![]() Other than varroa, however, basic beekeeping practices were well figured out long ago, and I highly recommend two classic USDA publications for best management practices. In addition, the bee population now faces the additional novel stressors of persistent European foulbrood, loss of forage in many areas, the effects of climate change (shorter winters), increasing CO2 (which decreases the nutritional value of pollen), and perhaps pesticide exposure (this fear is greatly exaggerated as far as most areas are concerned, but may occur in areas with intensive commercial agriculture). Although honey bees are essentially wild animals living in a box provided by their “keeper,” bees are in the midst of an evolutionary struggle due to the introduction of varroa (which completely changed colony stress and virus dynamics). You are beginning beekeeping at a time in which honey bees are struggling to stay alive–beekeeping is more difficult than it was prior to the parasitic varroa mite (which invaded around 1990). I’ve written a step-by-step plan for colony management further down on this page.įirst, educate yourself! A honey bee colony is a living animal that deserves to be cared for properly. If you live somewhere else, the timing of the honey flow and length of winter may differ. If you do this, most other problems go away.īelow is a brief visual of hive management responsibilities in the Northern California Foothills. This page provides some quick step-by-step notes for your first year of beekeeping, written specifically for those starting with a nucleus hive or package bees purchased from me, but is generally applicable.īottom line: Once you get a colony started, other than adding space, the two most important things to pay attention to are varroa management and colony nutrition. I’ve attempted to distill 50 year’s of beekeeping experience into a short set of instructions for starting out with bees in the Sierra Foothills. For mite treatment options, search “Varroa Mite Management” Beekeeping in a Nutshell I continually update this page, so please refer to the current version. If you choose to do business with this business, please let the business know that you contacted BBB for a BBB Business Profile.Īs a matter of policy, BBB does not endorse any product, service or business.Updated. BBB Business Profiles are subject to change at any time. When considering complaint information, please take into account the company's size and volume of transactions, and understand that the nature of complaints and a firm's responses to them are often more important than the number of complaints.īBB Business Profiles generally cover a three-year reporting period. However, BBB does not verify the accuracy of information provided by third parties, and does not guarantee the accuracy of any information in Business Profiles. ![]() BBB asks third parties who publish complaints, reviews and/or responses on this website to affirm that the information provided is accurate. ![]() BBB Business Profiles may not be reproduced for sales or promotional purposes.īBB Business Profiles are provided solely to assist you in exercising your own best judgment.
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