Guilfordbeekeepers.org

Swarm 7-2-25 IMG_0183.jpg I'm going to have to have Wally come talk to my bees about only small swarms coming out this time of year. David next door alerted me to swarm activity at my hives. This swarm issued from an early season primary swarm. I estimate it at about 3lbs. My bees are contrarians i...

Unless they were extremely light when you left, they should be ok. The bees should have put up some honey in the frames at the sides of the hive and in the top super. They will tap into these, so you may look to steady feeding and a little heavier feeding when you get back.

I got my first yellow jacket call of the season yesterday. They sent good clear pictures/videos. Normally, nests don't get strong enough for people to notice until around the 1st of July, and that is when this type of "swarm" call begins. Photos and videos from phones save a lot of time an...

We had to change servers after our current fellow hosting made the decision to retire. Nadina Rose has volunteered to take over managing the technical aspects of our website and forum. There is a learning curve for her since these are platforms she has not worked with before and she has had to learn...

European Hornet IMG_0160.jpg I saw a European Hornet snatching a bee yesterday. Today I was ready with my trusty Guilford Beekeepers hat when this one showed up. I believe we are still at the stage where over wintered queens have to forage. If that is the case, I just eliminated a colony that may b...

I've already posted about a second swarm from this hive, but today it issued what I thought was a large 3rd swarm. Swarm Commander and tanging brought it down at my poplar. I located the queen and got her in a clip, then scooped bees into the hive. Many weren't staying and were going back to the pop...

I got a text and picture of a swarm in the same bush as yesterday's swarm. It was in an easier place to get so I shook it into my swarm bucket. Just about as soon as I had it hived, a beekeeper I have been mentoring texted me about a swarm over and behind the Arboretum bees. They settled on some jun...

I got a text from Dennis at the Greensboro Arboretum about a small swarm a few feet from my bees. I don't know if it was the after swarm of a hive that had been in full swarm mode, or a swarm from the other hive that I had removed the old queen and some bees from. I got the queen in a clip, brought ...

I may, but not this season.

This afternoon's swarm issued from the hive I have been trying with the modified Demaree method of swarm prevention. This makes the second swarm from this hive. It was smaller than the first. I would not call this test a success.

If you are a current member of GCBA, all you need to do is look at the list and determine which zones you are willing to go to. E mail me at robertjjacobs@aol.com, with your name, cell phone number, and selected zones. I will add you to the list.

I don't know of any. I'm seeing darker queens more often. I don't know if it has to do with the majority of drones in my area being dark. It has been this way for several years now. I'm almost shocked when I see a golden drone.

Good luck royl. I had fun yesterday as well. I picked up about a medium and a half frames of bees beside the basketball courts at Barber Park yesterday afternoon. They were on the ground right beside the courts where children were playing. While park employees were very concerned, they calmed down w...

I got a call this afternoon from folks who had bees landing on their car. I could not figure out what was going on by their description and had somewhere to be later in the afternoon, so I took a ride over to see what was up. There was a small swarm about 9 feet up in a tree/bush by the driveway and...

I was doing a quick check of the 4/8/25 swarm around 12:30pm when the overwintered nuc threw another swarm. The bees are swarming out of the equivalent space of a single 10 frame deep. I used Swarm Commander and tanging to bring it down and got the unmarked queen in a clip. I know for sure that this...

I looked out at the fig bushes in the back of my yard yesterday around 10:30am and saw about a 2lb cluster of bees. I think they must have come out on Tuesday after I left for the GCBA meeting. I don't believe they would have come out yesterday morning, with temperatures what they were--even if we w...

Let's hope we get a few extra degrees of warmth overnight.

Modified Demaree-4-5-25_IMG_0093.jpg I tried the modified Demaree method on one of my hives with the theory being the hive doesn't swarm and the large foraging force makes honey. My result is what may be the largest swarm ever to issue from one of my home hives. Swarm Commander on the front of my b...

A clear case of incurable "bee fever."

She called me as well. I told her she either needed a friend with a bucket truck or a bow and arrow where they could shoot a rope over a branch and haul a box up to the cluster. I didn't think to tell her about trying to shoot the branch out of the tree. Essentially, I told her to wish the swarm wel...