Bee Talks Recap | May 2025
- Connecticut Beekeepers Association
- 3 hours ago
- 2 min read
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In this episode of Bee Talks:
00:00:00 - Welcome & honoring Peter Loring Borst (continued at 28:27)
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?
00:36:22 - 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
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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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