Practice

Practical beekeeping articles that have previously appeared on www.theapiarist.org, grouped – rather haphazardly – into a series of categories. Note that there may be some overlap between categories, with posts being listed here as well as under beekeeping equipment or beekeeping problems.

Beekeeping … like herding cats, that sting

Varroa control

Sublimox vaporiser

Sublimox vaporiser …

How to use miticides rationally and effectively … and how to minimise the need for their use.

 

Swarm control

Clipped queen swarm

Clipped queen swarm

Swarm prevention and control.

 

Swarms

A small swarm ...

A small swarm …

Catching swarms and effective use of bait hives.

 

Queen rearing

Locally raised queen

Locally raised queen

Practical methods to rear new queens ranging from simple colony splits to grafting and cell raising colonies.

 

Uniting colonies

An Abelo/Swienty hybrid hive ...

An Abelo/Swienty hybrid hive …

Saving weak colonies, saving queenless colonies and boosting strong colonies.

 

Feeding

Poly super and fondant ...

Poly super and fondant …

Feeding colonies to build them up in Spring or to prevent starvation in Winter. Lots here on using fondant as it’s my preferred method of feeding.

 

Moving colonies

Double brood ...

Double brood …

Safely securing hives when moving them between apiaries or to new forage.