The basis of honey bee winter survival lies in their ability to form a winter cluster. The winter cluster is a precisely organized, dynamic structure that functions like a biological heating system. It is worker bees instinctively gathering together, centered around the queen and remaining brood. Ideally the winter cluster will form between boxes (in […]

Most of us will use harvested honey as a dietary carbohydrate. I trust you were satisfied with the honey you were able to harvest this season?  Your honey might be directly consumed or used to sweeten beverages, desserts, salads, cooked into main dishes, be dribbled on toast and used to help keep baked goods fresher

WVBA members were encouraged to complete a web-based survey document in a continuing effort to define overwintering losses/successes of backyard beekeepers in Oregon. This was the 16th year of such survey activity. I received 250 reports from Oregon beekeepers keeping anywhere from 1 to 49 colonies; Willamette Valley members sent in 173 surveys, four more

  The pnwhoneybeesurvey remains OPEN until April 30th.  Please participate  @ https://pnwhoneybeesurvey.com/survey/  .  This will be the 16th year. I have modified the survey so you can simply enter survival/loss this past winter; select Fast Track to pass around questions on management if you wish. The 19 WVBA members so far responding (3 below average

The pnwhoneybeesurvey is OPEN. The members of WVBA have been especially supportive of this annual survey of Oregon and Washington backyard beekeepers.  Please participate before May 1st @ https://pnwhoneybeesurvey.com/survey/  .  This will be the 16th year. I have modified the survey so you can simply enter survival/loss this past winter and Fast Track avoiding responding

The stretch of winter without bees can feel lengthy. We readied our colonies in the fall for the long lean months of cold, and then had to leave them to do what they do. Do you see the winter months as a much deserved reprieve from the physical labor of bees and other outdoor work? 

Have you thought about treatment-less beekeeping? Dead Bees Don’t Make Honey by Theresa Martin (2024. Little Wolf Farm, ISBN 979-8-9902757-0-6, available from Amazon) is best explained by its subtitle 10 tips for Healthy Productive Bees. This newest of practical paperbacks is an extremely well written guide to help ensure success with bee colony care using

A bee egg is 1/1000th the size of the eventual adult bee. It may surprise you that all the eggs a queen lays in beeswax comb cells are NOT the same size.  Younger-aged queens, not surprisingly, lay more robust, larger eggs than older-aged queens. Two-year old queens lay eggs that weigh 1/3rd less. And eggs

WVBA members are encouraged to complete a web-based survey document in a continuing effort to define overwintering losses/successes of backyard beekeepers in Oregon. This was the 15th year of such survey activity. I received 171 reports from Oregon beekeepers keeping anywhere from 1 to 41 colonies; Willamette Valley members sent in 13 surveys, less than