Archives

Second Floor Dormer Removal

This colony swarmed last Friday while I was out of town. Another beekeeper snagged the swarm, however the parent colony was still in the home. Way up in the soffit of a 2nd story dormer.. The homeowner had spray-foamed their entrance in an effort to kill the bees… I opened up a hole for the […]

Beekeepers Day (short video)

A quick minute of today’s activities. (3 hives taken to the bee yard, checked hives from the splits I made on Saturday, and responded to an emergency swarm call in Allen, Tx)

Fall Harvest in the Spring

I pulled the excess honey from 4 hives today. Yes.. 4 hives. Some of my friends know the math on the box weight…. Take a wild guess as to the weight of the boxes/honey. All hives that were doubled up with brood (2 deeps high) were split. The hives with the highest population showed signs […]

Valve Box Bees

These gentle ladies needed a new home so that the homeowners could put their house on the market to sell. I had a helper on this one- who shows a promising future in beekeeping. The valve box was almost 2′ deep, and there was a LOT of capped brood. I’ll leave the box for a […]

Spring Blooms – and Bolting Garden

The broccoli in the garden has bolted, now that the temperatures are warmer – and the bees are making sure that the plants are pollinated for the next seed crop.

Leather Crafting

A North Texas leathercrafter contacted me for beeswax earlier in the year. His intention was to use it in a recipe as a leather conditioner and waterproofing (or water-resistant) agent. He used beeswax, and softened the wax with Neatsfoot oil. You can find recipes to fit your needs in many publications or online. Here’s his […]

One House – Two Hives

1 House, 2 Hives. According to the neighbors, both of these hives have been in existence for well over 10 years. I believe it – with the hard, black propolized comb. Both hives were in the joist space between floors of a 2-story home.

Hive #1 had bees that were very gentle to work with, […]

NASA Generated Honeybee Forage Map

NASA has collaborated to provide information to (and from) beekeepers to show nectar flow data. Their resource lists plants in a large region, as well as whether those nectar sources are a significant forage item for the bees, or if it is not. A guesstimation is also given as to what months the particular plants […]

January 18 2015 – Bee Yard Inspection

Not a full hive inspection – but a beautiful 60 degree (F) day – and a chance to check the pollen substitute feeders to see if they are in need of being refilled. Indeed – they were low – so after filming this short 1-minute video clip, I refilled the pollen substitute feeders.

 

Mouse Guards Installed

Several weeks back, I inspected the hives, and in one of the empty nucs, found a mouse nest – with a single mouse living within. I had forgotten about installing mouse-guards when I was reducing the hive entrances and adding covers under the screened bottom boards.

I did a quick check in the hives before […]