#Bee Keeping

Most beginners quietly feel discouraged their first season. No honey. Costs add up. Mistakes happen. Colonies sometimes struggle. That’s normal. The first year of beekeeping is about: • learning colony rhythm • seasonal timing • inspection confidence • recognizing healthy vs stressed bees • understanding forage and nutrition Production comes later. Beekeeping rewards patience more than effort. The keepers who succeed long-term are the ones who accept learning before harvesting. If you want realistic guidance from working beekeepers… Follow along. We share the real path, not the romantic one. #beekeeping #honeybees #beekeepers #beekeepingtips #backyardbeekeeping

Five years ago today I posted this video and it changed my life forever. Thank you to everyone who watches my videos, follows along, and supports me and the bees. I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to teach the world about bees. And I’m just getting started. ❤️🐝

The countdown has begun. A few months until bee season starts again 💕 (don’t do this at home, I did this under guidance of my dad, who is a professional).

This is my perfect bee removal! Sometimes I get an easy breezy bee relocation that leaves me wanting more. Music: Sour Soup Musician: Jeff Kaale

One of the biggest differences between conventional and natural beekeeping is foundation. Foundation is a wax or plastic sheet stamped with a uniform cell size. It tells the bees how to build. Natural comb does the opposite. It allows bees to determine their own cell size, drone ratios, and nest structure. The colony organizes itself according to season, brood needs, and nectar flow rather than the geometry of human equipment. Foundation supports efficiency for honey production.�Natural comb supports the bees’ own architecture. Understanding that distinction changes how you see the hive. i’m a Cornell certified Beekeeper with 15 years experience as a natural Beekeeper. If you’re interested in natural beekeeping, you might want to consider taking my on demand 4 hr natural beekeeping course. you can find the link in my profile. #Bees #beekeeping #naturalbeekeeping #honeyharvest

This may be the most MASSIVE shed floor hive we've pulled to date! And they were S-P-I-C-Y 🥵 You can watch this entire rescue on our newest episode, link in bio! 🐝 https://snapchat.com/t/2xVwQBUr

How Beekeepers Identify the Queen!🤯 “To mark a queen bee, beekeepers use a careful and controlled method — because she’s the most important member of the colony. The queen is gently placed into a small marking cage to keep her still without harm. Once secured, a special non-toxic marker is used to place a tiny colored dot on her back. This makes it easy to spot the Queen bee among thousands of worker bees. The color can even indicate the year she was marked. Small dot — but essential for managing the entire hive.” #Beekeeping #Nature #DidYouKnow #Honeybees #HowThingsWork

Honey Uncapping #beekeeping #beekeeper #honeybee #honey #uncapping

Sometimes the best advice is to ignore advice. 🐝 I know there are super experienced and knowledgeable apiasts out there who know way more than I do about keeping honeybees. BUT, I’ve been studying my hives, tracking their habits, and making changes based on that….and it’s led to a 100% survival rate this year. And it was insanely cold—a really tough one. Hive inspections are often more for the keepers than the bees. Bees don’t like interference. It sets them back days when you open boxes, break comb, and disturb the tidiness and workflow. You also always kill a few bees in the process which is super sad so the more you can avoid that the better! You can tell a lot about bee activity from observing the entrance of the hive. If they’re sick, you’ll notice. If you suspect swarm activity, you can prepare to try to catch them and make a new hive when they do—or set up pheromones in a new box to attract them there. Or… let them go! I don’t fear swarms, but allow them to happen to continue the spread of strong genetics. Honeybees absolutely need to be treated for mites, but I use apivar strips twice per year for that which are minimally invasive. Bees also will eat sugar but that’s not a healthy alternative to honey. Sugar syrup isn’t antimicrobial or healing. If it’s a new hive, I’ll give them a little spring syrup to help them draw out comb, but that’s the only time I do. Would you survive the winter better in bags of chips or Whole Foods? That’s how I look at it. I’ve had better luck by listening to my bees about where they want to be in the hive. They don’t like the bottom box. They want to be in attic space that stays warm. I truly keep bees because I find them fascinating and love the symbiosis between a group of hard working women and my garden. Honey is just a bonus, and I always leave way more than they need because I also suspect it helps insulate the hive and reduce energy waste during cold months. What works in your garden that isn’t recommended? Gardening and beekeeping are ever evolving, so it’s important to listen to natural cues instead of always defaulting to the internet. #honeybees #beekeeping #apiary #cottagegarden #organicgarden

⚠️⚠️ After this I found 6 more CAPPED QUEEN CELLS! Has anyone else ever had this many and their colony not swarmed?? I feel very lucky, I must have missed some queen cells last week… But, my first split is complete, finger crossed I can successfully establish a second hive from my first colony 🤞 Thanks for the tips and advice everyone ☺️🐝 #beekeeping #beeswarm #womeninnature #womeninbeekeeping

I put beekeeper on my vision board… now here we are 🐝 #beekeeping #bees #savethebees

My favorite bee removal of the year! A beautiful hive, a gentle colony, and a strong queen.