Category Archives: What’s going on..

Just little blurbs about what I’m up to (why I haven’t added real content).

Swarm Traps – baiting and staging

All but 6 traps have been baited and staged, out of the way. You might be wondering, “why so early?” Bees won’t be swarming yet in Indiana.  To that I’d say, you are right, but there are TWO good reasons to … Continue reading

Posted in Methods, Scouting, Swarm Trapping, Uncategorized, What's going on.. | Tagged , , , | 10 Comments

Robbing can teach us about honeybees 1

Part 1:  Robbing is a Problem. First thing’s first. Robbing sucks, but, IT’S NOT A REASON TO FREAK OUT! Take a deep breath…. Count to TEN. I remember when I began beekeeping. I read of all these alien things that … Continue reading

Posted in Feral Bees, Hive Reports, Observation, Uncategorized, What's going on.. | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

2016 Trapping Update

It’s time to give a little progress report for summer 2016. This year has been the most successful trapping summer YET. The first swarm was caught almost A FULL MONTH earlier than normal on 4/20/2016. HITS occurred steadily 3-5 per week … Continue reading

Posted in HowTo, Posts, Swarm Trapping, What's going on.. | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Getting it done

If you want to be successful in beekeeping you’re going to have to put some work in. Reading or looking around on the Internet is only scratching the surface. The real work starts once you have bees and are dealing with … Continue reading

Posted in Feral Bees, Genetics, HowTo, Methods, Posts, Swarm Trapping, What's going on.. | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Red and Beige pollen

Last Friday (3/18/2016) I visited 3 hives. While there I took a walk to see if I could find bees working the Purple dead-nettle (Lamium purpureum). I had observed bees entering hives with RED pollen and thought it was from the Nettle. … Continue reading

Posted in Great Weeds, Observation, Uncategorized, What's going on.. | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Box building tips

Crazy as it may sound I have what is looking like a potential problem in my beekeeping life. There’s a real possibility that almost all of my hives are going to overwinter this year. I hate even mentioning this because … Continue reading

Posted in HowTo, Posts, What's going on.. | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

Propolis Caps

Any time I find an aspect of beekeeping where a yield can be realized I try to maximize it. Financial viability of a bee operation by honey alone seems like it could be difficult. Wax is a common product that people think … Continue reading

Posted in Experiments, HowTo, Posts, What's going on.. | Tagged , , , , | 10 Comments

After hours beekeeping

Any time a married man comes rolling in at 2 a.m. there had better be a story. On Wednesday 8/5/15 I experienced such a night and it was probably the craziest night of my entire life!!! No alcohol involved in … Continue reading

Posted in Posts, Rants, Swarm Trapping, What's going on.. | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

Blackberry Mead

It is time to talk about another use for honey. In this case it’s a use for uncured nectar that would be unstable on a shelf. As many already know if honey isn’t cured to proper moisture content it will … Continue reading

Posted in Honey, Posts, What's going on.. | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Fall Clean Up

Like always post honey harvest equipment was in needed of attention. The first order of business was to get everything wet with honey / nectar residue dry. I freeze and store my extracted supers every year. This has presented a … Continue reading

Posted in Pests, Posts, What's going on.. | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments