Beekeeping Start-Up, Jump Into the World of Keeping Bees

Beekeeping has moved from the pastime of fusty middle-aged men to young urban couples and singles. It is trendy now to become a beekeeper! Who could have predicted that? When I worked at the bee booth at the Fairgrounds recently, I was amazed at the young (under 25!) people, both male and female who were into beekeeping!  I …

The Great Sunflower Project – The Backyard Bee Count

Would you like to help out native bees and honey bees? Plant Lemon Queen Sunflowers and start counting bee visits as the flower bloom and mature to add to the data base for North America so that scientists can study bees better.

The Dreaded ‘Hive Beetle’ Attacks

I opened my hive the other day to check on things -removing my last super, and to button everything up for the winter. When I took off the inner cover, I noticed some small black beetles scurrying around on the top bars of the hive and my heart sank.  I knew right away that these were …

The Great Sunflower Project – The Backyard Bee Count

The Great Bee Count Within the past couple of years, you might have heard that bees are in trouble, growing scarcer, and suffering from a mysterious ailment called Colony Collapse Disorder, or CCD. A variety of culprits have been fingered in causing this syndrome, including pesticide use, parasites, and diseases. To study bees, scientists decided …

Swarming of the Bees – It is That Time of Year Again!

Honey Flow With the coming of spring a couple of weeks early this spring, I am getting a little nervous about my bees. The honey flow which is the frantic bee activity of bees collecting nectar from spring flowers will be here very soon. I have a strong hive that made it through the winter and I am on …