In the world of beekeeping, ivy honey often remains unharvested. Characterized by its robust, medicinal flavour and rapid granulation tendencies, Ivy honey frequently languishes in the shadow of more popular honey varieties. But due to renewed interest in Ivy honey for its health properties, this may be about to change…
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Ivy Honey – How to Harvest & Process
How to use a Testframe
Many beekeepers jump the gun when they suspect that a colony is queenless and introduce a new queen without verifying that they are in fact queenless and in need of a new royal. Introducing a new queen into a colony that is queenright will lead to the killing of the newly introduced queen. In this practical blog I will discuss how to correctly use a testframe to check if a hive is queenless or not.
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Bee Sting Remedies
Did you ever get stung by a bee? It can be quite an uncomfortable experience. Knowing how to deal with it properly can make a big difference. In this blog, I’ll guide you through essential steps and effective home remedies to provide relief from bee stings.
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How to Harvest Propolis
Are you curious about using propolis and want to have a go at harvesting your own? Join us as we explore propolis traps, scraping frames, and effective techniques to ensure a successful propolis harvest.
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Beehive Insulation, Condensation & Ventilation
In winter and spring you will often hear beekeepers talk about beehive insulation, condensation and ventilation, and the different ways in which a hive can be set up to deal with the issue of dampness in the hive. While many novice beekeepers worry about the cold, more experienced beekeepers know that it is the dampness that can cause real damage to a colony of bees in the winter. But why is this and how can we deal with it?
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Spring preparations and first inspection
For many beekeepers, the start of spring is usually one big, long, drawn out wait for good weather. Weather warm enough and calm enough for the beekeeper to spring into action for the first inspection of the year. It may come at the end of March, but it may equally be April until the conditions are right, and we can finally don our bee-suits. Read this article to find out how to get your spring preparations underway and all you need to know for that all important first inspection of the year.
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Queen Supersedure in Honeybee colonies
Honeybee queen supersedure is a recurring and inexhaustible topic for discussion among beekeepers. It is something we will all experience at some point in our beekeeping adventures. At the same time, supersedure is something that we seem to know remarkable little about. In this article I will try to shed some light on queen supersedure and what causes it.
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Hot Hives: How to Deal with Aggressive Bees
One of the most effective ways of dealing with an aggressive or defensive colony is bleeding it of its flying bees. The flying bees are the ones who typically display aggressive or defensive behaviour. A colony depleted off its older workforce are much easier to handle.
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Why are some bees aggressive?
Far more common than aggression, are bees that are defensive, agitated, disturbed, hungry, frightened, alarmed, stressed or restless. In dealing with a colony that appears aggressive, we must first figure out why they are acting or reacting the way they are. Only then can we deal with them appropriately.
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