One of the best ways of learning about beekeeping is to see as many hives opened as possible. This means going to the apiary sessions at the club for starters, and offering to go and see people’s hives when the opportunity arrives. Read More

 

Why are hive records important?

Hive records are really useful to look at before you go back out to your apiary. They might remind you of what kit you need to take, extra supers maybe or a clean queen excluder or a replacement roof. Read More

Honey bees hind legs are specially adapted for carrying pollen. They have a structure called the corbicula (pollen basket), where pollen is carefully packed into a bell. Read More

Do you need to know the names of the glands in worker bees? Not really, and nor do you need to know the job progression for a honey bee. But sometimes these things are useful to have an understanding of. Knowing that not all bees produce wax or are able to feed queens might help us when things don’t go as we expected they would. Read More

 

Sometimes we throw lots of numbers at beginners, but there are a few important ones to keep in mind.

The ones that are most important are those that relate to the queen.  Read More
 

Winter Bees

Your bees should be ready for winter now. Boxes reduced to the right size for the amount of bees (Smaller colonies might fare better in a poly nucleus box and some colonies will still need double brood or brood and a half).

Hopefully you’ll have finished feeding now. Read More