Bee Talks Recap | July 2025
- Connecticut Beekeepers Association
- Jul 16
- 3 min read
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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…
In this episode of Bee Talks:
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…
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Each session includes an open question & answer period followed by a seasonally-appropriate topic discussion to help guide you through the beekeeping year. Open to every beekeeper regardless of experience or the type of equipment you use, these sessions will support your beekeeping practice and help you get the critical information you need to be successful.
Bee Talks are led by Bill Hesbach, Eastern Apicultural Society Certified Master Beekeeper and graduate of the University of Montana's Master Beekeeping Program. He teaches bee biology and beekeeping methods at events hosted by regional organizations, and appears as a guest speaker at national seminars. Bill is on the Board of Directors for the Eastern Apicultural Society, and is President of the Connecticut Beekeepers Association. His articles appear in Bee Culture, Bee Craft, and The American Bee Journal.
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