JC's Bee Blog

Do you keep honeybees? If so you may have notice this stripe on your returning foraging bees. This is from the Jewel weed plant. The part of the plant that produces pollen is called the Anther. When the bee enters Jewel weed to collect nectar the Anther rubs the top of the bee. Leaving this white stripe. As the bee goes from flower to flower the pollen from one plant is mixed with the next which pollinates the plants. As a beekeeper I have learned to watch the entrance of the hives for clues to what the bees are working at that time. This is usually judged by watching for pollen on the bees legs. The color of the pollen can indicate what species of plant. There are some plants that just seem not to produce pollen but the bees still get nectar. One thing is for sure I can always tell when the girls (bees) are working the Jewel weed when they come back with a stripe. The Jewel weed is a very important plant. It has several uses. All of the uses are from the juice that is within the stem ...

Queen Rearing Cell Punch Kit Are you tired of purchasing queen bees because you can't graft them yourself? With this easy to use kit you will be raising frames full of queens in no time flat. For less than the price of one queen bee you can purchase this kit. So what are you waiting on? Order now! This Kit Includes: *1 Cell Punch Tool (w/ angled shaft) *8 Wooden Cell Blocks *Full Color Step By Step Instructions *1 Small paint brush Things you'll need not included in kit: *Queen Rearing Frame *Way to heat wax and water  Since you never touch the larva and transfer the complete cell, the l arva benefits by getting 100% of the royal jelly it was feed vs grafting when food can be left behind. The more royal jelly equals fatter, healthier queens. *With the contents of this kit you will raise well over $250 in queens. Free Cell Punch Tutorial here:   http://youtu.be/vu8EqyXzkYw Buy yours kit today for only No longer available =...

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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...

Have you ever thought about marking your queens? Maybe you were afraid you would hurt her. Or maybe you just didn't know how to go about it. Well I took a few minutes and created a Homemade queen marking cage. These tools can be purchased through most bee equipment suppliers. But I have always been one to make stuff if materials are not hard to come by. And if I can save a few bucks along the way then that's just a bonus. So to make your own queen marking cage you will need a few things to get started. 1. A empty subscription pill bottle. ( Because they are transparent) 2. 7/16" Dowel rod 4 1/2" long 3. Piece of sponge material (Enough to cover plunger) 4. A hole saw the same diameter as pill bottle. ( Mine is 2") 5. Netting material to cover end. 6. Small piece of 3/4" lumber (For plunger) 7. (2) Rubberbands We will start by using a hole saw to remove the bottom of the pill bottle. Measure across the bottom of bottle to see what size is ...