The Beekeeper’s Companion Since 1861
icon of list

Table of Contents

Contents – February 2026

- February 1, 2026 -

THE CLASSROOM
Jamie Ellis – 137

BEEKEEPING BASICS
Have your cake and eat it, too
Tina Sebestyen – 143

THE CURIOUS BEEKEEPER
Decoding Your Apiary Ecosystem the iNaturalist Way
Rusty Burlew – 147

The Tremble Dance: A Hidden Language of Honey Bee Colonies
Katharine Julia Lanz – 153

The Spired Beehives of Rosslyn Chapel
Samuel Wells – 161

Breeding Better Bees at Scale
Alison McAfee – 167

Creating a Model for Oxalic Acid Vaporization, Part 1
Randy Oliver – 171

Honey Bee Colonies are Information Centers
Tom Seeley – 179

A COMMERCIAL PERSPECTIVE
The Emperor’s Clothes
Charles Linder – 185

PLAIN TALK BEEKEEPING
Some Beehive Mistakes
James E. Tew – 189

Honey bees’ search for sodium influences their water choices
Michele Raffaele – 193

OAV temperature setpoint follow-up, a call to action, and an update on thymol blocks
Randy Oliver – 199

BEES AND BEEKEEPING, PAST AND PRESENT
The Hill Bee Smoker: A Rare and Unusual Design
Wyatt A. Mangum – 203

Beekeeping it Sweet
Elaine Timm – 210

The Puzzling Proclivities of Pesky Pollinators
Rusty Burlew – 217

An Interview with Virginia Webb: Honey Show Competitor and Owner of MtnHoney
Nancy Simpson – 221

Bumble Bees – What’s in a Name?
Peter Smith – 227

VIEW SITE MAP