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The over wintered nuc threw another swarm this afternoon. I sprayed swarm commander on a stack of supers about 5 feet away from the nuc and the bees clustered there. I got the queen in a clip and packed the bees up. They are now in the other hive at the Cooperative Extension. I plan on checking them...

I have 2-3 stainless steel screened strainers and stainless bowls. I let the cappings drip through for several days, then run that honey through the plastic strainers in a jarring bucket. I tend to keep this honey separate from the main crop and use it for personal consumption and for giving to fami...

I had one of my over wintered nucs attempt a swarm a couple of days ago. The queen did not go and the bees returned. I searched and did not find the queen at that time. I shuffled frames around and gave the bees more space. This may have been the reason for the delay in trying again. They came out t...

I don't know of anyone who has been able to keep the bees in their hives this season--no matter what steps they take.

I got a call around 6:30 pm yesterday about a swarm near the Grimsley High area. It was about 5 feet up in a bush and I would estimate it as around 5lbs. When I shook it into my swarm bucket, I could see a decent amount of new comb on bush branches. It may be that the swarm was there awhile before p...

These hard freezes have significantly damaged buds and blooms from the holly type bushes. I'm trying to look at the potential "bright side"--if the buds from the tulip poplars have not been damaged too badly, the holly bloom will be out of the way at tulip poplar bloom time. These usually ...

The Born and Bred queen rearing workshop is back in 2023! The workshop is a program offered by the NCSBA to instruct beekeepers on the complete process of queen rearing. Join us for a full day of queen rearing instruction, demonstration and hands-on practice. The specialized cell building and mating...

I didn't get the temperature way up in the tree they came out of, but there surely was no leaf cover to create shade.

I checked on weather history for my February 27, 2020 swarm. It was 49F and mostly sunny the day they came out. It was 62F and foggy the day before. The 3 days before that, only one day was below 55(54F). February 2020 was quite warm overall. If Wally is generally correct, tomorrow has the potential...

I just stepped out my front door to get the mail and smelled the familiar fragrance of holly in bloom. Sure enough, one variety has bloomed and the honey bees are working it. This is nuts!

A few scout bees began examining my bait hive at the house yesterday. They are still looking today. They are few in number, but I hope will grow. If they choose my location, I will be curious to see when they choose to swarm. Conditions don't look good for most days over the next month+, but swarms ...

I got a call from a gentleman at Dudley High School yesterday afternoon about bees coming out of a tree and landing on a bush near the ground. He had called a few beekeepers on the list and I gave him 3 more names. His regular bee rescuer from our list was unavailable and the others either couldn't ...

These bees made another escape attempt around 1:00 pm yesterday, but had to return to their queen. At around 4:00 pm, I went into another hive and got a frame of capped and open brood to place in this swarm hive. I saw that the swarm had been drawing some comb when pulling out a frame. I replaced th...

These bees were determined to relocate and made an attempt to escape. EscapeAttempt_IMG_0780.jpg Most of the bees eventually came to the azalea bush, but the remaining ones called them back. CallingThemBack_IMG_0781.jpg Because the queen did not (could not) go, the bees did return. Return_IMG_0782.j...

Swarm 3-5-23_IMG_0777(1).jpg Looks like I have my comb drawing swarm. I estimate this one at 4lbs. Neighbors rang my front doorbell to let me know that it appeared as if some of my bees were headed to my neighbor behind me. They came out of one of my stronger hives and clustered in the azalea bush ...

I was given a 3 frame Maxant years ago. They now have a basket for the same size model that handles more frames. They are expensive, but they are well made. I think mine dates to the 1970's or early 1980's.

There are many options to consider. If you are taking around half the bees from a hive to raise queens or to make nucs, you are making an artificial swarm-especially if you remove the old queen to a new location (another hive or a nuc). This generally means that the original hive with reduced number...

I was hoping others would jump in with ideas. This late winter has definitely been a head scratcher. I haven't planned on splitting, so most colonies are getting open drawn comb. I have been trying to move the brood and queen down into the first box. I then add frames of open comb in the brood area ...

Send me a private message with your address and your 3 top choices for color selection (red, light blue, black, dark blue, yellow, pink, green, olive--I think). I'll ask Roy to bring hats to tomorrow night's beginner course, and if you are in Guilford County, I'll deliver it to you.

Red Maples are still blooming around my house. Could they be getting that much nectar from them? I don't know of any other significant nectar producer in bloom now. Did it look like the honey in the picture I posted not too long ago? see it here- https://guilfordbeekeepers.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...