Featured Stories
Backyard Beekeeping April/May 2022
Backyard Beekeeping April/May 2022 — 2/2 is available now! Subscribe to Backyard Beekeeping for great stories on different types of comb, how to move hives, teaching children not to fear bees, natural queen rearing, and human uses for bee pollen and venom. PLUS: Officer Darren Mays, a retired policeman who conducted swarm removals for the NYPD!
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Succession Planting With the Best Plants for Bees
Add to Favorites Even before we began keeping bees, we tried to garden in such a way as to not harm bees and other pollinators. Now that we are keeping …
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What do Mason Bees Pollinate?
Most Osmia mason bees are generalist pollinators, foraging on a wide variety of plants. As a rule of thumb, Osmia prefer tube-shaped blossoms or flowers with irregular shapes. Some of their favorites are various mints, penstemon, scorpionweed, and willows. They also like legume family plants such as indigo bush, clover, and vetch along with composites such as thistles.
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What’s in Your Beekeeping Smoker?
Add to Favorites When our son first started keeping bees I had no idea what a beekeeping smoker was used for or what to put in the smoker. The smoker …
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How Often Should I Test for Varroa Mites?
I would like to know when I should start testing for varroa mites. And then what schedule should I follow for the following months?
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How to Manage Ants in a Beehive
There is nothing quite like the sights and sounds of bees buzzing around, gathering pollen and nectar on a warm summer day. Summer and bees just seem to go together; unfortunately, so do summer and pests.
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What You Can Learn from the Beehive Entrance
Add to Favorites One of the most anticipated jobs for the beekeeper is doing a hive inspection. This is when you get to look into the hive and be assured …
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When Should I Perform the First Mite Check and Treatment?
A key time for getting a jump on varroa is when the colony is broodless, since any mites present will be in a phoretic state rather than hiding inside capped brood.
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Wax Moth Treatment to Help Your Bees Win the Battle
Add to Favorites All hives, even healthy ones, will have wax moths. I didn’t understand this when we first started beekeeping. I thought that if we were good beekeepers our …
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Varroa Mite Treatments for a Healthy Hive
Add to Favorites Originally published in Countryside May / June 2017. Subscribe for the full digital issue! Varroa mites have been in the United States since the late 1980s and are …
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Starting Beekeeping: Find a Beekeeping Mentor
Mentoring is a traditional way for beekeepers to teach people starting beekeeping about tending bees. However, finding a mentor, someone who is both knowledgeable about hive management and interested in teaching you, can feel difficult, especially if you don’t know anyone who keeps bees in your area.
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