Beekeeping Articles

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

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 (see the following figure). 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 worker bee fans her wings while exposing her Nasonov gland to release a sweet orientation scent. 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 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.

Article / Updated 12-10-2021

You can keep beehives just about anywhere: in the countryside, in the city, in a corner of the garden, by the back door, in a field, on the terrace, or even on an urban rooftop. You don’t need a great deal of space or flowers on your property; bees happily travel for miles to forage for what they need. These girls are amazingly adaptable, but you’ll get optimum results and a more rewarding honey harvest if you follow some basic guidelines, as you discover here. Location fundamentals for your beehives The ideal hive location has easy access (so you can tend to your hives), good drainage (so the bees don’t get wet), a nearby water source for the bees, dappled sunlight, and minimal wind. Keep in mind that fulfilling all of these criteria may not always be possible. No worries — the bees will forgive you. Do the best you can by following these basic guidelines: Face your hive to the southeast. That way your bees get an early morning wake-up call and start foraging early. Position your hive so that it’s easily accessible come honey harvest time. You don’t want to be hauling hundreds of pounds of honey up a hill or down a fire escape on a hot August day. Provide a windbreak at the rear of the hive. I’ve planted a few hemlocks behind my hives. Or you can erect a fence made from posts and burlap or even use bales of hay to block harsh winter winds that can stress the colony (assuming you live in a climate with icy-cold winters). Put the hive in dappled sunlight. Full, direct sun all day long causes the hives to get very hot in the summer. The bees will spend valuable time trying to regulate the hive’s temperature (rather than making honey). You also want to avoid deep, dark shade because it can make the hive damp and the colony listless. Make sure the hive has good ventilation. Avoid placing it in a gully where the air is still and damp. Also, avoid putting it at the peak of a hill, should you live in a region where the bees will be subjected to winter’s fury. Place the hive absolutely level from side to side, with the front of the hive just slightly lower than the rear (a difference of an inch or less is fine), so that any rainwater drains out of the hive (and not into it). Locate your hive on firm, dry land. Don’t let it sink into the quagmire. In a country setting, you can place mulch around the hive to prevent grass and weeds from blocking its entrances. Special urban considerations for beehives Just about all of the considerations listed in the preceding section apply to urban situations. Here are a few more details for all you city beekeepers out there, according to New York City beekeeper Andrew Coté. Decide upfront where to put your hives. Placement of urban hives is often tricky and a stumbling block for many metropolitan beekeepers. Don’t be one of those beekeepers who takes a course, builds a hive, gets a package of bees, and then realizes there’s no suitable place to put the bees! Do your homework upfront. Strike a deal with a community garden. These are usually run by small neighborhood groups who are sympathetic to honeybees, welcome their pollination, and are likely eager to offer a home for your hives. A search on the internet will quickly find community gardens in your neighborhood. Don’t be so grateful for a spot in the community garden that you impulsively offer half of your honey harvest! Your “rent” should be bartered in exchange for the considerable pollination services you bring to the garden. The honey should be all yours. Stay safe on the roof. Though a roof is a great location for urban beehives, you need to be aware of some safety issues: Avoid a roof if you have to go up a fire escape, climb a tall ladder, or use a rooftop hatch. In all of these situations, attempting to remove full and heavy honey supers from the roof area would be difficult and dangerous. Don’t place your hive too close to the edge of the roof. If you end up with a bee up your pant leg and you lose your balance, no amount of arm-flapping will help you fly safely to the ground. Secure all the parts of the hive using crank straps. Strong gusts of wind can send hive parts flying wildly off the roof to pedestrians below. And there’s more wind up on those roofs than you may realize. Never place a beehive on a fire escape. Never. It’s illegal and it’s dangerous.

Article / Updated 07-22-2021

Clearly, a beekeeper’s calendar of activities will be different in Vermont than in Texas. And the corresponding dates and activities can vary depending upon actual weather conditions, elevation, and so on. Consider this tool a “sanity check” as you and your bees progress through the seasons. Zone A: Short summers and long, cold winters. Average annual temperature is between 35 degrees Fahrenheit and 45 degrees Fahrenheit. Minimum temperatures are between 0 degrees Fahrenheit and 15 degrees Fahrenheit. Zone B: Summers are hot, and winters can be quite cold and extended. Average annual temperature is between 45 degrees Fahrenheit and 55 degrees Fahrenheit. Minimum temperatures are between 15 degrees Fahrenheit and 20 degrees Fahrenheit. Zone C: Summers are long and hot, and the winters are mild and short. Average annual temperature is between 55 degrees Fahrenheit and 65 degrees Fahrenheit. Minimum temperatures are between 30 degrees Fahrenheit and 35 degrees Fahrenheit. Zone D: Warm to hot all year round. Average annual temperature is between 65 degrees Fahrenheit and 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Minimum temperatures are between 30 degrees Fahrenheit and 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Determine your Beekeeping Zone. If you live outside the United States, find the zone on the map with a temperature range that most closely corresponds to your part of the world. Use the table to locate the month of year you are currently in. Look down the “month” column and find your zone letter (A, B, C or D). Wherever your zone letter appears, look at the corresponding activity in the far-left column. This is an activity you should consider doing during this month. All of these activities are covered in more detail within the various chapters of the book. Beekeeping Calendar Typical Activity JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC Check food reserves B B A,C A A B B A,C, D Feed colony if low on capped honey B, D B, D A, B A, B A B B B A, B, C, D C, D D Check for eggs/queen D B, C B, C A A C D Reverse hive bodies B C A Install new bees in hive B, C, D A, B First comprehensive inspection of the season C, D C, B B A Check for capped brood and brood pattern D B B, C A, B, C A, B A, B B Feed a pollen substitute C, D A, B, C A, B, C Look for swarm cells D B, D A, B, C, D A, B, C Add queen excluder and honey supers D B, D A, B, C, D A Look for supercedure cells B, C, D A, B, C, D A, B, C, D Check ventilation D B, C, D C, D B A A Add mouse guard B, C A, B Medicate for AFB, EFB, and Nosema D C B A A, B C, D Check surplus honey D D D A, B, D A, B, C A, B C Harvest honey D B, D B, D B Test for varroa mites C, D B A D A, B A, D Medicate for varroa mites (if needed) C, D B A D A, B A, C, D Medicate for tracheal mites C, D B A A, B A, C, D Check hives for small hive beetle. Medicate if needed. C, D C, D Prepare hive for winter A, B A, B, C C Check entrance for blockage A, B, C A, B, C A A, B Order new bees A, B, C, D

Article / Updated 06-23-2021

Most bee supply vendors offer ten-frame versions of the very popular Langstroth-style beehive — each hive body holds ten frames across. For decades, that’s been the most popular size for the Langstroth. However, as a result of some recent books and publications, the eight-frame version of this hive is gaining popularity. And for good reason — fewer frames means a lighter weight hive body and super, and there’s a lot to be said for that! Some of the commercial beekeeping suppliers have branded the eight-frame Langstroth as the garden hive. Credit: Illustration by Felix Freudzon, Freudzon Design Keep in mind that other than the frames, the parts and accessories for a ten-frame hive are not interchangeable with the parts and accessories for an eight-frame hive. So you need to decide which of these versions of the Langstroth hive is right for you. The only disadvantage of the Langstroth hive (in terms of building) relates to the use of finger joints (also known as box joints or comb joints). These are fairly traditional and what are used on the top quality Langstroth hives available from the commercial beekeeping supply vendors. Although this joint is the strongest and most desirable type of joinery for this hive, making finger joints can be tricky for the neophyte carpenter and requires having the right tools for the job. Vital stats Have a look at some statistics and tips for building a Langstroth hive: Overall size: 22 inches x 18 inches x 29-1/4 inches (ten-frame version); 22 inches x 15-3/4 inches x 29-1/4 inches (eight-frame version). Capacity: Because this design consists of modular, interchangeable hive parts, you can add extra medium honey supers as the colony grows and honey production increases. The capacity for bees and honey is unlimited, regardless of whether you build the eight- or ten-frame version of the hive. Type of frame: This hive uses a Langstroth-style, self-centering frame with beeswax foundation inserts. The ten-frame version has 20 deep frames and 10 medium frames. The eight-frame version has 16 deep frames and 8 medium frames. Universality: Because the Langstroth hive is so widely used around the world, you can easily find replacement parts, gadgets, and add-ons, even for the more recently popular eight-frame version. This stuff is widely available from many beekeeping supply stores (search the web and you’ll find dozens of such suppliers). Also, you can easily purchase Langstroth-style frames. When ordering, just specify deep or medium size Langstroth frames and foundation. Degree of difficulty: This is a pretty straightforward design. However, two details add a moderate degree of difficulty: The fabrication of the finger joints is likely the trickiest part for beginner woodworkers. For the tin work involved with the aluminum flashing material used on the outer cover, bending the corners takes a little patience and practice. Cost: Using scrap wood (if you can find some) would keep material costs of this design minimal, but even if you purchase the recommended lumber, hardware, and fasteners, you can likely build this hive for about $160. Materials list The following table lists what you’ll use to build your Langstroth hive. In most cases, you can make substitutions as needed or desired. Lumber Hardware Fasteners 3, 8’ lengths of 1" x 12" clear pine lumber Roll of 20" wide aluminum flashing (usually comes in a 10' length) 85, 6 x 1-3/8" deck screws, galvanized, #2 Phillips drive, flat-head with coarse thread and sharp point 1, 2' x 4' sheet of 3/4" thick exterior plywood Optional: weatherproof wood glue 250, 6d x 2" galvanized nails 1, 2' x 4' sheet of 1/4" thick lauan plywood Optional: a gallon of latex or oil exterior paint (white or any light color), exterior polyurethane, or marine varnish 25, #8 x 1/2" lath screws, galvanized, #2 Phillips drive, flat-head with sharp point Here are some notes about the materials for your Langstroth hive: Clear pine is not too expensive as lumber goes. Alternatively, knotty pine is even less expensive, but you may have to order extra material if a random knot interferes with the joinery of parts. You can also use different kinds of wood for your Langstroth hive. Cedar and cypress make beautiful hives, for example, and you can really get fancy with a cherry hive. It’s up to you. Depending on where you buy it, plywood sometimes comes as 23/32 inch (rather than 3/4 inch). No worries: The difference is minimal, and either way, the plywood will fit just fine. There are a few more fasteners than you’ll use because, you’ll probably lose or bend a few along the way. It’s better to have a few extras on hand and save yourself another trip to the hardware store.