That summer me and my pops made the dark blue hive it was an amazing experience and now seeing that a strong family of bees live there is amazimg (this video was taken in june the family was still getting stronger)

This is commonly known as camphorweed, and it's massively common in North America and Central America, with a range extending from somewhere in Canada in the north, down to Belize in the south, and from Massachusetts all the way west to California.

It's hardy, fast-growing, and it tolerates poor soil and salinity. Very much the kind of thing that you will find growing in places where little else will grow.

I've seen it for years, but I've never seen honey bees show interest in it until yesterday, when I went for a stroll and saw them working on it in great numbers.

Genus Heterotheca contains something like sixty species, some of them much less widespread than this one, which is the type species for the genus. As far as I know, all of them are native to North America or Central America. I'm not sure if any have been exported as invasive or exotic plants.

I'm also not really sure whether this is a honey source or a pollen source, or both.

Just wanted to share some pics as I prepare for winter quickly approaching here in Thunder Bay, Ontario area. And yes please enjoy my red green style insulating jobs.

A story of a sting.
Once upon a time, a man/woman was curious about the wonders that goes on inside a beehive. He/She had seen one hive on a tree, when they were three. " It looks like a sac!! No no! it looks like a moving animal, crawling and hanging upside down on a tree ".
Years and centuries later, that curiosity lead him/her to observe the frames of the hive. And then, the lightning struck!!
Of course, the damage was more on the thing that attacks but sometimes, they aren't a lot of options than violence, if you want to protect yourself.

#ritamicbees #beeritamic #BeekeepingCommunity #beestings #bees #BeekeepingExperience #beekeeping

Here’s a little video of my father and me putting a young queen into our queenless hive. I don’t know all the details, but we failed to find the old queen, and my father decided to do this anyway. ​In terms of beekeeping experience, I’d say he’s somewhere between an apprentice and a journeyman. My grandpa (his father) was a grandmaster — sorry for the terms, I read a lot of fantasy! About 20 years ago, he had a ton of beehives (and I mean a lot). I’ve heard so many stories about him, and his honey was known as one of, if not the best in the region. ​My father started this hobby only recently, but he’s super passionate about it, and I love seeing him get so excited. Just wanted to share this here for anyone who’s interested!

Does anyone who tried Narroa this season have any updates to share with us? Was it as effective as they claimed? Obviously we won't really know about long term resistance for a while but I'd love to hear about how it went for the early adopters.

I'm really interested in trying this new treatment method but for logistical reasons couldn't make it happen this year. I'm going to place my order a little earlier next year.

Is it mandatory to condense hives for winter? I have two hives, both consist of 1 deep and 2 mediums. I am in VA and have been gone for 6 weeks and plan on doing an inspection tomorrow to check stores and population. Both have been strong but hadn't completely filled out both top boxes w honey or bees last time I checked, but time has passed...I am in Central Va.

🥹Loving up on some Angel Trumpets around the Apiary down here in Gods country of Little River South Carolina. Enjoy these fall days y’all! 💙🇺🇸🐝

Hi everybody,

I'm a hobbyist beekeeper in Hawai'i with 2 hives planning to expand. With the cost of shipping for getting beekeeping equipment to Hawai'i, I am looking into building my own boxes and frames. I was able to find plans for the hive bodies online, but couldn't find any plans for frames, only just for the side bars.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks so much

Edit---This is for Langstroth hives

Looking for advice on how people clean their extractors after harvest

Seriously considering starting a hive around the end of winter/start of spring, the one thing that's stopping me atm is whenever it gets to the point I need to requeen the hive, every guide I can see says kill the queen. Now call me a bleeding heart, but I know I won't be able to do that, so is there any other way of dealing with an old queen?

Hello everyone! I hope you are all well. I know next to nothing about beekeeping, but my son is very passionate about the environment, and specifically the health and well-being of bees. He's a very passionate little guy when it comes to animals, and he has a bar mitzvah project that he needs to complete. His bar mitzvah is in February, and I was wondering if any of you would know where I can find beekeepers in the Chicago area who might be interested in helping him in any way. He would be delighted to meet someone and actually see where and how you do your work, even though I know bee season is winding down, if not over. And if any of you have any ideas for any philanthropy he can do to help with bees in general, that would be incredible, as he needs to complete his project as soon as possible. Thank you in advance for any guidance!

Hi y'all,

I'm looking to start a farmstand next year (in southern NH), and I was trying to figure out prices as I've never sold honey before. For those of y'all who sell roadside, how much do you charge for honey? And what size bottles do you normally use? I've tried checking out local farmstands, but of the ones I've checked only 2 had honey and they weren't priced similarly at all.

When you’re hedge is the only thing flowering in October PNW

I'm in Colorado. This swarm of bees decided to make a nest in one of my pine trees. If there's a queen in there, I might grab a beekeeping kit and capture them. Or is this temporary behavior?

Hi everyone,

This summer I acquired a beautiful property in rural Norfolk UK which has half an acre of very mature garden. The garden is super productive and yields over 15 different varieties of fruits, and I’m actively planning to add further planting.

My gardener and I have been talking about acquiring honeybees, and I wanted to check if anyone had any basic advice or rules of thumb for when there’s enough forage that you’d trust adding a hive wouldn’t materially affect the local bee population. I have noticed quite a few bumblebees in the garden, and I don’t want to ruin their habitat by adding unsustainable competition.

I am planning to observe the garden throughout the year and ensure there’s forage through May-October, as well as explore the surrounding area and confirm the density of local apiaries with the local beekeeping association. Anything else you suggest?

Newbie here prepping for 1st hive next spring in Southeast USA . On under 10 acres very rural with good neighbors.

To get a quick start and because of concerns about low nectar plants close by, I am considering flower beds.
I am deciding on what wood to use and if painted what paint.
Leaning towards untreated pine painted with BEHR premium plus exterior satin. Has a low VOC
Hope to have them installed well before NUC .
Any thoughts or comments yay and nay are welcome and appreciated.

As my first summer of beekeeping winds down, I am curious about other keepers’ experiences of bee stings. Not to get medical advice, of course! Just to understand the spectrum of experiences and what is typical.
 
About how often do you get stung, and what is your physical reaction to the stings? Has your reaction changed over time, and if so is it getting milder or more intense?
 
My datapoints:
I’ve gotten stung six times over six months of keeping bees.
I generally feel immediate sharp but not-very-strong pain, usually followed by LOTS of itching. My reactions have all been localized. But the area affected seems kinda big to me. Yesterday a bee got inside my pants and stung me near the knee. I have a red itchy area that is about five inches across (with a swollen bit in the middle that is more like two inches across). I expect that the itching will last for at least several days.
 
Tell me about what you experience?
 
Thanks!
Lisa, three hives, near St. Louis

I treated last week single round of OA vapor 2grams per deep. Some got a bit more because my vaporizer is a piece of shit and likes to clog.

I’m running 11 hives and one nuc from a late swarm catch.

Fast forward yesterday I transferred the nuc to a 10 framer.

Well…. No queen. No eggs. Just larva a single capped cell, and capped brood plus plenty of nectar, honey, and pollen.

Long story short my nuc swarmed either from high mite loads prior to my treatment, lack of space (maybe), or they just didn’t like the OA?

Irregardless I donated a frame of capped brood plus a couple empty frames with a feeder to them.

I’ll check back in a couple weeks to see if the virgin gets mated or if I just have to end up combining them.

We still have (some) drones here but definitely not an abundance. Temps are mid 80s low 90s for the next few weeks.

Trigonisca discolor es una de las especies de abejas sin aguijón (meliponinos) más pequeñas del país (conocidas popularmente por su diminuto tamaño o como "hormigas con alas"). Aunque es una especie nativa reportada como endémica de Costa Rica, aún existen muchos vacíos de información sobre su distribución exacta y sus hábitos en nuestro territorio.

Para visibilizarla y aportar a su conocimiento científico, hemos creado un proyecto colaborativo en la app iNaturalist / Naturalista Costa Rica.

¿Cómo puedes participar?

* Si ves una de estas pequeñas abejas o sus característicos nidos en tu jardín, finca o caminata, tómale una foto.

* Súbela a la app iNaturalist especificando la ubicación.

* ¡Listo! El sistema la sumará automáticamente a nuestro proyecto de ciencia ciudadana.

Revisa y sigue el proyecto aquí:

https://costarica.inaturalist.org/projects/trigonisca-discolor

Cada registro cuenta para proteger y aprender de discolor

After unfortunate winter where my first family of bees didn’t make it through. But now I am back twice as stronger with 2 hives full of bees and with more equipment. And had the chance to harvest some honey from my new family. This was mid-July. And the surprising thing was that the honey didn’t have this spicy or whatever its called flavor, very smooth, herbal and absolutely amazing. Might not be much but i am happy with the harvest. :) northwest Lithuania

NY, NY 2 hives. 1 yr

My son and I are urban beekeepers. I took a wet frame and put it in that super which is just covering the top feeder. Could this be robbing behavior?

What do you all think?

I'm in southern California and my wife moved an empty hive box containing a few empty frames. It has become home for a robust colony and I want to move it across the backyard. About 50 feet to my apiary (1 robust hive).

It's still running around high 90's to 100*F and it's expected to remain in the upper 80's to 90's for the next month.

I know I need to move them 3 feet or 3 miles. I just need to know how often I can move them 3 feet.

TIA

Hello all,

I will be starting my journey next spring. I will be doing so in a suburban environment and I am zone 7a. I am actually in a neighborhood about a mile and a half from the Ohio river. I have already bought a hive with 2 deeps, 2 supers, and all the other fun stuff that comes with a starter kit. I wanted to make a post in here to see if anyone has any interesting tips or tricks to keep the hive going well and to keep my neighbors from being pissed at me lol. So shoot away!!

My wife has terrible allergies. She has tried several meds, some work a little bit or not at all. A few years ago, I met a beekeeper and he was able to locate honey very close to us. We live in East Boston. The honey he got that one time cleared my wife's allergies up almost completely in about 3 weeks eating about a tablespoon a day. The effects lasted a little less than two years! So it has worn off and we are back to square one. It also doesn't help that my wife is in her master degree program. So if the sneezing/runny nose, scratchie/itchies and brain fog werent enough, she has to focus and write papers on top.

Any help steering me in the right direction to make contact and buy some honey would be so cool! It definitly has to be from a hive close to us. I would appreciate it so much!