FAQs - Frequently Asked Questions & How To Information
Please keep in mind that most beekeeping questions are best answered and provided as a general guideline rather than absolutes. This is because there are so many variables in nature and in our individual goals and needs for keeping bees.
In this section, we'll provide some answers to some of the more common questions we receive and address some of the problems new beekeepers encounter.
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Everyone has their own individual reasons for keeping bees, so setting goals will help to understand how to best meet the needs, and/or expectations for becoming a beekeeper. Meaning, one person's target goal may be to make a crop of honey to harvest, while another may be to satisfy the county tax office ag requirements, or perhaps even lease bees to farmers for pollination. Each requires it's own set of guidelines to maximize production or efficiency, but the common dominator is always - "KEEP STRONG HEALTHY BEES!"
Well, "How do we do that?", is a fair question, but does not have a - one size fit's all - set of answers. Learning to recognize their needs is the best place to start. If we know what they require, we can decide how to be helpful and keep them healthy. Learning the lay out of the nest and it's structure helps to understand what an inspection reveals and how to recognize what is within the confines of the hive. Observe the local environmental conditions to see what they have available or may lacking that can impact the bees, like a fresh water source near by, for a basic example.
What to do and when to do things are best planned in advance, many by season or quarters. Preventive maintenance vs corrective maintenance is one of the short answer for the, "How do we do that?", questions about keeping strong bees.
Hopefully this section will offer the insight and illustrations needed to understand what may be going on in a hive or entire apiary. With example images to aide in visual recognition, learning what to look for should become easier with each inspection.
The Additional Resources section of the Educational page offers a good deal of reliable resources for continued studies beyond what this FAQs section can supply.
Below are a few of the topics we will cover and hope to help answer some of the most common questions related to basic beekeeping and what to expect as the journey continues. If you do not see the topic you have questions about, please feel free to Contact Us to ask. If there photos that will help explain the question, emailing them to us may be best and we may use them in this section as examples for others.
• New Bees - Set Up • Installing a Nuc • Swarm Control • Adding Boxes • Empty Space • Drawn Comb • Nectar Flow • Wax Moths / Worms • Hive Beetles / Worms • Treating for Mites • Feeding Bees • Watering Bees • Locating Queens • Marking Queens • Installing Queens • Moving Bees • Combining Hives • Splitting Hives • more to come •
You will also find an additional helpful resource page if you are buying and picking up bees - Bee Pick Up Day FAQs
Follow the links below to visit the topics of choice
• Home • Honey Bees For Sale • Supplies • Educational • Pollination • Photo Gallery • Contact Us •
