“How can I prevent swarming?” is a common question. An equally common answer is, “Give the bees more space so they are not crowded.” From this we get, “Crowding causes swarming.” Let’s look at that a little more closely. In his book Honeybee Democracy, Thomas Seeley writes, “To this day, no one knows what specific […] Read more
Editor’s note: Sometimes having a website seems like having hundreds of pen friends. The pen friends are the ones who keep writing, year after year, even though many months may pass between communications. Email addresses tend to stick in my mind, so when one of these lands in my inbox, I’m always pleased. Renaldo Raymond […] Read more
Thomas Seeley’s article on Darwinian beekeeping has unleashed a fury of discussion among beekeepers. Of particular interest are the ways in which feral colonies handle parasites and pathogens. Feral bees do not have beekeeper assistance, yet many of them do fine without it. The article, “Darwinian Beekeeping: An Evolutionary Approach to Apiculture” in the March […] Read more
A friend who lives near Mount Shasta recently told me about a “swarm seducer” he uses to attract swarms that issue from his own hives. While bait hives and swarm traps are often used to woo swarms that are looking for a permanent home, a swarm seducer is meant to provide a temporary resting place […] Read more
One of the things I like best about the west coast is the height of the trees. They grow quickly and they grow tall. But as a beekeeper, what a pain. Yesterday was no exception. I was chatting on the phone with my sister-in-law when I happened to glance out the back window. The sky […] Read more
Since I’ve written many posts about Taranov splits, I’m not going to belabor the whys and hows. Still, I’m always amazed that it works so well. For me, it is the best way to split into non-compatible equipment. In this case, I was splitting a top-bar hive into a Langstroth. I had thought this hive […] Read more
It was exactly nine days ago that my hive number four threw a gigantic swarm that landed in a fir tree. Today was exactly the same. After several days of cold and rainy weather, today dawned bright and warm. This time I was weeding my pollinator garden when I heard the unmistakeable sound of a […] Read more