The Nectar Dearth – What it Means to Honey Bees I enjoy seeing honey bees flying through the air on warm Spring mornings looking for food. Nectar and pollen collected from the new flowers is necessary for colony growth. The bees work diligently to make honey and raise young bees. But this time of plenty […]
How to Feed A New Package of Bees: Keys to Success
Why Feed a New Package of Bees? Knowing how to feed a new package of bees is very important to the novice beekeeper. Understanding why is even more important. Local forage conditions and summer droughts affect the condition of your colonies. Buying a package of bees is the most common way to acquire new honey […]
How to Make a Bucket Feeder for Bees
Making An Bucket Feeder is Easy If you are a beekeeper, you will most likely want to make an open bucket feeder at some time. The term “open feeding” refers to a feeding station that is away from the hive. It’s called a bucket feeder because… um..well its a bucket. Bucket feeders are easy to […]
Feeding Honey Bees Sugar Water-The Right Way
Feeding Honey Bees Sugar Water – Updated! The concept of feeding honey bees sugar water often creates a division among beekeepers. Some beekeepers feel that you should never feed bees, period. They feel that honey bees should be able to make it on their own. Other beekeepers accept the need to feed their honey bees when […]
Fat Winter Bees-Why Beekeepers Love Them
Winter Bees – Fat, Healthy & Long-Lived Your calendar says we have a few more months of Winter. However, inside the bee hive our worker winter bees are producing new brood. And, that’s a very good thing. Our hives need a population of new bees and soon! Spring is coming and our bee colonies want […]
Feeding Bees For Winter Survival
Feeding Bees For Winter Survival Don’t wait too late. In a perfect world, beekeepers would never need to be concerned about feeding bees for winter. Every season would provide abundance nectar for all colonies. And some beekeepers feel strongly about the issue of feeding bees …..or not feeding. However, nature has many uncontrollable factors. The honey bee […]
Emergency Winter Feeding For Bees-Save Bee Lives
Emergency Winter Feeding For Bees Sometimes beekeepers need to step in and implement emergency winter feeding for bees. To understand why this is necessary, we need to understand the survival mechanism used by honey bees in temperate regions. Honey bees are cold blooded insects. They require food (honey) to generate heat for survival. **This post may contain […]
Feeding Fall Colonies – My Strategy
Feeding Fall Colonies – One Last Time The cold weather is here or will be in a few days and most beekeeping jobs should be finished. My last job involves a method feeding Fall colonies that improves survival rates. How many polar fronts will come along and how many honey bee colonies will die during […]
