When I started keeping bees nearly 20 years ago, I was told "Honeybees cannot survive Alaskan winters", "It's cruel to try to keep them alive", and that the best practice was to wait until fall, shop vac them up, and take every drop of honey. I'm happy to disagree! While it can be challenging and […]

When most folks think of a "Swarm of Bees", their immediate response is fear. Hollywood has capitalized on triggering our survival and panic instincts for many years. The slow creep of Africanized honeybees into our southern states has also contributed greatly to these negative reactions. Beekeepers typically fear swarms as well, but for different reasons; […]

Spring feeding in Alaska brings us challenges. I like to use Feeding Shims with Ziploc Bags, as I feel it's a guaranteed way to get warm syrup into the brood nest regardless of what Mother Nature is throwing at us. One of the hazards with using a feeding shim is burr comb. Burr comb is […]

Often in the Spring, I get frantic calls about beekeepers thinking they're Queenless. Many don't see eggs right away, and get frantic searching for the queen. Personally, I don't look for the queen, just fresh eggs. Eggs can be very hard to spot, even if you have good eyes. This can be even more difficult […]

When your package arrives in the springtime in Alaska, sometimes the weather isn't conducive to hiving immediately. These are my thoughts and opinions on caring for your girls until you can safely hive them.  While honeybees can survive a week or even longer inside their package, I would NEVER recommend keeping them inside their package […]

Package Bees Arrive in Alaska April 22nd Package bees will arrive in Anchorage and Fairbanks on the afternoon of April 22nd. Sarah will be flying into Anchorage with Southcentral packages, Wigi will be flying into Fairbanks with interior packages. Distribution will begin as soon as possible, and dependent upon cargo handling times. Sarah and Wigi will be updating the […]

Package delivery dates are not yet set. We are aiming for the first half of April, and will be able to dial in closer on those specifics over the coming weeks. This year we will be bringing in the same Carniolan genetics as last year- as well as the Quebecs. All packages will be 4 […]

Okay, so maybe it's not Spring yet, but it sounds a whole lot better than "Will this bitter cold ever end?", or "30 below zero on a Dark January Day". Cold or not, Spring will be here before we know it, and it's time to start planning ahead. We have some exciting changes coming up! […]

Feeding your girls in the spring is necessary in Alaska as there isn't typically a naturally available source of nectar when they arrive. Here's how I make sugar syrup. This recipe is easy to modify for any size batch without measuring anything! Start with a pot that is the approximate volume of syrup you want […]

  Here's a quick clip showing how (in my opinion) to best feed your hungry packages in the spring. The feeding shim is simply a spacer between your brood chamber and inner cover. This spacer creates room for a gallon-sized Ziploc bag of sugar syrup. I prefer this method for a few different reasons. First […]