Visually, they look about the same. But to the beekeeper, the difference between a swarm cell and a supersedure cell can mean the difference between a nice honey harvest or losing most of a hive and the honey production that goes with it.

First, let us quickly review the difference between supersedure and the swarming impulse. If a colony of honey bees determines that the old queen is too old, injured, sick, or unable to fully carry out her egg laying duties, they will take steps to replace her with a new queen. This process is known Read the rest of this entry »

People have been beekeeping for over 5,000 years, and it is growing increasingly popular both as a hobby and a small business venture. For beginners, beekeeping can be a daunting challenge, but there are a variety of sources to guide one through the process from online guides to face-to-face help from your local beekeeping organization.

It is probably best to begin by contacting your local beekeeping organization. Most States have Beekeeping Associations, and there are many localized organizations Read the rest of this entry »

Rock paintings of honey being gathered from bee hives have implied that the gathering of honey dates as far back as 13,000 BCE.

Francois Huber was a scientist who conducted studies of bees during the 18th century and determined the queen bee of the colony is the mother of all the workers and drone bees.

For the most part when people first started collecting honey and bees wax, the hives were destroyed. As a result of Read the rest of this entry »

One doesn’t decide on a whim to begin keeping bees. The science of beekeeping is exacting and takes time and education to perfect. Keeping bees may not be right for you if you do not have access to fields where you can set up your beehives in the shelters that you will learn to provide for your bees once you have done your research on beekeeping. You should not decide to keep bees because you hope to become wealthy overnight by selling honey. You shouldn’t make beekeeping a main source of your income unless you Read the rest of this entry »