BeeKeepClub’s Beekeeping Blog

Bees do more to save the world than we could ever do, as they are an integral part of our ecosystem and work to keep the planet healthy. It might also surprise you that there are over 20,000 species of bees that we know about in the UK. From bumblebees, honeybees and solitary bees, each species contributes a lot to the UK's environmental balance and the planet's wellbeing. Let’s take a look at why bees are important.

Water is universal and a necessity for all living creatures, including honeybees. Both feral and domesticated bees require a reliable source of clean water for their survival throughout the year. Water is not only needed for quenching thirst but is also used for other important purposes in the honeybee colony. It is useful during hot and colder months and thus colonies should be situated near a clean water source.

Bee bearding is one those occurrences that might cause panic to a beginner beekeeper. Fortunately, you do not have fret over it. Join us as we explain all about it. This behavior is entirely natural and should not cause worry to the beekeeper.

Pesticides have been in use for nearly centuries, mainly formulated to kill insects and pests that target crops and cause harm. There exists a wide variety of pesticides that are used in agricultural operations. These chemicals might benefit the crops in terms of eliminating the pests and insects but they come with serious effects to the environment and its biodiversity. Harmful pesticides cause serious harm to birds, animals, human beings, and aquatic organisms. This has therefore raised a lot of concern, especially among organizations that are concerned with environmental sustainability and stability. Of concern are the commonly used pesticides that comprise compounds such as herbicides, nematicides, fungicides, molluscicides, insecticides, rodenticides, and many others. Pesticides are mainly aimed at inducing lethal damage to specific target pests or insects. Nonetheless, this has not been the case, thereby posing a serious risk to the non-target species, which could also include human beings. It is therefore best advised that farmers adopt pesticide alternatives for agricultural operations. In this article, we'll discuss pesticide alternatives that can be used in place of harmful chemicals.

Bees play a key role for the survival of the human race and therefore we have a responsibility of ensuring their survival. A bee population increase will benefit the environment given the many benefits they provide to all living creatures and plants.

Perhaps you have come across the name Melipona bee and wondered what it is. There is also so much hype on the benefits of Melipona honey. What exactly is the Melipona bee and does its honey have more benefits than any other honey? Well, we shall delve into all these in this article.

Cross comb is a type of comb that is drawn by honey bees that connects two beehive frames. It is one of the many types of comb that are built in places where the beekeeper does not want comb to be built. Cross comb is a result of bees extending comb horizontally and the comb encroaching into the space of the adjacent beehive frame. It usually results in the comb of two frames joining. Cross comb makes beehive inspections difficult or nearly impossible. It also reduces the space available to bees to use in the beehive if it gets built across many or large areas of honeycomb. For these reasons, beekeepers are not happy with cross comb in their beehives. They aim to prevent the building of cross comb, or remove it when they find it already built.

Regular beehive inspection is important in monitoring the progress of your bees. You are able to identify problems early and solve them. Inspecting your beehive is important for both the beekeeper with a single beehive and those with apiaries. Different beehives have their unique inspection and maintenance schedules. Some hives may easily go for a long time without needing inspection while others may require weekly inspections. Beehives in their first year generally require more frequent inspections. In its second year, the hive will require considerably less inspections.

Bees are an important species impacting many aspects of human life, particularly agriculture. Plant production in agriculture requires fertilization of plant gametes. This is enabled by pollination, which is largely about the transfer of pollen grains from one section of the flower to another. In the best cases of pollination, pollen from one plant is transferred to another plant of the same species. This is called cross pollination. Genetic diversity in plants of the same species is better with cross pollination than with self pollination or vegetative growth of new plants. This article discusses the importance of honey bees in agriculture, and gives you a perspective on the roles all species play in sustaining life on Earth and how they impact ecosystems.

Beekeeping is a fun hobby for many, but perhaps you want to take it a bit further - to turn it into a profitable business. Starting a honey business will require you to properly plan and prepare before starting any operation. You will need adequate resources to buy the materials and equipment you will need. It is also useful to have some knowledge about beekeeping and the know how of running a business in general. This guide on how to start a honey business details all of what you will need before getting into this sweet venture. Let's get started.