You can find a cornucopia of information on the internet regarding the care and culture of beekeeping. Parsing through it to know where to start can be difficult. To kick things off, you might want to look into our favorite beekeeping book, First Lesson In Beekeeping, to get more of an understanding of what beekeeping entails (most of our kits already …
Before we know it, extracting season (usually in late July, August, and September) will be upon us. This can be a satisfying and fulfilling time for beekeepers, but it can also be stressful if you don’t know what type of extractor works best for you. Fortunately, that’s what we’re here for! Though there is a multitude of ways you can extract …
When you think of honey bees, an image might pop into your head of the classic black-and-yellow striped carton-like bee as they are often depicted in popular culture and images. However, there are actually over 20,000 diverse species of honey bees in the world. Over 4,000 of those honey bee species are native to the United States. Unfortunately, they don’t all …
For beginning beekeepers just starting their journey, it can seem overwhelming to decide where, when, and how to buy exactly what you need. With all of the various types of equipment, feeders, and supplies (fortunately all of which is provided by Dadant & Sons right here), it can be easy to forget the most important aspect of your hive: the honey …
For the beginner beekeeper, determining the best way to uncap frames can be difficult. You can go the easy but messy route, which can be done more quickly but will leave you with less honey. Or, you can go the more time-consuming route, which requires extra concentration but results in more harvested honey. There are many options already out there with …
Hive beetles are an invasive nuisance for both bees and beekeepers alike. They can vary in size, though small beetles are more common in beekeeping. They can fly, and as a result, they relocate from one hive to the next with ease. They then spread to the entire apiary and your bees suffer as a consequence. Integrating pest management to keep …
Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) has plagued beekeepers since 2006 when it was first reported. In the fallout from CCD, around the time it was first chronicled, adult honeybees simply started disappearing from their hives. Very few dead bees could be found in or around the hives, and high colony losses ensued. This perplexed beekeepers, as the queen and brood (immature bees), …
For beginning beekeepers, it can be easy to be confused by all of the terminology surrounding the wonderful world of beekeeping. At Dadant & Sons, we want you to be as knowledgeable as possible when it comes to taking care of your bees. We’ve organized some need-to-know terms into five different categories. Peruse these terms at your leisure, and come back whenever …