Microplastics in Our Hives and Honey Bees
DISCLAIMER: The blog below is generally created from the research listed in the “Referenced Material” section. This is not my research. All credit is given to these studies and researchers who are helping beekeepers better understand how we can improve our management practices. Microplastics (MPs) are tiny plastic particles (or fibers) that have become widespread […]
The Nest of the Honey Bee by Dr Seeley and Dr Morse 1976
Summary “The natural honey bee nest was studied in detail to better understand the honey bee’s natural living conditions. To describe the nest site we made external observations on 39 nests in hollow trees. We collected and dissected 21 of these tree nests to describe the nest architecture. No one tree genus strongly predominates among […]
Getting Off the Varroa Merry-Go-Round
DISCLAIMER: The blog below is generally created from the research listed in the “Referenced Material” section. This is not my research. All credit is given to these studies and researchers who are helping beekeepers better understand how we can improve our management practices. Varroa is Likely Here to Stay After 38 years (1987-2025), the Varroa […]
Winter Prep
The weather is changing, and you feel that winter is just around the corner so what do you do with your Layens hives? Below I will share what I do for my hives, and hopefully it may give you some ideas for yours. I will also assume you are using an insulated Layens hive but […]
What do Honey Bees want?
It’s interesting to consider that most beekeeper management practices come, as might be expected, from the perspective of the beekeeper. Many questions being asked are answered based on what the beekeeper knows, wants or thinks. I guess that is to be expected as well. I mean, you can’t actually have a discussion with bees, and […]
Bee Pollen and Bee Bread
DISCLAIMER: The blog below is generally created from the research listed in the “Referenced Material” section. This is not my research. All credit is given to these studies and researchers who are helping beekeepers better understand how we can improve our management practices. Recently, functional foods have been a subject of great interest in dietetics […]
Dearth and Colony Impact
DISCLAIMER: The blog below is generally created from the research listed in the “Referenced Material” section. This is not my research. All credit is given to these studies and researchers who are helping beekeepers better understand how we can improve our management practices. A nectar dearth or simply dearth is a natural seasonal gap when few or […]
Ask Why: The Hobbyist Beekeeper
I’m seeing a lot of beekeepers online asking questions, which is great…keep it up, but they seem to be wrestling with topics that have a lot more to do with running a commercial business than keeping a few hives in their backyard. Yes, both the commercial and backyard or hobbyist beekeeper keeps bees but equating […]
Health and Immunity
DISCLAIMER: The blog below is generally created from the research listed in the “Referenced Material” section. This is not my research. All credit is given to these studies and researchers who are helping beekeepers better understand how we can improve our management practices. Honey bees are constantly exposed to contact with many types of pathogens. […]
Extracting Layens Honey Frames
Below is the process that my wife and I (Wild Hives) take to extract our honey each year. Many steps may be familiar given that uncapping and extracting honey from comb has been done for thousands of years by those keeping honey bees, but I hope you may find something new and helpful. Enjoy! Pulling […]