Deadout Diagnosis: Reading a Hive That Did Not Make It
There is no good way to open a dead hive. It is quiet in a way a hive never is, …
Bee Health & Varroa
Mite counting and treatment options, beetles, moths and brood disease. Label and extension sources named, never invented here.
Wax Moths in Stored Comb: Prevention First
Wax moths do not kill hives. They arrive after something else already has, or they find the stack of supers …
Treating Mites With Honey Supers On: What the Label Allows
Every August the same question comes up in every beekeeping group in the country: can I treat for mites with …
Small Hive Beetle Traps That Actually Catch
Small hive beetles are the pest that punishes a weak colony. A strong hive with bees covering every frame keeps …
Robbing Screens and Entrance Reducers Against Raiders
Robbing looks wrong before you can name it. The traffic at the entrance is frantic rather than purposeful, bees are …
Formic Pro Reviewed: Supers, Timing and the Label
Formic Pro turns up in almost every August conversation about mites, usually attached to two questions: can I leave the …
Deformed Wing Virus: The Mite Problem You Can See
The first crumpled bee you find is the one you remember. It is crawling on the landing board rather than …
Chalkbrood and Nosema: What You Can and Cannot Fix
Chalkbrood and nosema get grouped together for a reason that has nothing to do with biology. They are the two …
Apivar Strips: Where They Fit in the Year
Apivar is the option people reach for when the weather has stopped cooperating. It does not care whether the week …
American Foulbrood: Recognize It, Then Call the State
American foulbrood is the one disease that changes how a beekeeper thinks about their equipment. Most hive problems are about …
Varroa Mite Treatment Options Compared
Varroa is the reason most backyard colonies die, and it is the subject on which beekeepers give each other the …
Counting Varroa Mites: Alcohol Wash or Sugar Roll
Most backyard colonies that die over winter were carrying a mite load their keeper never measured. Not ignored, not misjudged, …