I found this image online of some unfortunate hives that got ambushed by a bear. It's quite a mess. Bears eat honey but they also target beehives because bee larvae are a great source of protein. I asked Davey if he's ever had a problem with wildlife. Just this year, in fact, he lost 60 hives to a bear. That is quite a...

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Hope everyone had a great Memorial Day weekend! It's a rainy day here at Dutch Gold Honey but the weather is  going to warm up tomorrow! The bees should have plenty of flowers from which to extract nectar. Here's a shot of a frame full of bees. It looks like they are all doing the waggle dance to help each other find some...

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Springtime is the time for swarming bees! Many times this happens because a colony will have enough members to slit into two, hence creating the need to find a new home. The only reason for swarming is to find a new home, not to scare you and all of your neighbors. Swarming bees are actually quite peaceful. Once they sting you they lose...

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It seems that the cold winter weather is finally leaving us here in the Northeast. Good thing, because bees are not a fan of winter. Almonds have already been pollinated and blueberry fields in Maine are now the current pollinating crop. Maine has about 60,000 acres dedicated to the production of blueberries and from what I have heard, last year had a very...

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There has been recent discussion by some commercial beekeepers in Canada about allowing U.S. honeybees to cross the border. International buying/loaning of bees was banned years ago because of the concerns about spreading the varroa mite. At this point in time, the varroa mite has already made its home across most of Canada, so upholding the ban because of this would be rather...

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This week the Bee Informed Partnership released the preliminary findings of its survey of bee loss. This year 31.1% of colonies were lost compared to 22.5% last year. (Numbers are counted at the end of winter) This is a dramatic increase for just one year and a couple of news reports have starting warning the public about this loss. Almonds are frequently mentioned...

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The most recent news concerning CCD takes another look at high fructose corn syrup. Many beekeepers feed their bees HFCS especially during winter months when temperatures are too cold for bees to gather nectar. The ingredient became a popular choice for beekeepers in the 70's, but researchers at the University of Illinois have recently published research that links HFCS to colony collapse disorder. As...

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Here's Davey Checking on a hive in Florida.  ...

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