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Channel: spring management – Honey Bee Suite
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Honey bees unite!

Here’s a new take on package installation, new to me at least. If anyone has heard of this happening, I would sure like to know. Last week Nancy, of Shady Grove Farm in Kentucky, installed two packages...

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The neighbor lady smells best

When I tally the comments and e-mails related to my last post, I find a variety of opinions on why multiple packages of bees might move into one hive. Many agreed with my husband that the packages...

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When to remove quilt boxes and feeders

Since we’ve had some unseasonably warm days, many of you are asking when to remove quilt boxes and feeders. Others want to know what to do with all the bees in the candy boards and when you should...

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Spring pollen on a happy bee day

Yesterday my honey bees had a happy bee day. After weeks of below average temperatures and above average snowfall, the sun cut through the mist and warmed the hives. Bees I hardly recognized gathered...

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The worst thing about the spring equinox

The very worst thing about the spring equinox is its proximity to the summer solstice. In just three short months we will begin the inexorable slide into winter. In just ninety days, the hours of...

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When to feed pollen substitute to honey bees

Right now, many northern beekeepers are asking when they should begin to feed pollen substitute, as if it’s a necessary step. But pollen substitute is an option you don’t always need. If you determine...

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How to install package bees in cold weather

Spring weather is coming late in many areas and beekeepers are asking questions about installing package bees in cold weather. I’ve heard of beekeepers keeping their packages indoors, bringing hives...

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How long can you keep bees in a shipping container?

Many beekeepers are getting a resurgence of winter weather just as their package bees are arriving. The question, then, is how long can you keep bees in a shipping container? For best results under...

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Should you encourage honey bees to build comb?

Honey bees are much more logical than humans. And humans, in general, are much more logical than beekeepers. Which means that honey bees and their keepers are often at odds, especially when it comes to...

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Are you rotating brood boxes? Why?

Rotating brood boxes, also called reversing, is a time-honored rite of spring. Beekeepers parade into their apiaries on the first warmish day and switch the position of their two brood boxes. They pry...

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An especially early vernal equinox

As the vernal equinox approaches, I like to remind beekeepers that spring can be tricky. If you’re not paying attention, it’s easy to lose a colony to starvation. In spring, several different things...

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