Just had another 3-4 inches of snow last night. When checking out around the hives I noticed bee activity, with an outside temperature of 34F. It’s a new record for the girls, typically I only see activity around 42F.

Loc. SW Ohio

UK. A friend gave me some honey they brought back from holiday in Bulgaria & I'm wondering about the light clouding at the top of the jar. I've not used any yet as it started looking like when you use the butter knife to scoop some out so I'm wary that it's contaminated. It looks different to when other honey solidifies & this clouding appeared before it even set in the colder temps. Thanks.

My understanding is that a sous vide device, used for cooking (normally) can maintain a circulating bath of water at a specified temperature.

Wouldn't that work well for setting honey jars in to decrystallize honey?

I bee keep in Washington DC, though I don't think that matters to the substance of this question.

I guess i'm technically a beekeeper but hella inexperienced.

I used to be a blacksmith and decided to crosspollinate skillsets.

But i've not actually used a hive tool, and elected to make my first one(s) myself/with a bud, as presents for some mentors.

What am i missing, what is NO, what is must do and not there?

I figure these will be fine for unwedging stuck frames, and i guess they're used for scraping or something too?

I kept a hive alive last summer. That's as far as i've gotten.

If it matters the forge is in NJ, the hives are in Iceland.

Hi everyone,

I’m seeking advice on how to help some bees that seem lost and keep swarming around my apartment complex. If this is not the right subreddit for this, guidance to the corrwct one would be greatly appreciated. Here’s the situation:

Every 2 weeks or so, about 20-30 bees swarm around a reflective fluorescent light. Many end up dying off.

I don’t think there’s a queen in this group, but I’m not very knowledgeable about bees.

I live in Los Angeles, if that’s relevant.

I’ve already asked my landlord to switch the fluorescent lights to warm lights, and they did, which seems to have reduced the number of bees but hasn’t stopped them from coming entirely.

My main concern is helping these bees, as it’s heartbreaking to see them die. I also need to keep my small dog safe, as she’s had two incidents of anaphylaxis after getting stung by dead bees in the bushes.

I’ve looked into bee removal services, but since they keep coming back, I’m not sure that’s the solution. Does anyone have advice on:

1. Why this might be happening?

2. What I can do to help redirect or safely assist these bees?

3. Any resources or services in the Los Angeles area that specialize in this sort of thing?

Thanks in advance for any guidance!

Hi!

I registered for a short course with my local association (beginning Jan 30th) with hopes to start beekeeping this spring.

Reflecting on your experience, anything I should do to prepare or any resources I need to explore to make my time more successful?

Thanks in advance!

Can anyone recommend a legitimate place to purchase VSH? I am in SC and have no problem driving a bit to pick them up, or someplace that can ship. Thanks so much.

Since bees can't see the color red,wouldn't it be easier and safe to work around bees if you make yourself invisible to them and just wear all your beekeeping gear in red

There was an old flow hive that last saw bees over a year ago. I went to inspect it and it was in very rough shape. Still had dead bee carcasses in the corner and insects in the flow comb. There was evidence of mite frass and old pinhole capping in the brood chamber. The comb was freestanding and almost all of it fell out when I removed the frames for inspection. I ended up just discarding it. My question is whether to use the hive at all and if I need to clean the flow comb. How is it cleaned? Soapy bleach water after disassembly? Also. I looked for foulbrood sign in some cells that were still capped. The rod came out with what looked like honey not brood. To be on the safe side should I bleach the boxes? I’m very leery about this hive. Oh. It’s been below freezing for a week here and it was 15F when I inspected it.

Hi everyone, this is my first winter with a hive. I'm located in the Pacific Northwest. I've been advised to treat again for mites over the next week, because we're in for a clear, rain free stretch of weather. Last fall, I did an OA dribble, and prior to that did formic pro patties.

What would you suggest to treat with this time around, knowing the weather will be colder? It's not a super strong hive, as going in the the cold weather, I had a bear get in to my hives and I only have one left of the survivers.

Thanks for your help!

I built my first hive. Top Bar. It is painted dark because it is placed under the deck to keep people from seeing it and freaking. Horseshoe Bay, Texas.

Hello Beekeepers from across the world. I am a beekeeper from Asia. I am making some frames for my bee hives. I already have the wooden frames ready, but I need to make the wax foundation.

My questions are:

1. Can I use discarded combs (like simply fixed in the wire)? Asking because I was told that it can cause diseases to spread.
2. If no, could I use handmade paper (instead of plastic sheet) coated in beeswax as the foundation?

Handmade paper that I get is thick and can support itself through stress of honey extraction. But I am unsure if it'd work.

Any advice would be appreciated. If nothing works I'll have to order beeswax sheets and I am a bit poor atm

I was gifted a pollen catcher for a hive entrance. After all these years, I'd managed to never know this was a thing.

What's the consensus on these things? I'm not inclined to use it.

I’ve always wanted to make my own unique honey and I’m wondering if it’s possible on a small scale garden. Or is it only possible on a big scale. I’ve also wondered if it’s possible to crossbreed really sweet flowers to create an even sweeter honey. My dream honey would be really sweet and rich, while being buttery.

Extra question is it possible to make a vanilla honey, naturally or by adding vanilla

My beekeeping club in suburban Washington DC is strong and big and has a great array of programs. We have great monthly programs, a useful listserv, a swarm alert program, a club apiary, shared equipment, an annual class, and beeyard learning.

But our leadership will soon meet to strategize. We want to probe what else we could do for our beekeeper members, our community, and our local pollinators.

So my question: what are some innovative and valuable club activities you see from your beekeeping community or that you wish your club engaged in?

Hello!

I am a student at RIT working on project that involves beehives for my co-op. As part of my project, I will modify frames to add a PCB onto each one. Since Langstroth is not a rigid specification, there is significant enough variations among brands that if I try using online sizing guides, my PCBs likely will not fit on frames or work in the system as a whole. Thus, I need a supplier/producer that has technical drawings for at least medium Langstroth frames and ideally medium boxes too. Are there any that have these that are willing to share them?

Alternatively, I do not mind creating technical drawings for a person/company to then fabricate. Ideally, I would purchase 30 not assembled frames for ~$100 or less. I understand that the pricing is perhaps unrealistic for a small batch but if you are willing to do it, please DM or comment below!

Thanks for reading!

If this question isn't allowed in here, I'm sorry!

I bought a beeswax bar in a farmer's market in Texas. The person that sold it to me said it was pure beeswax and that it came from his bees.

I broke down the bar into smaller pieces and tried melting 1 oz in a double boiler. I used a Mason jar to hold the pieces of beeswax. After 2 hours, the wax barely melted. I saw a little bit of liquid but the pieces essentially became a paste. Everything I've read and seen online seems like the beeswax becomes a liquid and that it shouldn't take that long. Did I do something wrong? Could there be something wrong with the beeswax? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Newbee, 2 hives, Alaska.

I was recently told you can't eat honey which has been in the hive over winter. The person who told me this didn't have any reason or knowledge of why this would be, but they were certain about this fact.

I can't see how it would be changed in any way to be bad for people.

Can anyone elaborate on this?

/I

Picked up one of these for cheap. They are normally fairly expensive. It’s new and never been used. They use these for fogging for mosquitoes 🦟 down here in Florida. Has anyone tried to use these for oxalic acid treatments? Seems like a great way to get through a good number of hives. Any feedback is appreciated.

I am considering purchasing a vaporizer from Lorobees. I was wondering if any members of the community have a few years of experience with oxalic acid vapor use in the Wisconsin area? And going off of this have you had any issues with treatment and when do you start treating with it. (I will be using it as a fall treatment if I go ahead with getting the vaporizer.

Hello, good morning everyone! I’m an outsider with a question that I hope doesn’t bother anyone. From watching TV shows, I’ve always heard that bees chase you when they’re angry. So, during harvest, if you urgently need to go to the bathroom, what do you do? Is it safe to open your suit, or is that too risky?

As the title says my grandfather kept bees. On the morning he passed away they swarmed over his farmhouse. We buried him a few days later at the local church about a mile away. His bees all hung from a tree about a metre over his grave. They stayed for about a week and then flew away. We didn’t see them again after that. This was in west Wales. Any I thought you guys might get a kick out of it :)