Category: Honey Bees

Honey Bee Cluster Just As Winter Waxes

Tony Teolis December 19, 2013 0 Comments
Today's video gives you peek inside the top bar hive just before two big winter ice and snow storms pummeled our area. The video was taken on December 7th and although it was cold it was possible to observe then cluster of honey bees without disturbing them. They seem to be clustered at the eastern side of then hive just like I planned and then idea is for them to move to the left and west side...

Honey Bees Gathering At The Chamomile

Tony Teolis October 24, 2013 0 Comments
I was fortunate enough to catch these bees hard at work getting ready for a cold weather front to hit our area. All that's left this year is the top bar hive which I have affectionately referred to as the thrive hive. However, things have been challenging for it lately but the battle with Varroa Destructor and small hive beetles seems to have waned and the bees are frisky, protective and well...

Episode-217- Check In On The Top Bar Hive

Tony Teolis October 3, 2013 0 Comments
The video for today's episode presents the thrive hive which is the sole remaining bee colony on my property. This colony has remained strong from the time it was placed in the top bar hive in April 2013. It was doing so well that I took three top bars full of brood (bee larvae and pupae), pollen and honey in early June in an attempt to rescue colonies B and C. That turned out to be a waste of...

Episode-216- Defend Honey Bee Colony From European Hornets

Tony Teolis October 1, 2013 0 Comments
    Vespa crabro better known as the European hornet is an additional menace for honey bees that I see hovering around my hives. They typically can be seen in my backyard in northern Virginia between the months of July and September. Today's short video shows some of the steps I take to identify the presence or these hornets as well as the defensive and offensive measures in place to prevent...

Episode-215- Provide Water For The Honey Bees

Tony Teolis September 20, 2013 0 Comments
             In today's episode I present four of the many ways in which water can be provided for honey bees. If you are a backyard beekeeper like me or wish to become one then a vital thing to consider is how to provide water for the bees. Sure, they could try to find it on their own and they will with possible consequences that may not be received well by the neighbors. Bees need water...

Episode-211- Fruitless Fall Book Review

Tony Teolis August 12, 2013 0 Comments
Fruitless Fall book review: 1. What I learned The difference between the waggle and tremble dances foragers perform upon their return with goodies from the field. Foragers do waggle dances when recruiting others to a good nectar or pollen or plunder site. The tremble dance is what foragers do when in need of receivers of their bounty. If the two are in competition bees will head butt one another...

Episode-209- Get The Word Out About A World Without Bees

Tony Teolis August 10, 2013 0 Comments
This episode was intended be a review of A World Without Bees but I left my notes elsewhere. So before that one I present A Fruitless Fall  by Rowan Jacobson, which is a play on words much like Silent Spring by Rachel Carson in 1962.   Fruitless Fall is no less foreboding in its depiction of a Fall without the buzz of the honey bee. But first a little more on the plight of the honey bee and...