When to feed pollen patties to an established colony: start two to three weeks before the first spring pollen, stop once foragers bring pollen in, and use winter patties for calories in fall and winter.
How to winterize a Flow Hive in a cold climate: what Flow officially recommends for the Flow super, how to store Flow frames, and Red River Valley dates for each step.
Sellers rate polystyrene and other foam hives at about five times the insulation of a pine box. Here is what USDA and other studies measured, and how the insulated hives sold in the US compare.
Japanese knotweed honey is a dark, reddish honey like a milder buckwheat. See lab data on its moisture and resveratrol, and where the plant is a regulated weed.
Oxalic acid extended release: DIY glycerin pads are off-label in the US; VarroxSan strips are registered. What six field trials and Canada's new label show.
Fondant for bees is sugar boiled to 234 to 240°F, then beaten soft. Our recipe, how it differs from a candy board, HMF safety and when to feed it in winter.
A honey bee sting holds about 59 micrograms of venom protein, a yellowjacket's under 4. How to tell which stung you, which is worse, and what first aid changes.
An 8-frame hive is 2.5 in narrower and 11 to 17 lb lighter per full deep. Real weights, which parts fit both widths, and how each width winters up north.
Pull frames only above 55°F, peek for seconds near freezing, feed a starving colony anytime. Plus how to check on bees in winter without opening the hive.
Goldenrod honey is buttery, mildly spicy and quick to crystallize. USDA data on its glucose and color, plus the dirty-sock hive smell and the allergy myth.
Narrow entrances, strong colonies and a clean apiary do most of the work against yellow jackets. Why sweet baits catch honey bees, and why the common heptyl butyrate lure misses eastern and German yellowjackets.
A few dead bees in front of a hive is normal in every season. How to tell normal turnover from pesticide poisoning, disease, robbing and predation by speed, body condition, location and season.
Most colonies need 60 to 100 pounds of honey for winter, depending on climate. How to tell honey weight from hive weight, count frames, heft or weigh a hive, and fix a shortfall.
The varroa mite life cycle alternates between two phases: a reproductive phase inside a sealed honey bee brood cell, and a dispersal phase riding on adult bees. A mated female mite, the foundress, slips into a worker or drone larva’s…
O'Hare Airport has hosted a 75-hive apiary on unused airfield land since 2011, run by a nonprofit workforce-training program. Here's why FAA land-use rules make airports and industrial parks a natural fit for this model.
A beekeeping vendor's insurance doesn't automatically protect a property owner. This guide covers specialized apiary coverage, lease indemnification, and exactly what to confirm before hives go on commercial property.
Bee Downtown pioneered corporate hive visits as leadership training for clients like Delta and AT&T. This guide covers what a real employee beekeeping experience day involves and what evidence exists that it works.
Chicago's Sweet Beginnings has trained more than 1,000 formerly incarcerated beekeepers since the mid-2000s. Here's how that program and similar nonprofit-run community apiaries actually operate and fund themselves.
Alvéole, the Best Bees Company, and Bee Downtown each lead with a different specialty. This guide covers the five vendor-evaluation criteria and the questions most companies forget to ask before signing.
There's no standalone LEED credit for beehives, but a documented pollinator program can support several real credit categories. Here's exactly which ones, and what documentation USGBC actually needs to see.
A corporate beehive program's real ESG value is the standardized data it produces, but honeybee hive counts alone are a weak, sometimes misleading biodiversity metric. Here's what should actually go into a credible report.
Neither Alvéole nor the Best Bees Company publishes a full corporate beekeeping rate card. This breakdown covers the real cost drivers, what's typically bundled into a contract, and how to budget honestly.
University research apiaries like UC Davis's Laidlaw Facility and Cornell's Dyce Lab manage dozens of colonies for research, teaching, and extension work. Here's how these century-old programs are funded and how to get involved.
Chicago City Hall has run a municipal apiary since 2003. This guide covers how city-run beehive programs actually work, what Bee City USA certification does and doesn't mean, and how municipal apiaries differ from corporate and nonprofit ones.
The USDA's newest national survey puts average U.S. honey yield at 48 lbs per hive in 2025 — down 7% from 2024. Here's what actually drives that number up or down.