Small Scale Queen Rearing

Small Scale Queen Rearing

Every beekeeper these days seems to be at least thinking about raising his or her own queens. That’s a good thing, and really not an option if you intend to keep bees for the long haul. While mated queens can be readily purchased the entire beekeeping season...
Backyard Queen Rearing

Backyard Queen Rearing

Last year we attempted to raise our own queens via grafting and didn’t meet with much success. The only way we seemed to be able to raise our own queens was to simply split in the Spring and make sure the queenless side of the split had young brood to raise...
Making Splits and Queens

Making Splits and Queens

We’ve been very busy in our apiary the past week or so splitting our stronger wintered colonies.   When conditions are right in the Spring, a healthy colony of bees will see its population expand very rapidly.  Unless the beekeeper intervenes, the old queen will...