GOT QUESTIONS?
Queen outside hive?
Q. My queen came outside the hive for some reason. A. With so little context, it is difficult to give a definitive answer as to why this happened. Assuming that she came out alone [...]
Who’s in charge?
Q. Who is in charge inside the hive? The queen or the workers (foragers)? Good question. While it is commonly thought that she is called the queen because she is in charge, the hive [...]
Queenless colony?
Q. If a colony is queenless and there's no brood to raise a new queen, would they stay, swarm or die? A. If there isn’t any viable brood, they can’t raise a queen. A [...]
Do bees grieve?
Q. Do bees grieve? A. A very interesting question. First, we must ask if bees have the capacity to grieve or even feel any emotions. With only one million neurons, it is unlikely that [...]
Test for varroa?
Q. I treat my hives regularly and follow the manufacturers’ instructions to the letter. Is it really necessary to test for [varroa] mites? A. While checking for American foulbrood (AFB) is a legal obligation, [...]
Drones any good?
Q: What good are drones in my hive? Do they just eat stores and help mites? Should I remove them? A: There are between a few hundred to a couple of thousand drones in [...]