JC's Bee Blog

  Small Hive Beetle Facts Females hive beetles may lay up to 1,000 eggs. Eggs are laid in cracks and crevices inside the hive. Eggs Hatch in about 3 days (range 3-6 days) Larva feed on pollen, honey and brood inside the hive. Larva leave the hive and enter soil around the hive from 7 to 10pm (peak at 9pm). Remain as larva in soil for 3-5 days. Mature larva are about 1/4" to 3/8" in length. About 83% of larva enter soil within 12 inches of hive. Roughly 80% burrow into the soil to a depth of 1-4 inches.  Hive beetle larva pupate after being larva for 16-19 days. Pupal stage lasts about 8 days. New adult hive beetles emerge from soil several days after becoming adults. Dry soils are more favorable to adults development. Life cycle of shb averages 27-30 days. Adults are known to live 188 days Adults hive beetles hide during winter inside honey bee colonies and in honey houses. Small Hive Beetle larva crawling out to enter soil   Common Practices That Will Help Lower Beetle C...

Are you ready to upgrade your bee hive entrance reducers?  Well I created this pattern for anyone how wants to make their own. All you'll need is a few tools and some kind of material to make the disc from. 1/4" plywood works good or some plastic sheeting. TIP: After cutting out your disc several can be drilled at once by stacking them to save time.    Free Download  

With the over whelming response to my cell punch video. I decided to put a kit together for those of you who wish to try it. With this kit you'll be raising your own queen bees very easily. We all know that the queen bee is the heart of the colony. Without her the colony will fail. We also know that in order in start a new colony of bee you'll need an additional queen. Their are several ways to raise queens but not all of these methods raise high quality queens. What is a high quality queen? This would be a queen that lays thousands of eggs a day without failing. She should have large brood patterns to produce that monstrous colony to make large honey yields. To get high quality queens you need to pick the correct rearing procedure. Many beekeeper choose to graft. This process can rear great queens if all the steps are followed perfectly. To do this correctly you must have good eye sight and a very steady hand. You also must pick the correct age larva and transfer it with...

Are you ready to graft? Or maybe you already grafted and was wondering when each step took place with the cells. Check out my new  Queen Rearing Calendar Generator . This is a excellent tool for all beekeeper who raise queen cells. Check it out and share it with fellow beekeepers. Do you know how to graft queens? Want to learn? Follow my step by step video. If you already seen the grafting video. What are your thoughts? Do you use a different method to raise queen cells? Will you try this method? Comment below....

  As a beekeeper I like to be able to make what I need for my bees. By doing this I know what I am getting which is a plus in my book.  I would like to teach you how to make your own wax cups to raise your queen bees in. This is not a difficult task but it can get messy if your not careful. Whats needed to complete wax cups: 1. 100% Pure bees wax melted 2. 5/16 dowel rod About 6" long 3. A cup of cold water 4. Sandpaper or sander 5. 1 Jz-Bz plastic queen cup We will start by shaping the tip of the dowel rod. You need to round the tip somewhat and bevel in the sides. It needs to look like the bottom of a cell (nicely rounded). The bees will reject anything they do not like. Just remember practices makes perfect, right? If you fail try something a little different.  Spend some time shaping the end of your dowel with sandpaper or electric sander. Just don't take off to much. Use your  Jz-Bz queen cup for a reference  on the size. Once you get...

   If you are raising your own queen bees then you know how important it is to have good drone stock in range. Or maybe your planning to setup more yards this year. In this article I want to share a tip on laying out your yards. Bees fly roughly 2 miles from the hive and with this knowledge I took it a step farther. Just to make sure my bees were able to reach each other from different yards. In order to follow these steps I am about to share with you. The following will be needed. 1. A county map ( Of  your bee yard county) 2. Translucent Plastic Folders 3. Thumb Tacs 4. Drawing Compass 5. Scissors      Now on your county map look for the "Scale Information". This area is usually located in one of the corners of the map. You are looking to see how big 2 miles is on your map. For instance on my map 2 inchs is 2 miles. So with that information I can now set my drawing compass and begin preparing my circles. Now as you have probably noticed I sugges...

A s each year passes I try to grow my apiary. A real simple way to do this is swarm removal but there is another way to catch swarms without even being there. Swarm traps, These traps are usually baited with old brood comb,  lemon-grass essential oil, and maybe even queen lure.  I personally use all of these ingredients with my traps.   Once a colony decides it's going to prepare to swarm. Scout bees begin looking for a new cavity to move into. A baited trap can lure many scout to it to check out the environment. If all of her needs are met then she will return home to tell the colony about the find. They will look for a few key features in a new home. 1. Trap to be of at least 40 liter (10 frame deep) 2. A 1" entrance hole 3. 6 to 10 feet off ground 4. Baited with Old brood comb, Lemongrass oil, Queen lure   Some people choose to use a container that is easier to maneuver over a deep box. There are a few options available on today market.  ...

With flu cases on the rise so is the sale of local raw buckwheat honey. It has been proven that raw buckwheat honey contains the highest level of antioxidant. These antioxidants help treat upper respiratory infections. A lot of people eat honey on a daily basis. Thinking they are bettering their health. But what they do not realize is that honey purchased from a discount store is junk. It has been heated and filtered so much that it has killed all of it's nutritional values. Why is it heated? This is to keep it from crystallizing in the bottle on store shelves. Local raw honey on the other hand is what is desired. The taste alone is day and night difference and it's full of  health benefits .  The darker the honey the better it is for your health this being buckwheat honey. Buckwheat is not a wheat at all it is a flowering plant which produces seeds . Once the haul is removed from the seed it's hard center is ground into gluten free flour at the flour mill....