Search results

Okay,,,here's some meat and mayo for your sandwich... I believe our varroa/virus complex, here in the US, is different than yours. Most of your honey bee colonies are non-migratory. Sedentary if you will. Those that move go to Heather and then back home. Here that movement is quite different...

How can I say this without sniping at Kirk. He's been a friend for many years. His writings are encouraging but is his story, in fact, truthful? You would think that after so many years running a treatment free apiary, his bees would further ahead. Well, he still loses most of his apiary every...

People from around the world come here to see what we're doing. I always welcome those willing to roll up their sleeves. Best time to see the Queen/Nuc operation in full swing is June 15 - July 10

No, he's gone off on his own path.

Always up for a visit here in Vermont. 😁

Steve, remember that a hygienic test...whether pin test or frozen brood assay...selects for dead brood odor. AFB, Chalkbrood, Sacbrood, etc. UBO selects for unhealthy brood...high varroa load and/or high virus load.

I'm running a breeding program here in Vermont with the U of Vermont honey bee lab. Third season up coming. The selection criteria includes low Nosema load, no brood disease, low varroa population growth, frozen brood assay to identify highly hygienic colonies, and the new Unhealthy Brood Odor...

Just got internet back. No power yet…glad we have a generator. About to feast on a roast…yumm.

We're supposed to be at 50˚F today, dropping into the teens this evening. Pouring rain at the moment and wind gusts 40-50 mph. Power has gone off...thankfully we have a generator running at the moment.

I've used formic only twice. The treatments, Mite Away 2 and MAQS, resulted in very little control. Almost none I would say. A good friend with thousands of colonies has used formic with a number of different application methods and formic%. He claims that the only time he killed the mites under...

I don't vape but wondering why.

What you use can depend on your climate. Vaping has to be done when colonies are broodless. Here in the North, we’re not broodless in November. By then, the clusters are tight and the OA fumes can’t penetrate those clusters. That’s why we have to dribble OA/1:1 syrup.

Why maximum of 5 workers per queen? I use 9 and have excellent shipping

Worker bees live six weeks. Do they really? Did they ever live six weeks on average? Five decades ago, the median lifespan for a worker western honeybee (Apis mellifera) that spent its adult life in a controlled environment was 34.3 days. Now, the median is 17.7 days, according to research by...

I understand what you and jenkinsbrynmair are saying. But everything is relative. I see the prices you are getting for your honey. I have the best honey there is...at least here. My honey...right out of the bulk tank was awarded Very Highly Commended at the National in 2019. So, nice honey. What...

Of course nuc prices are going up. Think what it costs to set up and maintain nuclei until spring sales. Diesel up to $6.50 a gallon from 3. Sugar at $0.60 a pound up from $0.40. Lumber at $1.40 a bdft up from $0.85. And everything up the same. I agree prices will reach a maximum, but will...

Finished oxalic drizzle today. All hives and nucs ready for winter wraps. Have to wait for the weather to change...way too warm now to wrap in black. Temperatures in the mid-sixties and upper seventies (18-25) in October and November. Saw orange pollen coming in on Wednesday, November second. So...

I do remember. October 1974. I had two colonies started from package bees in May. Took one super from each. The honey was extracted by an old timer. old Kermit with a serrated knife and a four frame extractor. I can still see that knife slicing under the cappings. I can't remember the honey. I...

Was there ample jelly under the graftable larvae or were they almost dry?

How was the show this year. Any good presentations? Did anyone win the National Honey Show trophy this year?