Hunters Hives

Hunter’s Hives: Adventures and Musings from a Curious Apiarist

Honey bees at water

Hi, and welcome to this site dedicated to information about honey bees and information targeting apiarists (beekeepers), both current and wanna-bees! Learn more about me here or a complete list of my articles and posts.

Latest Posts:

  • Where Wings End and Work Begins: A Tribute to Bee Feet

    When we think of honey bees, we often picture their wings, their stingers, or their role in pollination. But hidden beneath their fuzzy bodies are six remarkable legs—each ending in a foot that’s an engineering masterpiece. In this post we take a closer look at the anatomy of honey bee feet, how bees use them,…

  • Propolis Envelope

    Honey bees collect resin from tree buds, sap flows, or other botanical sources then mix this resin with their own enzymes and beeswax to produce propolis. While beekeepers may loathe this sticky substance and find that is can be difficult to remove and clean, scientists have discovered propolis has many beneficial qualities that aid the…

  • Floral Fidelity

    What is floral fidelity and why is it important to honey bees? Floral Fidelity Floral fidelity refers to the tendency of a pollinator, for example a honey bee, to consistently visit flowers of the same species during a foraging trip, rather than switching between different types of flowers. Why is floral fidelity important to honey bees?…

  • Insulating a Beehive

    Since 1852, when Rev. Langstroth unveiled his movable frame hive, beekeepers have seen few changes to the original design. Wooden hives are popular for a number of reasons: it’s simple design allows for various configurations to meet the beekeeper’s needs, all-the-while providing an adequate shelter for the honeybees. One drawback for those hives made from…

  • Robbing

    Anyone who has witnessed an epic battle between honey bees at the entrance to a beehive understands the seriousness: it is intense! What is happening, and why? What are consequences – to the attacker and to the attacked? Does this behavior require intervention from the beekeeper? Most environments will experience nectar dearths – times of…

  • Beehive Sensors – Technology Overview Part 2

    In this post, I discuss Thingsboard and my internet-of-things (IoT) project whose data can be viewed at https://huntershives.com/iot/graph.html. ThingsBoard is an open source service I have running on my developmental network. Incoming data (from an Arduino board with an attached sensor) is uploaded to a Postgres database and read by ThingsBoard. The service has a…

  • Honey Bees and Water

    Bees need water for several reasons. They use it to aid in digestion, make royal jelly, dilute honey, and cool down their hive1. Specifically, honey bees require water for two main purposes: Honey bees collect water from various sources, including damp rocks, branches, muddy puddles, pond edges, and drops adhering to vegetation. They swallow the…

  • Bald Brood: Understanding the Problem and Solutions

    Bald brood is a relatively common issue that impacts developing honey bee pupae. Beekeepers often observe linear rows of uncapped brood cells, with exposed larvae still developing inside. But what exactly causes this phenomenon, and how can beekeepers address it? Causes of Bald Brood Impact on Bees Differentiating Bald Brood from Hygienic Behavior Remember, maintaining healthy…