The Beekeeper’s Companion Since 1861
American Bee Journal Vol 165, No. 2 February 2025 Cover Callouts: Understanding honeybee castes - 171, Build a groovy shim for winter feeding - 183, How bee look to each other - 191

A Hive Cleanup in the Aftermath of Small Hive Beetles: Part 1

Posted June 1, 2023

A Hive Cleanup in the Aftermath of Small Hive Beetles: Part 1

In my July 2022 American Bee Journal article, we saw how small hive beetles can evict a colony off its combs. Now with the approach of summer, the time is appropriate for another small hive beetle article, not like the previous one. This article is more from a beekeeper’s perspective confronting the typical symptoms of …

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Sexy Legs and Amazing Feats: they’re Not Just for Dancing

Posted June 1, 2023

Sexy Legs and Amazing Feats: they’re Not Just for Dancing

Imagine you’re playing a word association game such as Password and your secret word is “bee.” The clues you might give to elicit that word include “honey,” “sting,” and “swarm.” But “legs”? Never. Nothing about legs reminds us of bees. Yet bees, especially honey bees, have some of the niftiest legs in the animal kingdom. …

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Honey Bee Stings

Posted June 1, 2023

Honey Bee Stings

A casual discussion of a common beekeeping event Honey bees’ big three In no prioritized order, honey bees are known for producing honey, pollinating plants, and stinging. Honey and pollination are appreciated and have been discussed at length in every medium available to us, while defensive stinging is in a category all by itself. Most …

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NATIONAL HONEY BOARD INTRODUCES A NEW EDUCATIONAL RESOURCE

Posted June 1, 2023

NATIONAL HONEY BOARD INTRODUCES A NEW EDUCATIONAL RESOURCE

Introducing the Hive Sessions A sweet, new educational resource for the honey industry. Elevating the collective knowledge of the honey industry is essential for us to effectively capitalize on honey’s positive positioning and navigate challenges from traditional and emerging sweeteners. That’s why we’re thrilled to announce the launch of the National Honey Board’s Hive Sessions. …

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BEE CAVE, TEXAS, HOSTS ANNUAL “BOOKS AND BEES FESTIVAL”

Posted June 1, 2023

BEE CAVE, TEXAS, HOSTS ANNUAL “BOOKS AND BEES FESTIVAL”

The City of Bee Cave, Texas’s second annual “Books and Bees Festival” was a big hit this April 1-2, with support from The American Bee Journal. In what is now a two-day event, Saturday focused on pollinator education and Sunday’s “Honey Fest” showcased the talents of local beekeepers. With over 2000 attendees on Saturday alone, …

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Contents – June 2023

Posted June 1, 2023

Contents – June 2023

Mother of Invention: Where there’s a need, there’s a way Elaine Timm – 611 A Year as a Commercial Beekeeper — June Charles Linder – 615 A Marginal-land Makeover Plan to Help Pollinators Eleanor Schumacher – 627 New Ideas and Inventions Peter L Borst – 631 Can Drone-based Removal be a Successful Strategy in Reducing …

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ABJ June 2023 Cover

Posted June 1, 2023

ABJ June 2023 Cover

Little Beekeeper: Milana Lipscomb turned 6 last June shortly before our cover photo was taken. Her mom, Christina Lipscomb, says she loves to help tend the bees in their back yard in Pelham, North Carolina. “She helped shake them in when we first got them and has been hooked ever since. She has gotten stung …

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The Classroom – May 2023

The Classroom - ABJ - Jamie Ellis
Posted May 1, 2023

The Classroom – May 2023

Q  Temperatures that kill wax moths and small hive beetles  I am trying to look up the minimum temperatures at which small hive beetles (SHBs) and wax moths can no longer survive so that I can minimize my expenditures on prevention. It is 7:30 a.m. now and it is 50°F (10°C) outside. I understand that …

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Watching Colonies Grow in the Spring

Posted May 1, 2023

Watching Colonies Grow in the Spring

In the previous article, we made a detailed examination of reversing hive bodies, which is a method to maintain colony growth in the spring. To review briefly, by early spring some clusters have ascended up under the cover, leaving empty combs below. Up under the hive cover, colony growth can stall. In a vertical hive …

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Are all bees created equal when it comes to pesticide risk?

Posted May 1, 2023

Are all bees created equal when it comes to pesticide risk?

Last fall, I took my two dogs for a walk in the woods behind my house. The black Labrador mix came home with 56 ticks (my daughters meticulously counted as we pulled them off of her!). The Boston terrier came home with only one tick. I could have predicted my Lab would bring home more …

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