The Three Legged Stool event scheduled for Saturday, May 7th, and Sunday, May 8th, 2022 has been canceled. The current COVID climate frustrates us all. Stay tuned for 2023.

By Charlie Vanden Heuvel The life of the Worker Honey Bee is rather short in relation to other insects. The Honey Bee Worker emerges from the brood cell to immediately begin her chores in the hive. The first chore is cleaning brood cells of the cocoon and other debris. The first three weeks of life […]

By Charlie Vanden Heuvel The Honey Bee has been around for over one hundred million years. During this time, like all insects, pests and humans differing bacteria, fungus’s, viruses and other onslaughts have transpired. Some have been obliterated or moved on. USDA Ban On Importation of Honey Bees The Secretary of Agriculture, in 1922 instituted […]

Langstroth wrote: “If the colonies are strong in numbers and stores, have upward ventilation, easy communication from comb to comb, water when needed, and all the hive entrances are sheltered from piercing winds, they have all the conditions essential to wintering successfully in the open air” (Langstroth, 1859). Honey Bee Hive Optimal Winter Conditions Winter […]

Honey bee hives swarm to duplicate their hive. A means of survival. One would think the Queen’s egg laying was the colonies means of replication, but it only builds and maintains colony strength for the nectar flow season. To ensure the survivability of the bee race it must create a swarm for duplicity. Many in […]

By Charlie Vanden Heuvel The life of the Worker Honey Bee is rather short in relation to other insects. The Honey Bee Worker emerges from the brood cell to immediately begin her chores in the hive. The first chore is cleaning brood cells of the cocoon and other debris. The first three weeks of life […]

  Beekeepers around the world have become frustrated with honey bee losses. Not only does it affect the pocket book but personal love for these insects. Bee Informed Partnership, among other things, performs annual loss reports. The past nine years (2008-2017) reports of 40.4% by Backyard and 28.1% loss by Commercial operations have proved challenging. […]

Honey bee hives swarm to duplicate their hive. A means of survival. One would think the Queen’s egg laying was the colonies means of replication, but it only builds and maintains colony strength for the nectar flow season. To ensure the survivability of the bee race it must create a swarm for duplicity. Many in […]

Preparing for Spring Management actually begins the moment the honey bee hive is secured for the long winter months. Preparing for winter losses becomes crucial to those in an expansion mode. Possibly preparing a Resource Hive (winter NUC) to repopulate hives that do not survive the arduous winter. Hives not surviving the wintry months often […]

Honey Bee Hive Optimal Winter Conditions Winter for the honey bee hive becomes the ultimate test against the other seasons’ activities coupled with health. Key elements necessary to support a healthy colony (climate regions coldest month 20 ° F) include: The wintering unit must have a good productive queen Worker population that covers 10 – […]