The Beekeeper’s Companion Since 1861
American Bee Journal Volume 166 No. 10 October 2026 Cover Cover Callouts: Apis mellifera, weather girl - 1077, Winter hive ventilation - 1093, 1101, 1105, How does the colony respond to OA? - 1127 Cover shoes a frame of brood with a queen cell and several bees near the center of the frame.

2021 AMERICAN HONEY QUEEN & PRINCESS HAIL FROM WISCONSIN & TEXAS

american honey queen and princess
Posted April 1, 2021

2021 AMERICAN HONEY QUEEN & PRINCESS HAIL FROM WISCONSIN & TEXAS

The American Beekeeping Federation is proud to announce that Jennifer Hinkel and Virginia Allen were selected as the 2021 American Honey Queen and Princess. Queen Jennifer is the 23-year-old daughter of Bill Hinkel of Franklin, WI.  She is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing with a …

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Letters to the Editor – April 2021

Posted April 1, 2021

Letters to the Editor – April 2021

Horsefly Traps and Bees I am writing to inform the beekeeping community about a situation that I did not know existed until a few weeks ago. In a conversation with a landowner adjacent to a property on which I wanted to locate a new out-yard, I was told that he owned horses and that his …

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April 2021 Table of Contents

Posted April 1, 2021

April 2021 Table of Contents

The Bee Informed Partnership Tech Teams: Data-driven Answers to the Most Important Questions M.E.A. McNeil– 388 Beekeeper-funded Research: A Test of Thermal Treatment for Varroa, Part 2 Randy Oliver – 407 Handling Defensive Bees Dewey M. Caron – 421 Large-scale Beekeeping: How It Came About in the U.S. Peter L Borst – 427 Keeping Honey …

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April 2021 ABJ Cover

Posted April 1, 2021

April 2021 ABJ Cover

Finally, spring! Eastern redbud trees (Cercis canadensis) bursting into color are a sure sign of the season in south central Missouri. Charlotte Wiggins took this photo last April, in her backyard in Rolla.

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The Classroom – March 2021

The Classroom - ABJ - Jamie Ellis
Posted March 1, 2021

The Classroom – March 2021

Q Boardman feeders to supply water I have three hives in my back yard and I supply them with plain water via a front entrance Boardman feeder and a quart Mason jar filled with water (that I boil first and let cool) for each hive. When the jar is empty, and I take if off …

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Create an Artificial Swarm with a Taranov Split

artificial swarm
Posted March 1, 2021

Create an Artificial Swarm with a Taranov Split

A split is simply a division made by taking an existing colony and separating it into two or more parts. As elementary as that sounds, endless variations exist depending on the desired outcome. Splits can create more colonies, produce nucs, raise queens, prevent swarms, or control mites. An experienced beekeeper will often have a signature …

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Notes from the Lab – March 2021

assessing pesticide risk
Posted March 1, 2021

Notes from the Lab – March 2021

A new high-throughput method to assess risk from pesticide co-exposures Honey bees are almost always exposed to pesticides. For example, in a recent survey of 198 beekeeper hives throughout New York, we found pesticides in comb wax from 197 of the hives (Wheeler et al. 2018). On average, wax from the hives contained 6 different …

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The Haploid Handicap

Varroa on drone
Posted March 1, 2021

The Haploid Handicap

Haploid drones are mortally sensitive to environmental stress, but this could actually lead to stronger colonies Drones might look robust, with their wide bodies, large eyes, and powerful wing muscles. But despite their skookum appearance, they are shockingly sensitive to environmental stress. Compared to workers, they are more likely to die from exposure to disease, …

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The Miller Method: Growing Naturally-built Queen Cells

Natural Queen Cells
Posted March 1, 2021

The Miller Method: Growing Naturally-built Queen Cells

Naturally-built queen cells, occurring from swarming or queen supersedure, can be used to rear new queens. When naturally-built queen cells are not available, or when we want them at certain times, we can use the Miller queen rearing method. Dr. C.C. Miller of Marengo, Illinois, devised this method of queen rearing (see Figure 1). He …

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How Do I Get My Bees to Draw Out Comb?

Honey Bees Comb
Posted March 1, 2021

How Do I Get My Bees to Draw Out Comb?

Producing wax and constructing the honey comb is second nature to a worker bee. It’s also a necessity for the survival and productivity of the colony. The comb is the residential structure that allows the bees to cluster for thermoregulation. Comb is used for raising brood, curing nectar into honey, and storing honey and pollen. …

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