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HoneyBee School & Supply

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Honeybee Sleep

Honeybees do not sleep in the same way that humans do. Instead of sleeping for extended periods of time, they take short breaks throughout the day to rest and conserve energy. During these rest periods, bees will typically find a quiet place to rest, such as in the hive or on a flower. They will lower their metabolism, reduce their movement, and enter a state of reduced activity. Bees do not have a dedicated sleep period like humans do, and they are able to function with very little rest. In fact, worker bees will typically only rest for about 5-8% of their lives. This...

Beekeeping Lesson – Range of a HoneyBee

Honeybees will typically fly up to a few miles from their hive to forage for food. The exact distance that they will fly will depend on several factors, including the availability of food sources, the weather, and the size and age of the bees. Bees are able to fly long distances because they have a highly developed navigation system that allows them to orient themselves and find their way back to the hive. They use a combination of landmarks, the position of the sun, and other cues to navigate. While bees will generally fly a few miles from their hive to forage, they h...

Where do bees poop?

Bees do not have a specific location in the hive where they go to defecate. Instead, they defecate wherever they happen to be at the time, typically outside of the hive. Bees will defecate while they are foraging for nectar and pollen, or while they are resting on flowers or other surfaces. They may also defecate while they are flying, although this is less common. Inside the hive, bees will generally try to avoid defecating in areas where they live and store food. However, it is not uncommon for there to be some accumulation of feces in the hive, especially in areas w...

Preventing beehive absconding

There are several steps you can take to help prevent beehive absconding, which is when a hive becomes abandoned by the bees: Keep your hive healthy: Provide your bees with a clean, dry hive that has enough space for them to live and store food. Make sure they have access to fresh water and a variety of flowers for nectar and pollen. Monitor your hive regularly: Regularly check on your hive to make sure the bees are healthy and the hive is functioning properly. This will allow you to identify and address any potential problems before they become serious. Protect your h...

Reasons bees leave a hive . . .

Bees leave their hive for a variety of reasons, sometimes temporarily and sometimes more permanantly . . . Foraging: Bees leave the hive to search for food, which can include nectar from flowers and pollen. They use their sense of smell and the position of the sun to navigate to flowers and gather resources to bring back to the hive. Swarming: When a hive becomes overcrowded, the bees will reproduce and create a new queen. The old queen and a portion of the bees will then leave the hive and form a new one elsewhere. This is known as swarming. Disease: If a hive become...

The Amazing Langstroth Hive

The Langstroth hive is a type of beehive that is named after its inventor, Reverend Lorenzo Langstroth. It is the most commonly used hive design in modern beekeeping, and it is characterized by its use of removable frames that hold the bees’ honeycombs in place. One advantage of the Langstroth hive is that it allows the beekeeper to easily inspect the hive and perform other hive management tasks, such as adding or removing frames or checking for disease or pests. The frames can be removed and examined without disturbing the bees, making it easier for the beekeepe...
HoneyBee School & Supply

Langstroth – Pioneer of Beehives

Reverend Lorenzo Langstroth was an American clergyman and amateur entomologist who is credited with inventing the Langstroth hive, the most commonly used hive design in modern beekeeping. Langstroth was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1810 and became interested in bees and beekeeping at an early age. In 1851, Langstroth published a book called “The Hive and the Honey-Bee,” in which he described his observations of bees and their behavior, and outlined his ideas for a new type of hive that would allow the bees to build their honeycombs in a more natura...