JC's Bee Blog

As a beekeeper, the key to a sustainable apiary is genetics. Most all beekeepers know that the queen is he heart of the colony but do not know how important her genetics are. It's also important to work with genetics from your region. Every year southern beekeepers send 1000's of bee packages up to the northern states and each year, many of those same colonies dies because they are not used to the climate change. This Queen rearing Series will teach you how to raise your own queen bees from the very beginning of the process. Before you start though, check out and download my queen rearing calendar (Below). Self-Generating Queen Rearing Calendar  Download Calendar  here Queen Rear Calendar Wheel: https://sustainablehive.files.wordpress.com/2018/01/queen_rearing_calendar_wheel-2-pages.pdf?fbclid=IwAR1Iv4z1k2qsP0fjt8dpk7oR-DldUwkSP9PF8-GsyLwX-3uGTeR47duDqhU Step 1... Building A Cell Starter / Setting Up A Finisher Colony Step 2... Grafting Day......

As a beekeeper, one of the things that is used the most is the hive tool. They are used to pry bee boxes apart, scrape and clean hive parts, pry nails and help pull frames. It used to be that I would carry two hive tools with me to accomplish everything I wanted to do while working the bees. It never failed, if I headed out to work the bees and only took one hive tool, I always needed the other. This is because each hive tool has it's own features, some of these features are not needed all the time but when they are, it's very helpful to have the right tool. Two years ago, I discovered another hive tool on the market and had to try it. It's not that I wanted a 3rd tool to carry around, that's the last thing I needed. I was hoping to find one tool that would do everything and maybe, just maybe, replace the others I carried. Here is what I found this one hive tool could do. 1. When it comes to scraping/prying edges there are choices 2. Nail Puller 3. Frame Puller 4. Top/ ...

If your looking for a bee hive feeder that has several uses, this is the feeder for you. This top hive feeder is made to be used year round regardless what your feeding your bees or what climate you live in. 1. The top hive feeder holds 2.5 gallons of liquid syrup and it's constructed of virgin food grade plastics so there is no toxins added to your syrup or hives. 2. This feeder is 100% drown proof with it's corner and center caps placed in the feeder. (caps are included with feeder) 3. With the bees having corner access to the syrup there is no waste regardless how level your hive is. As where with other top hive feeders, as the syrup level lowers the bees lose access to it. 4. With the corner guards removed it gives the bees access to enter the feeder, then it can also act as a dry sugar feeder. This is ideal for winter feedings. 5. It also makes a great dry pollen sub feeder on or away from the hives. Of course, using it away from the hives y...