Bee Talks

00:00:00 - Welcome & Bloom Calendar 00:03:40 - My forager bees are coming back covered in bright orange pollen - what can it be? 00:09:38 - Make sure to protect your colonies in preparation for the upcoming storm 00:10:45 - How do we use this new varroa treatment that was just approved (Norroa)? (continued at 33:02) 00:17:48 - There seem to be a lot of yellowjackets this year… 00:19:21 - What should I be doing in right now to prepare my hives for the longer winter? 00:22:42 - I had brood in my colony and used formic pro to treat. It caused a robbing frenzy in my yard. 00:25:31 - What type of varroa treatment should I be using this year? Should I be using the new treatment? 00:31:02 - If in a two-deep colony, I still have some brood in the upper, should I move that brood to the bottom box and replace the box of honey? 00:33:02 - Where can I purchase Norroa treatment? 00:34:21 - Does anyone know what the details of this new treatment entail? 00:37:12 - How do I properly dispose of used Varroxsan and Apigard? 00:40:01 - Discussion of Randy Oliver’s testing of robber screens More about the episode, including links to products and recommendations at https://www.ctbees.org/bee-talks-recap-october-2025 __________________________________________________________ Connecticut Beekeepers Association promotes and supports beekeepers and their local organizations. Our goal is to provide a common forum for the beekeepers of Connecticut to come together to share information and ideas. #beekeeping #bees #beelife #beetalks #science MORE BEEKEEPING INFO - https://www.ctbees.org

In this episode of Bee Talks, 00:00:00 - Welcome & Bloom Calendar 00:11:15 - Can I leave on honey super on over winter? 00:15:58 - Can we do anything about excessive mowing of fields and public areas and how it affects pollinators? 00:20:00 - Can I save frames that had wax moth damage, or do I have to throw them away? 00:25:00 - Let’s talk about small hive beetles… 00:35:30 - How can I reduce my hive down to one single deep for over wintering? 00:38:59 - I’m starting beekeeping in the Spring - when should I order nucs and equipment? 00:41:50 - What happens to the uneaten beetles if you don’t get rid of them, and how does it affect the honey? 00:44:56 - I caught three swarms and having been feeding - one is eating and one is ignoring. Why? 00:48:42 - When is the best time of day to put on robbing screens? 00:53:52 - Should I keep beetle traps in my hive all year long or place them according to specific times of year? 00:56:58 - Has anyone tried the Apimaye hives? What are your opinions? 01:03:00 - Is now a good time to treat with Formic Pro or oxalic vapor? 01:05:00 - Time to register your hives! More about the episode, including links to products and recommendations at https://www.ctbees.org/bee-talks-recap-september-2025 __________________________________________________________ Connecticut Beekeepers Association promotes and supports beekeepers and their local organizations. Our goal is to provide a common forum for the beekeepers of Connecticut to come together to share information and ideas. #beekeeping #bees #beelife #beetalks #science MORE BEEKEEPING INFO - https://www.ctbees.org

In this episode of Bee Talks, we take on real-time questions from local beekeepers and explore what’s happening in hives this August. We look at our bloom calendars, consider the impact of spotted lanternfly sightings, and review temperature and humidity trends using data from BroodMinder sensors to better understand colony behavior. From puzzling hive debris to signs of hive strength, we cover small hive beetles, feeding strategies, and how to assess performance when colonies behave differently. We also discuss approaches to trap-outs and reflect on the timing of honey harvests. 00:00:00 - Welcome & Bloom Calendar 00:10:30 - Spotted Lanternfly Discussion 00:15:20 - Temperature & Humidity Data Discussion using BroodMinder 00:22:38 - My hive has a pile of grey fibrous material in front of it…what could it be? 00:30:12 - Discussion of small hive beetle populations 00:33:37 - I’m a novice beekeeper with two hives. One seems really busy and one is not. Should I be doing something differently with them? 00:36:39 - Should we be feeding our hives right now? 00:40:22 - What are the parameters of a strong or weak hive at this time of year? 00:47:36 - I tried to remove bees from a tree hive and into a trap out…looking for better strategies 00:56:13 - I was worried my bees would eat the honey stores so I harvested my honey. Should I have waited until later? More about the episode, including links to products and recommendations at https://www.ctbees.org/bee-talks-recap-august-2025 __________________________________________________________ Connecticut Beekeepers Association promotes and supports beekeepers and their local organizations. Our goal is to provide a common forum for the beekeepers of Connecticut to come together to share information and ideas. #beekeeping #bees #beelife #beetalks #science MORE BEEKEEPING INFO - https://www.ctbees.org

In this episode of Bee Talks, we discuss aphids (and more aphids - ugh!). When your milkweed is covered in aphids… do your bees care? Plus - what is the best time of day to move and install a recently caught swarm? We talk about 'washboarding' and troubleshoot an interesting case of its occurrence in someone’s hive. Also, we answer the question of chickens being a viable option for keeping varroa mite and small hive beetle counts down in your hives (spoiler alert: they aren’t). Then we close out the episode with a discussion about the recent varroicide shakeup and possible new treatments coming soon… 00:00:00 - Welcome & Bloom Calendar 00:06:08 - Example of washboarding (video) 00:10:18 - My swamp milkweed is covered with aphids - do the bees care? (continued at 33:28) 00:22:18 - Learn about native plants at Connecticut AG Station Plant Day (link in blog post on our site) 00:25:08 - What time of day is the best time to move and install a recent swarm I caught? 00:35:46 - Discussion of honey stores 00:42:03 - What is the best way to clean year-old pollen from frames? 00:43:39 - My bees were washboarding on untreated wood on a top-bar hive, they applied propolis in a random manner. Why were they doing this? (continued at 58:52 & 1:13:09) 00:46:31 - One of our colonies insists on laying on the top bars of the frames. The top of the frames are filled with larva. There is plenty of room (frames of drawn comb) in these boxes for the queen to lay in. Why are they doing this? 00:56:10 - Is it a good time to take honey from my supers? 01:01:17 - Should we still be feeding our bees? What should we be using to treat with right now? 01:05:49 - I see a large cell in my hive - what is it? (photo) 01:06:12 - Is there any scientific research that says keeping chickens around hives cuts down on varroa or small hive beetles? 01:08:27 - I think that my varroa counts are good, how can I make sure? 01:15:50 - Discussion about possible new Varroicides coming soon… More about the episode, including links to things we mention at https://www.ctbees.org/bee-talks-recap-july-2025 __________________________________________________________ Connecticut Beekeepers Association promotes and supports beekeepers and their local organizations. Our goal is to provide a common forum for the beekeepers of Connecticut to come together to share information and ideas. #beekeeping #bees #beelife #beetalks #science #scienceeducation MORE BEEKEEPING INFO - https://www.ctbees.org

00:00:00 - Welcome & Bloom Calendar 00:13:45 - Bloom Tracking Tool 00:23:23 - Can you discuss sac brood? Does it always have a pointed end sticking up? 00:24:55 - Are we currently experiencing an extended spring flow? 00:26:23 - Additional Bloom Discussion 00:27:55 - Temperature Sensors are helpful as a new beekeeper 00:29:07 - Why do bees seem to drink from dirty water instead of clean sources? 00:33:16 - Is single brood management feasible with an 8-frame deep? 00:35:39 - I made a swarm trap, and see activity. Assuming these are scout bees, how should it be before a colony moves in? How long do I have after they move in before I move it to a permanent location? 00:42:41 - Where can we get EFB and AFB test kits? 00:45:47 - Our hive has a gable roof, the bees have been drawing and storing honey up there. How can I keep them from doing this? 00:47:19 - I lost a hive to small hive beetle infestation. What’s the process for cleaning out the boxes? In this episode of Bee Talks, we cover what’s blooming now and how to track it using our Bloom Calendar and new Bloom Tracking Tool. We answer listener questions about sac brood, extended spring flows, and whether single brood management works in 8-frame deeps. We also discuss bee behavior like drinking from dirty water, using temperature sensors, and what to expect when scout bees check out your swarm trap. Other topics include testing for EFB and AFB, preventing bees from storing honey under gable roofs, and how to clean up after a hive loss due to small hive beetles. More about the episode at https://www.ctbees.org/bee-talks-recap-june-2025 __________________________________________________________ Connecticut Beekeepers Association promotes and supports beekeepers and their local organizations. Our goal is to provide a common forum for the beekeepers of Connecticut to come together to share information and ideas. #beekeeping #bees #beelife #beetalks MORE BEEKEEPING INFO - https://www.ctbees.org

00:00:00 - Welcome & honoring Peter Loring Borst (continued at 28:27) 00:01:50 - New 2025 Bloom Tracker Observations for Connecticut Beekeepers (link in blog post below) 00:08:30 - Bloom Calendar 00:13:40 - Installing New Package with Queen Substitution, Virgin Queens and Requeening (continued at 48:40) 00:16:48 - Are this year’s packages really defensive than usual? What can I do with a defensive colony? 00:20:10 - What is the status of the Spotted Lanternfly? Do we still need to be reporting sightings? (continued at 48:44) 00:22:18 - I did a Demaree split and now have capped queen cells at the bottom of the frames in the top box. Does that mean that the bees in the bottom box are going to swarm…or are the bees in the top box going to swarm? 00:26:02 - What are intercaste queens? 00:29:08 - Each year my colonies fill the lower brood boxes with nectar, ignoring the honey supers and regardless of my use of queen excluders. What am I doing wrong? 00:34:16 - Discussion about the current Bee Die-off and what is causing it 00:36:22 - How can my bees swarm without an adult queen in the top box? Did I miss the swarm? Could my queen excluder have failed? 00:42:38 - Can you take the frame of queen capped cell and some capped brood into a nuc box to start another hive? 00:48:40 - Discussion of swarm cells, swarming, and various ways to watch for signs of swarming 00:59:10 - Tips on feeding your bees right now More about the episode at https://www.ctbees.org/bee-talks-recap-may-2025 __________________________________________________________ Connecticut Beekeepers Association promotes and supports beekeepers and their local organizations. Our goal is to provide a common forum for the beekeepers of Connecticut to come together to share information and ideas. #beekeeping #bees #beelife #beetalks MORE BEEKEEPING INFO - https://www.ctbees.org #beekeeping #bees #beelife MORE BEEKEEPING INFO - https://www.ctbees.org

In this episode of Bee Talks: 00:00:00 - Discussion of Primal Hives 00:06:06 - Bloom Calendar & Discussion about Queen Bumblebees 00:13:05 - I’m getting a new package, and have drawn-out comb & bee bread from other hives - what’s the best way to use this to the new package’s advantage? 00:16:00 - Further discussion of bumblebees and blooms 00:18:03 - I had a couple of small hives, and combined them - but my colony killed the queen…what happened? 00:24:30 - Discussion of how to balance hives using a Doolittle split method 00:27:15 - If I’m only moving capped brood, is it less likely to I’ll have a large population of nurse bees? 00:28:20 - I’m seeing charged swarm cells already - is it too early to make splits? 00:33:46 - My colonies overwintered and are too full of bees - How should I handle this? 00:39:50 - I don’t see any drones coming out of my hive entrances - does that mean they aren’t ready to swarm? 00:42:10 - I have frames of honey from hives that didn’t overwinter - can I extract honey from these frames so that the queen can use them to lay in? 00:43:26 - If I have supers with drawn comb, when should I start adding them to my hive? 00:44:38 - Discussion about using Queen Mandibular Pheromone (TempQueen) to reduce swarm signaling 00:48:48 - What are the best robbing screen designs / orientations? More about the episode at https://www.ctbees.org/bee-talks-recap-april-2025 __________________________________________________________ Connecticut Beekeepers Association promotes and supports beekeepers and their local organizations. Our goal is to provide a common forum for the beekeepers of Connecticut to come together to share information and ideas. #beekeeping #bees #beelife #beetalks MORE BEEKEEPING INFO - https://www.ctbees.org

00:00:00 Welcome & Bloom calendar overview 00:04:01 Do I have mold in my colony? 00:06:48 What is a nuc (nucleus colony) and what issues should I expect when starting with one? 00:09:29 Can I use equipment that has been stored since last year? Should I be worried about the current bee die-offs happening in commercial beekeeping? 00:12:00 I don’t see evidence of drone cells in my hives yet. How long should I wait before I can do splits? 00:15:01 Is it a good time to feed supplemental pollen? 00:18:28 When should I replace my brood frames? 00:23:16 What do I use to catch a swarm? 00:24:43 If my hive goes queenless into winter, will it die out? 00:25:46 Which small hive beetle traps should I use? 00:31:02 Can I use the honey & bee bread from my dead hives for a new package of bees? 00:33:46 Do bees always create queen cells before they swarm? 00:36:40 Should I take my insulation covers off yet? 00:37:44 Can you discuss your Sticky Board Mite Population article in American Bee Journal? 00:39:41 What is the best way to preserve comb? More about the episode, including links to products and recommendations at https://www.ctbees.org/bee-talks-recap-march-2025 __________________________________________________________ Connecticut Beekeepers Association promotes and supports beekeepers and their local organizations. Our goal is to provide a common forum for the beekeepers of Connecticut to come together to share information and ideas. #beekeeping #bees #beelife #beetalks MORE BEEKEEPING INFO - https://www.ctbees.org