The Beekeeper’s Companion Since 1861
Volume 165, No. 9 September 2025 Cover Features a Bee on a pink flower. Callouts: Honey Bee swarms are different - 963, Just what does "Africanized" mean? - 991, The BeeCAUSE Alliance - 1013

When do honey bees compete with native wild bees?

native bees vs honey bees
Posted March 1, 2022

When do honey bees compete with native wild bees?

Over the past few months, I’ve been receiving lots of questions from beekeepers, land managers, and conservation folks about competition between managed honey bees and native wild bees. Perhaps this isn’t surprising since it’s becoming more and more difficult for U.S. beekeepers to find suitable land where they can place their hives. This has resulted …

Read More

Early Spring Honey Robbing and How to Detect It

Honey bee Brood
Posted March 1, 2022

Early Spring Honey Robbing and How to Detect It

In eastern Virginia, after a mild December this past year (2021), the temperatures crept up to a mild 63°F in the afternoon. It was just barely into the New Year, on January 2, 2022. My bees flew into the leafless woods all around. They returned with just a trickle of pollen (the loads in white …

Read More

Wintering Colonies Indoors

Overwinter Beehives Indoors
Posted March 1, 2022

Wintering Colonies Indoors

Some people worry that a lack of defecation flights indoors could cause problems with nosema, but research suggests this is not a concern The year 2021 was a record-breaking one on the weather front. We witnessed the “Texas freeze,” where temperatures dropped to 1-10 F (-12 to -17 C), causing a widespread power crisis. California …

Read More

Early Spring Management

Spring Bee Hive Inspection
Posted March 1, 2022

Early Spring Management

Spring is the busiest time of the year for the beekeeper. Bee populations develop rapidly and changes happen very quickly in the beehive. It is a challenge for the beekeeper to stay ahead — to anticipate, not merely react. We often have to make decisions based on relatively little information. It is probably the toughest …

Read More

The Ladies Drink for Free

honey bees drinking water
Posted March 1, 2022

The Ladies Drink for Free

Who doesn’t love watching a honey bee drink, its complex tongue exploring the surface of a leaf or wet rock? Beekeepers the world over have designed watering holes where bees can belly up for afternoon refreshment. Some of these devices are small and unobtrusive, while others are works of art, astounding in their originality. Life …

Read More

Letters to the Editor – March 2022

Posted March 1, 2022

Letters to the Editor – March 2022

Animal Intelligence vs. Consciousness Dear Mr. Borst, Thanks for the great article on animal intelligence. I noticed you kind of danced around the distinction between intelligence and consciousness. Certainly many philosophers draw a distinction between the two. That distinction seems to be practically a religious one, with a lot of teachers even implying that consciousness …

Read More

NEW JERSEY COTTAGE FOOD LAW

Posted March 1, 2022

NEW JERSEY COTTAGE FOOD LAW

In October 2021, a new Cottage Food Regulation (N.J.A.C. 8:24-11) was adopted by the New Jersey Department of Health which legalized the sale of baked goods and other prepared foods by individuals to individuals. It was previously illegal to sell home baked goods unless they were prepared in a commercial kitchen. Now the person dreaming …

Read More

2022 AMERICAN HONEY QUEEN HAILS FROM PENNSYLVANIA

American Honey Queen 2022
Posted March 1, 2022

2022 AMERICAN HONEY QUEEN HAILS FROM PENNSYLVANIA

The American Beekeeping Federation is proud to announce that Lucy Winn was selected as the 2022 American Honey Queen at the American Beekeeping Federation Conference and Tradeshow in Las Vegas, Nevada.  Lucy is the 20-year-old daughter of Stephen and Lauren Winn of Carlisle, Pennsylvania.  She is a sophomore at DeSales University where she studies business …

Read More

ABJ March 2022 Cover

American Bee Journal March 2022 Cover
Posted March 1, 2022

ABJ March 2022 Cover

Purple Lilac Vine (Hardenbergia violacea) is a species of flowering shrub in the plant family Fabaceae and is native to Australia. Joan Fox took this photo in Tucson, where there are a large number of native plant and tree species in the same Fabaceae plant family. Purple flowers overflow this vine from February through March. …

Read More

The Classroom – February 2022

The Classroom - ABJ - Jamie Ellis
Posted February 1, 2022

The Classroom – February 2022

Q  pH of liquid feed I feed my bees a 50:50 solution of sugar water. Some sources recommend adjusting the pH of one’s feed to match that of natural nectar. Do you know of any scientific evidence that shows any health benefit to the bees from adjusting the pH? Steve Wall December A Steve, thanks …

Read More

VIEW SITE MAP