Articles

Due to the loss of a hive in March, I was down to one hive, and that one headed by a swarm queen at least two years old. I was planning to requeen and do a split as well, so I would be back to two hives. But procrastination left the call to the queen suppliers a bit late, and there weren’t any queens readily available.I did notice that the hive (Hive 1) wintered very well, and in late August was showing serious signs of wanting to swarm. But w… Read more

I have been keeping bees for just two years now. One does try to pick up some pointers from more experienced beekeepers, but there is nothing like experience to teach you about the craft. One lesson I learned at the expense of a hive was how quickly things can happen. On the 31st of March I did a full disease inspection of my two hives. I had last inspected the hives about 6 weeks prior to this time. Both hives were headed by swarm queens whi… Read more

Your Friend the “Smoker”Even though this is not a form of protective clothing, your smoker is one of the most important protections against the stinging bee. Fuel for your smoker always seems to be an issue. Any material that will give a clean, non-toxic cool smoke will do. Ones most often used are dry pine needles, hay, wood shavings or pellets, shredded egg cartons, rolled up cardboard, rolled up old cotton towels, or my favourite, hessian sa… Read more

Here, we discuss the various activities beekeepers can think about each month. This can help you plan out what you need in advance so you aren't left bewildered or stuck without vital equipment to keep your bees buzzing. This guide goes through each month looking at the different things to watch out for, or what you can expect, when inspecting your hive. We then discuss the tasks that can be carried out that month so you can better prepare. … Read more

Hello Everyone,There has been a lot of chatter among some beekeepers about splitting their hives. I think, as nicely as I can put it, that this is the wrong move at this time of year. At this point, you should be thinking about treatments. This will mean you will be splitting already treated hives as well as making your treatments more effective over a smaller number of bees. It will also keep treatment costs down. Why treat 40 split hives,… Read more

There is a lot of misinformation, misunderstandings, and outright lies, circulating in the New Zealand beekeeping fraternity about the very excellent varroa control product, Apistan. I plan to set that right. I’ll do that by paraphrasing a letter I wrote to a good beekeeping friend (his name is changed so as not to embarrass him) who carried these false impressions for a number of years. I hope in the end, if you have never used Apistan bec… Read more