This study considers the mystery of how the scout bees in a honey bee swarm know when they have completed their group decision making regarding the swarm's new nest site. More specifically, we investigated how the scouts sense when it is appropriate for them t...
Allowing some our bees to swarm and trying to catch them again is one of the most natural ways of 'Making increase', or in other words, increasing the number of colonies in the apiary. Another way is to sub divide by with an artificial split and create what is called a 'Nucleus' whic...
When honeybees leave a hive to start a new nest, they form a swarm. Image courtesy MorgueFile Bumblebees, on the other hand, have annual nests. Each year, the queen mates in the fall and then spends the winter underground. In the spring, she emerges and builds a nest in which she...
If you are going to start a queen from swarm cells, use cells from a strong colony with a good queen. The queen cell doesn’t need to be capped, but it should be active. In other words, you should see bees continually tending it. Take a frame with swarm cells and remove it from ...
I wanted a way to use a candy board with a moisture quilt for overwintering my bees. This is now my go-to winter feed arrangement, and you don’t need to cook the sugar! Inside:This combination of equipment solves two problems. First, it provides a long-lasting supply of emergency fee...
If your bees swarm and you can see where they landed, you can capture them and start a new hive. You may even be lucky enough to get a call from a friend or neighbor who has spotted a wild swarm in his yard; beekeepers are often called to come capture swarms. Y...
Fleas can jump about 200 times their own body-length. The jump happens so fast that only about 5 years ago the high-speed camera technology was sophisticated enough to capture the jump in such a way that it could conclusively be shown what parts of the leg a flea uses to jump. [Video...
Late as all hell, and while I’ve been kissed, I haven’t done it enough to capture it well. I’m also writing this from a man’s perspective, instead of a woman’s, so I worry I’m doing it wrong…if there’s feedback, that would be lovely! Otherwise, feel free to make fun...
When honeybees leave a hive to start a new nest, they form a swarm. Image courtesy MorgueFile Bumblebees, on the other hand, have annual nests. Each year, the queen mates in the fall and then spends the winter underground. In the spring, she emerges and builds a nest in which she...