First use the deck screws and a power drill with a #2 Phillips head bit to attach the lower floor to the riser. Doing this is easiest with these elements of the floorboard assembly turned upside down on your work surface (the screws go through what will be the underside of the lower floorboard and into the lower edge of the vertical riser). This is a simple butt joint. Just line up the edges so that they're flush with each other. Now flip these two components right-side up on the worktable and use deck screws to attach the upper floorboard to the top edge of the vertical riser; just line up the edges so that they're flush with each other. Throughout the entire floor assembly, consider using a weatherproof wood glue in addition to the screws. It helps make the structure as strong as possible. Apply a thin coat of glue wherever the wooden parts are joined together (the exception is the glazed top, which you do not want to glue, just in case you need to replace the glazing). The screws will go in easier if you first drill a 7/64-inch hole in each spot you plan to place a screw. The pre-drilling also helps prevent the wood from splitting. Refer to the earlier figures to determine where the screws go. Attach the cleats to the upper and lower floors. First use the nails and a hammer to attach the two cleats to the upper floorboard. Position the cleats flush with the front and side edges of the upper floorboard. You'll have a 2-inch gap left in the center (for the melted wax to flow through). A couple of nails per cleat will do the trick. See the following figure for the approximate placement of the nails. Now take the remaining cleat and attach it to the lower floorboard using the nails. To determine the exact placement, place your smaller disposable aluminum loaf pan on the bottom floor, as shown in the following figure. This helps you determine where to attach the cleat (the dimensions of these pans vary from brand to brand). The objective is to position this cleat so that the pan doesn't slide out of position. After all, it will be on a 15 degree incline. This pan collects the melting wax as it flows from the larger pan that sits on the upper floor. A couple of nails per cleat should the trick. Attach the floor assembly to the front and rear vertical panels. Turn the entire floor assembly over and attach the front and rear vertical panels to the front and rear of the floor assembly. The large panel attaches to the lower floor, and the smaller panel attaches to the upper floor. Use deck screws to attach the panels to the floor assembly. The screws go through the lower and upper floors and into the edges of the vertical panels. These are simple butt joints. The edges of the pieces should be flush with each other. Precise placement isn't critical. Now flip the entire thing over again and proceed to the next step. Attach the side panels to the floor assembly. Use deck screws to attach the floor assembly (which now includes the front and rear panels) to the side panels. The screws go through the side panels and into the edges of the floor assembly. Note that the floor assembly is tilted within the side panels so that gravity will do its trick and direct the melting wax into the collection pan. You'll make life a lot easier if you first pre-drill 7/64 -inch guide holes in the side panels. Lay a side panel on the workbench and then position the edge of the entire floor assembly on the side panel (just as it will go when screwed together). Use a pencil to trace the outline of the floor assembly's edges on the side panel. Do the same thing for the other side panel. Now drill the guide holes in the side panels. This little step makes it a lot easier to correctly align and attach the floor assembly within the two side panels. Otherwise it will be a hit or miss exercise. Use the following figure to determine the approximate placement of screws. The objective is to make sure that screws go into the edges of all the critical components of the floor assembly: rear panel, upper floor, riser, lower floor, and front panel. Build the glazed top assembly. Use deck screws to attach one of the short rails to the two long rails. These are simple butt joints. You're essentially building a picture frame. Take care to align and match up the dado grooves; these are the channels into which the window panel fits. Use two screws per corner (avoid placing a screw where it may interfere with the dado groove). Now take the polycarbonate window panel and slide it into the dado grooves of the partially assembled frame. Assuming the glazed panel was cut perfectly "square," it will square up the frame nicely. Using two deck screws per corner, attach the remaining short rail to the long rails. Again, be careful to avoid placing a screw where it may interfere with the dado groove and the newly installed window panel. Using screws (versus nails) allows you to remove the glazed panel at a later date, should it ever need replacing. For this reason, do not use wood glue on the glazed top assembly. Paint all wooden surfaces matte black. To protect the wood and better retain solar heat, paint all the wood surfaces, inside and out, using a matte black exterior paint. Two or three coats will do the trick. Let each coat dry completely before adding the next. Place the aluminum pans inside the solar wax melter. Cut a 2-inch-wide flap centered along one of the long sides of the large roasting pan (see the following figures). This hole and flap allow the melting wax to flow into the smaller pan below. The larger roasting pan sits on the inclined upper floor, with the cut-out flap aligned with the gap between the two retaining cleats. Fill the large pan with your wax cappings and other harvested comb. The smaller loaf pan sits on the lower floor, snug against the riser and aligned to collect the melting wax from the larger pan above. Put the glazed top assembly on the solar wax melter. The removable top fits on and over the top of the wax melter (like a hat fits on a head). Position the entire unit so that the glazed top is exposed to the direct sun (facing south is best). Now all you need are some warm, sunny days and you'll soon have a lovely block of pure, natural beeswax. Time to make candles, furniture polish, and cosmetics!

Article / Updated 05-18-2023

In the autumn of 2006, a beekeeper in Florida filed the first report of a sudden and unexplained disappearance of his bees. They didn't die. They just packed up and left. More reports of heavy losses (mostly from commercial migratory beekeepers) quickly followed. In subsequent years, beekeepers have reported losing anywhere from 30 percent to 90 percent of their hives. Like a firestorm, this tragedy has swept across nearly all of the United States as well as some countries overseas. It has affected both commercial beekeepers and hobbyists. It is a far-reaching problem that has serious consequences. Colony collapse disorder (CCD) is characterized by the sudden and unexplained disappearance of all adult honey bees in the hive, usually in the fall. In one scenario, a few young bees and perhaps the queen may remain behind while the adults disappear. Or in another scenario, there may be no bees left in the hive. Honey and pollen are usually present, and there is often evidence of recent brood rearing. This abrupt evacuation is ordinarily highly unusual because bees are not inclined to leave a hive if there is brood present. Another puzzling characteristic is that opportunists (such as robbing bees from other hives, wax moths, and small hive beetles) are slow to invade colonies experiencing CCD. There are no adult bees present to guard the hive and lots of goodies to loot, yet these invaders stay clear. Hmmm. What do they know that the beekeeper doesn't? Sometimes (rarely) bees abscond from a hive because conditions are too unpleasant to remain in the hive: too hot, too many pests, not enough food, no queen, and so on. But CCD is different from such absconding. Conditions don't appear to be unfavorable. And it's happening at an alarming rate. Colonies that experience CCD have the following characteristics: All or nearly all of the bees pack up and leave within a two- to four-week time period. But there are no dead adult bodies. In some instances the queen and a small number of young-aged survivor bees are present in the brood nest. There are no or very few dead bees in the hive or at the hive entrances. Capped brood is left behind. There is stored pollen and capped honey. Empty hives are not quickly invaded by opportunists (robbing bees, wax moths, small hive beetles, and so on).

Cheat Sheet / Updated 02-25-2022

As you plan your new beehive-building adventure, you may want to start by deciding which hive design to go for based on your woodworking skills and beekeeping needs. You will also need to know which tools and fasteners you'll need for that particular build. Plans may differ somewhat depending on the type of hive you choose, but you can follow some basic steps to build most types of beehives.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 02-17-2022

What to do during your spring, autumn, and routine beekeeping inspections varies. The spring inspection starts or revives your bee colony, the autumn inspection prepares your beehive for the cold weather (assuming it gets cold in your area), and your routine beekeeping inspections help maintain a healthy and productive hive. Here are our buzzworthy tips.

Article / Updated 02-10-2022

The majority of the bee hive’s population consists of worker bees. Like the queen, worker bees are all female. They are smaller, their abdomens are shorter, and on their hind legs they possess pollen baskets, which are used to tote pollen back from the field. The life span of worker bee is a modest six weeks during the colony’s active season. However, worker bees live longer (four to eight months) during the less active winter months. These winter workers are loaded with protein and are sometimes referred to as “Fat Bees.” Worker bees do a considerable amount of work, day in and day out. They work as a team. The specific jobs and duties they perform during their short lives vary as they age. Understanding their roles will deepen your fascination and appreciation of these remarkable creatures. Initially, a worker’s responsibilities include various tasks within the hive. At this stage of development, worker bees are referred to as house bees. As they get older, their duties involve work outside of the hive as field bees. Worker bee housekeeping (days 1 to 3) One of her first tasks is cleaning out the cell from which she just emerged. This and other empty cells are cleaned and polished and left immaculate to receive new eggs and to store nectar and pollen. Worker bee undertakers (days 3 to 16) During the first couple weeks of her life, the worker bee removes any bees that have died and disposes of the corpses as far from the hive as possible. Similarly, diseased or dead brood are quickly removed before becoming a health threat to the colony. Nursing young worker bees (days 4 to 12) The young worker bees tend to their “baby sisters” by feeding and caring for the developing larvae. On average, nurse bees check a single larva 1,300 times a day. Attending to the queen bee (days 7 to 12) Because her royal highness is unable to tend to her most basic needs by herself, some of the workers do these tasks for her. Collecting nectar for the hive (days 12 to 18) Young worker bees also take nectar from foraging field bees that are returning to the hive. The house bees deposit this nectar into cells earmarked for this purpose. The workers similarly take pollen from returning field bees and pack the pollen into cells. Both the ripened honey and the pollen are food for the colony. Fanning the beehive (days 12 to 18) Worker bees also take a turn at controlling the temperature and humidity of the hive. The workers also perform another kind of fanning, but it isn’t related to climate control. It has more to do with communication. Beekeepers can purchase synthetic queen bee pheromone and use this chemical to lure swarms of bees into a trap. The captured swarm then can be used to populate a new hive. This worker bee fans her wings to release a sweet orientation scent. This helps direct other members of the colony back to the hive. Becoming the bee hive (days 12 to 35) Worker bees that are about 12 days old are mature enough to begin producing beeswax. The wax flakes they produce help with the building of new wax comb and in the capping of ripened honey and cells containing developing pupae. Some new beekeepers are alarmed when they first see these wax flakes on the bee. They wrongly think these white chips are an indication of a problem (disease or mite). Guarding the hive (days 18 to 21) The last task of a house bee before she ventures out is that of guarding the hive. They are poised and alert, checking each bee that returns to the hive for a familiar scent. Only family members are allowed to pass. Bees from other hives are occasionally allowed in when they bribe the guards with nectar. These bees simply steal a little honey or pollen and leave. Becoming field bees (days 22 to 42) With her life half over, the worker bee now ventures outside of the hive and joins the ranks of field bees. You’ll see them taking their first orientation flights. The bees face the hive and dart up, down, and all around the entrance. They’re imprinting the look and location of their home before beginning to circle the hive and progressively widening those circles, learning landmarks that ultimately will guide them back home. Foraging bees visit 5 million flowers to produce a single pint of honey. They forage a two- to three-mile (four- to five-kilometer) radius from the hive in search of food. So don’t think you need to provide everything they need on your property.

Article / Updated 12-13-2021

One way or another, handmade beehives are designed to provide the bees with shelter from the elements, a space to raise brood, a space to store honey, and adequate ventilation so that the bees can regulate the colony’s temperature. In addition, modern hives provide the beekeeper with the ability to inspect, manipulate, and manage the colony. So exactly what kinds of conditions cater to these necessities? The Langstroth hive is the most widely used hive in the United States, and it’s gaining popularity worldwide. The figure below shows the basic components of a hive and their function. Elevated hive stand A hive stand isn’t necessary, but you may find one useful because it elevates the hive off the wet ground, which improves air circulation and requires less bending over when you’re inspecting your hives. In addition, grass growing in front of the hive’s entrance can slow the bees’ ability to get in and out. The stand alleviates that problem by raising the hive above the grass. Bottom board A bottom board is the floor of the beehive. It consists of several rails that serve as a frame around a solid piece of wood, and it protects the colony from damp ground. These days, more and more beekeepers are using what’s called a screened bottom board in place of the standard bottom board. This improves ventilation and is helpful when controlling and monitoring the colony’s population of varroa mites. Entrance reducer An entrance reducer is a cleat that limits bee access to the hive and controls ventilation and temperature during cooler months. You don’t nail the entrance reducer into place but rather place it loosely at the hive’s entrance so that you can introduce it or remove it as needed. The small notch reduces the entrance of the hive to the width of a finger. The large notch opens the entrance to about four finger widths. Removing the entrance reducer completely opens the entrance to the max. If the hive design you choose doesn’t use an entrance reducer, you can use clumps of grass to close off some of the entrance. Deep hive bodies The deep hive bodies are essentially boxes that contain frames of comb. For a Langstroth hive, you typically build two deep hive bodies to stack on top of each other, like a two-story condo. The bees use the lower deep as the nursery or brood chamber, to raise thousands of baby bees. They use the upper deep as the pantry or food chamber, where they store most of the honey and pollen for their use. If you live in an area where frigid winters just don’t happen (temperatures don’t go below freezing), you may not need more than one deep hive body for your colony (one deep for both the brood and their food). In such situations, you want to monitor the colony’s food stores and feed the bees if their supplies run low. Honey super Beekeepers use honey supers to collect surplus honey. That’s your honey — the honey that you can harvest from your bees. The honey that’s in the deep hive body must be left for the bees. Supers are identical in design to the deep hive bodies, and you build and assemble them in a similar manner. But the depth of the supers is more shallow. Honey supers typically come in two popular sizes: shallow (which usually measure 5 3/4 inches high) and medium (which usually measure 6 5/8 inches high). Medium supers are sometimes referred to as Illinois supers because they were originally developed by Dadant & Sons, Inc., which is located in Illinois. Some prefer medium supers to shallow supers and use mediums exclusively. Why? The mediums hold more honey and yet are still light enough that you can handle them fairly easily when packed with golden goodness (medium supers weigh in at around 50 to 55 pounds when packed full). However, many beekeepers use shallow supers because they’re just that much lighter when filled with honey (they weigh around 35 to 40 pounds when packed full). The choice is yours. You can use medium-size equipment for your entire Langstroth hive (no deeps). Three medium-depth hive bodies is about equivalent to two deep hive bodies. Standardizing on one size means that all your equipment is 100 percent interchangeable. The lighter weight of each medium hive body makes lifting much, much easier than manipulating deep hive equipment (in comparison, deep hive bodies can weigh up to 100 pounds when full). As the bees collect more honey, you can add more honey supers to the hive, stacking them on top of each other like so many stories to a skyscraper. For your first season, build one honey super. In your second year, you’ll likely need to build two or three or more supers. Honey bonanza! Frames Some hives use removable frames (for example, nuc, observation, British National, and Langstroth). The bees build their honeycomb onto the frames. Because the frames are removable from the hive, you can easily inspect, manipulate, and manage the colony. For the nuc, observation, and Langstroth hives, the wooden frames contain a single sheet of beeswax foundation. Frames typically come in three basic sizes: deep, shallow, and medium, corresponding to deep hive bodies and shallow or medium honey supers. You can certainly purchase frames from a beekeeping supply vendor. Or you can find out how to build your own Langstroth-style frames. Inner cover The inner cover of the hive resembles a shallow tray (with a ventilation hole in the center). You might also like to cut a notch in one of the short lengths of the frame. This is an extra ventilation source, positioned to the front of the hive. You place the inner cover on the hive with the tray side facing up. Alternatively, screened inner covers have been gaining popularity in recent years. They provide the colony with terrific ventilation. You do not use the inner cover at the same time you have a hive-top feeder on the hive. You use the hive-top feeder in place of the inner cover. Outer cover The outer cover protects the bees from the elements. Like the roof on your house, you can ensure that it’s waterproof and also extend the life of the wood by covering the top with a weatherproof material (aluminum flashing, asphalt tiles, cedar shingles, and so on).

Article / Updated 12-10-2021

Beehives are typically made from wood. You have hundreds of kinds of wood to choose from. But from a practical and financial viewpoint, you should limit your “discovery” to those woods that are readily available from most lumberyards and home improvement centers. Some woods are very cost-effective (they’re cheap), and some are very exotic (they’re expensive). The best woods for beehives A handful of woods are used most frequently for making beehives. Sometimes the choice is regional (selecting a wood that’s readily available in your area), sometimes the choice is financial (selecting a wood because it’s the lowest price), and sometimes the choice is based on durability (selecting a wood because it stands up to the elements better than other woods). Pine: Hands down, this is the most widely used choice. It’s readily available everywhere, it’s among the least expensive lumber to purchase, and it’s easy to work with. Note that there are different grades of pine. Two are of interest here: Knotty (sometimes referred to as standard pine): The knotty grade of pine is the least expensive and is perfectly sound for building, but it does contain knots and some other cosmetic imperfections. If you can live with a more rustic-looking hive, by all means go for the standard grade and save a few bucks. You may need to order a little more material than stated in the plans, as the knots sometimes fall right where you plan a critical piece of joinery. So having a little extra material allows you to choose an alternate piece of wood without the offending knot. Clear (sometimes referred to as select or premium pine): The clear grade is pricier. As the name suggests, this grade is clear of knots and other blemishes. The grain of the wood also tends to be tighter and straighter. It makes for a very nice looking, defect-free hive. Pine isn’t the most durable wood to weather the elements, so you must protect pine with some coats of outdoor-quality paint, exterior polyurethane, or marine varnish. Cypress: The cypress tree produces a sap-type oil that preserves the wood and naturally repels insects and mold. So, cypress is a terrific wood for making beehives and beekeeping equipment. But with most of the wood coming from southern states in the United States, it’s not readily available all across the country. If you can get your hands on some cypress, you won’t be disappointed in the results. It’s a beautiful and naturally durable wood for building beehives. Cedar: Cedar is a beautiful wood, and it smells divine. The natural oils make it less prone to warping, less susceptible to bug infiltration, and less likely to rot than other woods. Though you can paint it, you certainly don’t have to because of its naturally durable qualities. Left untreated it will weather to a lovely, light gray patina. Frankly, were it not for the fact that it’s more expensive than pine, many would use it for every beehive. Many varieties of cedar exist, and depending on where you live, cedar lumber can sometimes be tricky to find. Western red cedar is the most widely available type across the United States. Spruce and fir: Pine, spruce, and fir trees are all conifer trees. But when it comes to nomenclature in the lumberyard, spruce and fir are typically associated with stud lumber (versus board lumber). Some hive plans make use of spruce or fir studs (either spruce or fir is fine, as they’re interchangeable) that you use for making frames, top bars, and some other applications. Synthetic wood for beehives Environmentally friendly, synthetic wood is made from a blend of recycled plastics, sometimes combined with wood fibers. It’s quite remarkable stuff. It’s completely weatherproof, will never rot, and is essentially maintenance-free (just wash it clean). In recent years it has gained popularity as a very durable decking material. The jury’s out when it comes to making beehives with this stuff. For one, it’s not available in all standard lumber sizes, so making a full-blown hive may be a challenge. Also, it’s astonishingly heavy and seriously expensive. Exotic wood for beehives If you want to knock someone’s socks off with an over-the-top beehive or hive-top feeder, consider splurging and making one out of a high-grade or exotic wood. Cherry wood makes stunning kitchen cabinets — why not a cherry wood beehive? Langstroth hives using African mahogany have been seen selling for $1,500 each! There are also beautiful black walnut observation hives. They look more like a fine piece of furniture than a beehive. The choice of wood is up to you. These fancy schmancy hives may not be any more functional, and perhaps even less practical, but if you’re making hives to sell or just like having something unique, give it a go. Keep in mind, however, that your sweet bees don’t know the difference between ponderosa pine and golden-grain Macassar ebony. Woods to be wary of for beehives Some beekeepers talk about woods that may be toxic to bees and therefore shouldn’t be used to make hives. Black walnut might be one such wood. It's hard to find any hard evidence of a natural wood that has been proven toxic to honeybees. However, the sawdust created when working with some woods can be toxic or allergenic to the woodworker (examples are black walnut, mahogany, and cedar). But there’s no evidence that these or other woods are problematic to the bees. Chances are that any of the woods you can get your hands on are okay for making hives and equipment. The one possible exception is pressure-treated wood. It doesn't seem like a good idea exposing bees to chemicals. Although since 2004, this category of wood product no longer uses toxic copper, chromium, and arsenic (CCA) to protect it from insects and mold. The new recipe is supposed to be safe. But if you'd rather not take a chance with your girls, stick to the all-natural, untreated wood.

Article / Updated 12-10-2021

The queen bee is the heart and soul of the honey bee colony. She is the reason for nearly everything the rest of the colony does. The queen is the only bee without which the rest of the colony cannot survive. A good quality queen means a strong and productive hive. As a beekeeper, on every visit to the hive you’ll need to determine “Do I have a queen?” and “Is she healthy?” Only one queen lives in a given hive. She is the largest bee in the colony, with a long and graceful body. She is the only female with fully developed ovaries. The queen’s two primary purposes are to produce chemical scents that help regulate the unity of the colony and to lay lots of eggs. She is, in fact, an egg-laying machine, capable of producing more than 1,500 eggs a day at 30-second intervals. That many eggs are more than her body weight! The other bees pay close attention to the queen, tending to her every need. Like a regal celebrity, she’s always surrounded by a flock of attendants as she moves about the hive. Yet, she isn’t spoiled. These royal attendants are vital, because the queen is totally incapable of tending to her own basic needs. She can neither feed nor groom herself. She can’t even leave the hive to relieve herself. And so her doting attendants (the queen’s court) take care of her basic needs while she tirelessly goes from cell to cell doing what she does best . . . laying eggs. The gentle queen bee has a stinger, but it is rare for a beekeeper to be stung by a queen bee. In general, queen bees use their stingers only to kill rival queens that may emerge or be introduced in the hive. The queen can live for two or more years, but replacing your queen after a couple of seasons ensures maximum productivity. Some beekeepers routinely replace their queens every autumn. That practice ensures that your hive has a new energetic young queen each spring. You may wonder why you should replace the queen if she’s still alive? That’s an easy one: As a queen ages, her egg-laying capability slows down, which results in less and less brood each season. Less brood means a smaller colony. And a smaller colony means a lackluster honey harvest for you. As a beekeeper, your job is to anticipate problems before they happen. An aging queen — more than a year old — is something that you can deal with by replacing her after checking her egg laying before you have a problem.