The Connecticut Eastern Railroad Museum recently contacted us about some honeybees that had made a nest inside of a caboose. I was skeptical, suspecting that it was a yellowjacket nest rather than honeybees. But my curiosity had been piqued, so we took a ride over on Memorial Day to check it out. The museum was closed, so [...]
Readers have asked for instructions for installing their new packages of bees. So here goes…it’s going to be a long post, but worth it, I hope!
Installing packages is one of the easier beekeeping tasks. In my opinion, there are only a few essentials. First, get good packages. Second, give the bees as good a start [...]
Don’t you just hate that icky-sticky tarring crap that old wax comb turns into? Bees hate it too, I’m sure. In fact, queens can’t even lay eggs in it because the cells get too small for her royal butt. So you either have to throw the foundation away or, if it’s plastic foundation, you can [...]
The value of overwintered hives can’t be overstated. They have such an advantage over hives started as packages in the spring.
In the Northeast, packages aren’t usually started until some time in April. After they are put into a hive, these new bees typically need to build comb. If you have a virgin queen, she needs [...]
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The temperature began to fall yesterday. The thermometer read 22° F at sundown. Worried, I went out after dark to make sure my entrance reducers were still in place. Several were significantly out of place, allowing much more cold air in, so I’m glad I checked. But as I went from hive to hive adjusting [...]
Here’s another photo of a cluster - one that settled on my arm. To find out how they got there (it was entirely accidental), see http://ct-honey.com/swarm.php. For more photos, scroll down to the bottom of the page. A video is available here: http://ct-honey.com/videos/hiving_swarm.MOV.
Here’s one of even more bees at the entrance. Not in a square, though. Stupid bees.
A reader asked whether we had any photos of many bees at the hive entrance. Here’s one:
I call this photo “A Perfect Square.” My bees know geometry.
It’s time to start thinking about spring medications…one of those beekeeping chores no one looks forward to. To help make this task a bit easier on the mind (if not the wallet) we have developed the ct-honey.com Medication Calculator. To use the calculator, simply enter the number of hives you will be medicating, indicate whether it [...]
In January, many of us look back on the past year and reflect on the things we did well and also those things that we could improve upon. What are your beekeeping resolutions for 2007? Do you want to increase your colonies? Keep healthier bees? Let us know what your resolutions are and also how [...]
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