How to Find Your Queen

May 18, 2012

It’s a problem we all face when doing hive inspections – finding the queen.  Although she’s quite different-looking from the other bees in the hive, it’s easy for her to be hidden: You don’t have to actually see her to know that your hive is healthy.  There are other signs that she’s around, such as […]

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The Buzz on Bees Episode 2: Interview with Christine Farmer

April 20, 2012

Hello and welcome to the “Buzz on Bees,” BeeMentor.com’s monthly interview series. This month’s guest is Christine Farmer: artist, photographer, and friend to bees. Christine has an amazing website that includes a segment about her adventures with leafcutter and other native bees. Her eye for detail and appreciation for the beauty of these animals is […]

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‘Cides Always Hurt More Than Their Intended Victims

April 10, 2012

I took this photo at our local big box store. There are hundreds of gallons of pesticides and herbicides for sale right now, and each time I go into the store there are freshly stocked stacks of brilliantly colored boxes and jugs of death. This used to bother me simply because the stacks are always […]

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The BEST Bee Nest Block

March 31, 2012

For the past several months I’ve been pouring over plans, reviews and anecdotes about different kinds of bee nest blocks. I wanted something that had a proven track record. In the process of my search I found that one also needs to consider the health of the bees. Source of photo: “Waiting…and waiting…and waiting…“ I […]

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They’re Not All Honey Bees

March 17, 2012

A little over 20 years ago I was on a field trip during a block course on the natural history, geology and geography of the Pacific Northwest. This particular trip was to Nisqually Delta, where part of the glacial runoff from Mount Rainier flows into the south end of Puget Sound in Washington State. We […]

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They’re Not All Bees

March 9, 2012

During one of my workshops last month a student shared a story about bees that he’d capture in his younger days. The bees never stung him and I was curious to know more. He lived in California at the time. He and the other kids called these bees “H-bees” because of the H-shaped marking on […]

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