If you’re a honeybee farmer, Varroa mites are a problem you will inevitably have to face, along with other interfering insects such as moths, ants and beetles. If you’re worried about your hive, or you’re dealing with a Varroa mite problem right now, don’t panic. The thought of an infected hive is unpleasant, but there are simple ways to solve this.
I don’t have to explain that honey is all the rage—it has been since the dawn of time. It’s not the only product we can collect from bees, though. Pollen is valuable in its own right and is worth some attention too.
While not an essential piece of beekeeping equipment, you can harvest your own pollen by making use of a pollen trap. They’re easy to install and use, but will require a fair amount of work on your part. At the end of the day, regardless of maintenance, pollen traps serve as a rewarding tool in your beekeeping.
Honey harvesting is a large part of beekeeping. It’s one of the most popular reasons why people choose to become beekeepers. Although it’s not the most complicated hobby in the world, there is a science to collecting good, consumable honey.
Honey extractors can be an invaluable tool. Even though there’s some debate as to their necessity, they can improve your honey harvests if you use them as intended. They may seem like complicated pieces of machinery, but putting them to use is simpler than you might expect.
Don’t be intimidated by them. I’m going to show you how easy it is to use a honey extractor. Just as with other pieces of beekeeping equipment, you don’t need a degree in physics to understand them. You might build some muscle though, but who’s complaining about that?
In beekeeping, you’ll have to invest in a few tools that will help you manage your bees efficiently. One of the most important ones is the bee smoker. It’s a necessary tool in any beekeeper’s arsenal because it helps us keep our bees calm.
It puts us at less risk of being stung. If you’re keeping honeybees, this means that it also helps in keeping your bees alive. Let’s take a look at what bee smokers are, why they’re useful, and how you should be using yours.
Looking to start a hobbyist beekeeper career? Wondering what is the essential beekeeping equipment for getting started? What to invest in first? Options are plentiful and can seem overwhelming to inexperienced apiarists.
Luckily, caring for bees doesn’t have to be a daunting responsibility. Besides acquiring the bees themselves, there is a full set of equipment and tools recommended to grow a successful beehive colony. We’ll cover them all in detail.
The beehive caste system places the queen bee at the center of everything. She controls the thousands of worker and drone bees with her pheromones and her ability to reproduce.
A queen bee is easily distinguishable from the rest of the bees. She differs in shape, size and color. She also has other distinct characteristics that make identifying her easy. However, if you’re new to beekeeping, the first couple of times might be hard. Trying to find one special bee within thousands in one hive requires some training if there isn’t an excluder already in the hive.
Often referred to as the “nuke,” or “nuc,” the “nuclear” beehive is a small colony of bees plus a queen. It has all of the essentials for creating a new colony, just like the cell nucleus is the start of a healthy molecule. For seasoned beekeepers, a bee nuc is like a secret weapon. Primarily, beekeepers use a nucleus to start a new colony.
As beekeeping grows and the production of your own honey becomes more attractive, more and more outlets are appearing. But, how do you know exactly what you need and what should you be looking out for?
That’s where we come in. Did you know there are different varieties of honeybees? Are you looking to buy a bee package or a bee nuc? These are some of the options you should consider before you decide where to buy honeybees from.
During honeybees’ short lives, they work all day foraging the maximum amount of flowers they can, with the sole purpose of filling the hive with honey.