honey bees Archives

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Beekeeping DIY Honey

How to Harvest Honey

July 28, 2014

This past weekend a friend and I got together to harvest honey from the summer. Despite keeping bees for three years this was the first harvest that was large enough to need an extractor. Many factors come into honey production by the bees including weather, hive health, hive size, breed of bee, supply of blooms,…

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Beekeeping Bees

Harvard and the Beehives

April 23, 2013

Earlier this spring, Harvard University reached out to our local beekeeper’s association. One of their researchers in the School of Public Health is doing research on honeybees. His goal is to study the distribution of pesticides in pollen across the state of Massachusetts. He is particularly interested in pesticides containing neonicotinoids, as they have shown potential links in previous…

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Beekeeping Bees Videos

Winter Cleansing Flights of Honeybees

February 3, 2013

Like all living things, even honeybees use the “bathroom”. However, during the wintertime, they are confined to their cluster without the ability to leave. In the cluster, their main goal is to keep the queen and any existing brood very warm. This cluster only breaks on warmer winter days. During the break, the bees…

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Beekeeping Bees Hive Maintainance

Robbers and Invaders

September 14, 2012

Eggplant, cardoon, basil and tomatoes thrive near the hives. My nine year old son decided to title this post. You see, I had a heck of a time with the bees yesterday! It had been a while since I had entered my hives as I was just letting the bees do “their thing”. During…

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Beekeeping Bees

Pollinators at Work

August 4, 2012

“How doth the little busy bee Improve each shining hour, And gather honey all the day From every opening flower.” ~Issac Watts We are in the middle of another heat wave. I think the bees actually like this weather the best. The sun is shining. There is not a cloud in the sky and the…

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Beekeeping Bees

Observing the Bees Outside the Hives

July 12, 2012

My bees are mutts. They are a blend of Carniolan, Italian, German, Russian and Australian. The apiary where I purchased my bees believes that by diversifying their genetics, they are hardier and more resistant to disease. Recently when my mentor opened up my hives with me, he was amazed at how the bees’ genetics expressed…

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Beekeeping Bees Hive Maintainance

Opening the Hives: At One Month

June 22, 2012

Bees working bits of burr comb removed from between the frames and placed at the entrance Two weeks ago, my mentor from the local beekeeper’s association came over to visit my hives for the first time. It was a great experience. Both hives, Willow and Briar, were growing as expected. There was beautiful brood, capped…

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Beekeeping Bees Chickens

The Birds and the Bees

March 3, 2012

One of the biggest questions that I had prior starting out on my honey bee keeping journey had to do with how the chickens and the bees will coexist in my yard. I was nervous because I knew nothing about keeping bees. Yet I knew a lot about keeping chickens. I wondered to myself? Will…

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Sharing an inspired life from the New England seaside. Chickens, Bees, Gardens, Art and Yummy Goodness.

How to Harvest Honey

Harvard and the Beehives

Winter Cleansing Flights of Honeybees

Robbers and Invaders

Pollinators at Work

Observing the Bees Outside the Hives

Opening the Hives: At One Month

The Birds and the Bees

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