A properly strapped hive with a 2-person hive carrier is a backsaver. On uneven ground, in the dark, on muddy ground, strapping and using a carrier avoids many potential problems and injuries. The hive pictured is ready for pickup by 2 people with each beekeeper taking the handle on a side.

Do not forget your disposable gloves and leave your tools in the car or at home unless otherwise requested. Use the tools and equipment of the host so as to avoid bringing any contamination, particularly brood disease, into the apiary. A clean bee suit or jacket is also recommended, although transfer of pathogens or pests by glove or hive tool is much more likely.

Bumble gum.

A properly strapped hive with a 2-person hive carrier is a backsaver. On uneven ground, in the dark, on muddy ground, strapping and using a carrier avoids many potential problems and injuries. The hive pictured is ready for pickup by 2 people with each beekeeper taking the handle on a side.

Buzz cuts.

When moving a couple hives, securing the boxes of a stack together with cam lock buckle straps can be the fastest way to move them. Run at least one strap over the inner cover but under the telescoping lid; then place the telescoping lid on and another strap over the lid. The inner strap can lie flat against the sides of the inner cover, the hive boxes and the bottom board and keep them all in line. This prevents the slippage of ratchet style straps that can allow bees to esc

A bee on an airplane.

Beauty And The Bees.

Not if it’s installed in the bee shed or on your porch . It's a great way to see how many bees you need to remove from the back of your suit before you start to take it off.

Swarm here isn't it!

During hive inspections, reduce light stress on bees by covering boxes with an inner cover or even a piece of plywood House bees don’t often see the light of day until they progress to the foraging state. They are happiest being kept in the dark. When removing boxes from the hive stack, cover those boxes with extra inner covers or pieces of cardboard, etc. to calm the bees.

Because bees come after them.

Buckets are easy totes but bucket lids can fit too tightly. A bucket lid that doubles as a seat can be the perfect solution and can ensure the lid does get put back on, keeping fuel dry even if the bucket is rained on. For use of newspaper, egg carton & rolled burlap strips as fuel, see Joe Dunsmire's demo for lighting a smoker at https://youtu.be/tbzBOLVJNpw .

(Thankfully, no honey bees were injured in making this clip.)

When persistent defenders of the hive stay with a beekeeper after walking away from the hive, sometimes walking around a tree or building to the north side to enter deep shade will cause the bees to return to their home. This avoidance of deep shade is also used when robbing is discouraged or stopped by leaning a large piece of plywood or other opaque panel to completely shade the entrance of a vulnerable hive.

Spelling bees.

In order to keep bees calm, avoid stepping on them by never placing frames or boxes of bees directly on the ground. Beekeepers often take the outer lid off, turn it over and place it on the ground as a base for the hive boxes they take off.Injured bees release alarm pheromone to alert the rest of the colony. In order to keep all the bees calm, avoid stepping on them by never placing frames or boxes of bees directly on the ground. Beekeepers often take the outer lid off, turn

A May bee. Or a May bee not.

Having a lit smoker at hand is always a good idea; Murphy’s Law tells us that if we have it, we won’t need it. However, if we fail to have it on hand, we may need it. The unexpected is normal in beekeeping; the bees don’t read the manuals that we beekeepers do. Bees in the spring, particularly in small hives or nucs are so focused on spring buildup that they often hardly seem to notice the beekeeper’s invasion of their home. They may need minimal distraction, if any. Thi

They become maybees.