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Walk-Away Splits
Due to time limitations, it may be advantageous for a beekeeper to use the ‘walk-away’ split method as a swarm prevention method and/or for starting a new hive. I have found this method to be easy and mostly carefree. After describing the method and process to a friend, I began to wonder how I could…
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Honey Bee Memory
For their colony to survive, honey bees (Apis mellifera) must forage. [2] Successful foragers must learn and remember information about the food resource, that is, the color and shape of the flower, the amount of resource available at the site, the resource’s location, and how to navigate to the resource with respect to the hive’s…
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Beehive Sensors: An Overview of Current “Smart Hive” Technology
For years I have been curious about how sensors placed in beehives could provide a beekeeper with more information about how their colonies live and behave to both internal and external factors. Think: genius hive! [1] In general, sensors can collect information, communicate information or can both collect and share information. The Internet of Things…
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Beekeeping Calendar
A beekeeping calendar provides the beekeeper with a planning and information tool: activities to consider in an effort to maintain a thriving apiary and when to watch for pests and diseases plus blooming plants and trees. Those of us lucky enough to live in Oklahoma understand our weather is another factor that must be considered:…
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Winterizing Your Beehive
Preparation for winter (“overwintering“) and winter management is critical to the survival of honey bee colonies. As a beekeeper, your apiary management strategy should be to help bees stay healthy, lessen the burden of winter feeding and reduce winter losses. The best-managed hives are ready for winter well ahead of the first frost in fall.…
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Integrated Pest Management
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is an “effective and environmentally sensitive approach to pest management that relies on a combination of common-sense practices. IPM programs use current, comprehensive information on the life cycles of pests and their interaction with the environment. This information, in combination with available pest control methods, is used to manage pest damage…
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Waggle Dance
Dr. Karl von Frisch, a zoologist, studied communication among bees. His work significantly increased the knowledge of the chemical and visual sensors of insects. He successfully deciphered the language bees, termed the “waggle dance”, used to convey information to hive mates about important and abundant resources for their colony. These resources could be nectar, pollen, water or propolis. For this and…
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Bee Space
Lorenzo Lorraine Langstroth (1810-95) was a native of Philadelphia and could be considered the father of modern beekeeping. In 1831 he graduated from Yale and was an ordained minister, but his work as a minister and teacher was limited due to severe depression. This did not impact his patient and keen ability to observe the…
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Blessed Bee-cause!
Bees and other pollinators are a critical part of our planet’s ecosystem. As such, their contributions are essential to our health and the health of our planet. These contributions include food systems and food security, such as pollination services, and through their creation of products, such as honey, that have proven medicinal value. Only a…