After three days in a row of beekeeping, I found myself having a ‘power nap’. It’s hard work after a winter of inactivity. My son, the mole, has been my superstar assistant, which is remarkable because until a week ago, he was terrified of bees. He has faced his fears and seems to be enjoying … Read more
Beekeepers invest a considerable amount of money in their equipment. Hives, frames, foundation, bee suits, smokers, extractors, warming cabinets, mating nucs and so on, ad nauseam, all add up to a big chunk of cash. As you grow from a couple of hives to ten, then fifty and beyond, you start to need storage facilities, … Read more
I’ve written about swarming quite a bit in the past. I’m not sure how many people who read my stuff are beginners, but I’m going to assume it’s not the majority. You probably all have your ways of dealing with preventing swarms or controlling them once the bees have decided to make queen cells. In … Read more
Many very experienced beekeepers in the UK advocate using the Demaree Method of swarm prevention for people with a small number of hives. George Demaree (1832–1915) from Kentucky first published his approach in an article in the American Bee Journal in 1892. I love the fact that a method devised thousands of miles away and … Read more
How to stop swarming? Answer: you can’t! At least not completely. However, beekeepers have to try to stop their bees swarming. If you lose swarms, you will not make as much honey as you could do. You can also catch swarms which is great fun. There’s a swarm coming I suspect that a wave of … Read more
How to prevent swarming? I previously wrote about some potential factors involved in the swarming of honey bees and why swarm prevention and control are so important for the beekeeper. The idea that we can prevent swarms is probably misguided; it is after all what bees are programmed to do, it is how they reproduce, … Read more