Dan Greenwood 
Different insect bites and stings are often confused with each other because the symptoms are so similar. It’s not a problem if you’re not quite sure if it was a mosquito or a gnat that bit you. It’s a big problem if you’ve been injected with venom, and can’t find the culprit anywhere.
How you experience a bee sting depends on a number of variables—like how many times you’ve been stung, how old you are, and whether or not you’re susceptible to an allergic reaction. Some people will only experience mild symptoms for a couple of hours, while others could be in pain for a week.
Before you even think of treating a bee sting, you’ll have to remove the stinger from your skin. If you don’t, the stinger will have more time to inject venom into you, and your symptoms could worsen. It also hurts more the longer you leave it in.
Some insect bites, like mosquitoes, are obvious a mile away. Others, like spider bites, we can never be sure of because the symptoms vary depending on the species. The same applies to stings. No two are the same, so it can be difficult determining what has stung you.
Bee stings are a tricky business. Firstly, there’s the fact that we all react differently to them, and what works for the goose might not always work for the gander. Secondly, our individual reactions won’t always be the same. If you’re so unfortunate as to have been stung before, your reaction then is by no means the standard for future stings.
I am endlessly fascinated by how self-sufficient bees are, especially colony bees. Their system of scouting, foraging, and packing food is one that humans still don’t fully understand. It’s incredible, but sometimes it’s not enough.
When you think of a beehive, you may be picturing the classic rectangular Langstroth hive. The Warré hive, on the other hand, is smaller than the Langstroth, but it provides a new way of beekeeping.
The Warré hive is growing in popularity in North America. Many new beekeepers are finding its low maintenance appealing. Let’s take a closer look.
The Langstroth hive revolutionized beekeeping in many ways. It was the first hive that allowed the beekeeper to monitor the health of the colony while harvesting honey.
Honey production was boosted due to the hive allowing bees to reuse comb instead of having to start over after harvesting. The Langstroth hive quickly became the most popular beehive. In fact, many of the newer hives today are based on the Langstroth.
Starting a beehive is a great hobby filled with new learning experiences and a sweet reward—honey. The problem, however, is that you’re likely faced with the question of which type of beehive to choose. In this article, we’re all about the top bar hive and will reveal everything you need to know.
Discovering mites in your hive can be a tough pill to swallow, luckily though, it doesn’t mean the end. There are many ways to get rid of mites in a beehive, however, most include pesticides which can be harmful to bees.
There is, however, one way to kill mites without killing your bees—that is by using an oxalic acid vaporizer.