Supersedure: when bees replace their queen
Supersedure is a colony’s natural replacement of its queen without swarming. Learn how to assess queen cells, understand the colony’s signals and decide when to intervene.
How to fit wax foundation into a frame: step-by-step guide
A step-by-step guide to wiring a frame, tensioning the wire and embedding it into wax foundation without warping or cutting the sheet. Manual and electric methods compared, estimated wire use by frame format, and workshop faults that later show up in the hive.
Homemade Asian hornet trap: how to make it properly (and why a bottle isn’t enough)
Can you trap Asian hornets with a plastic bottle and a fermented attractant? Yes. A PET bottle of 1.5 L with entrance holes of 8-9 mm, escape holes of 5 mm and an attractant made from yeast + sugar + water or from stout beer + white wine + syrup captures Vespa velutina, particularly in spring when foundress […]
Mistakes I Wouldn’t Make If I Were Starting Beekeeping
What actually kills colonies isn’t what you think. An honest, technical and unsentimental guide for anyone starting out. After a few seasons, you realise something uncomfortable: the most expensive mistakes you make at the beginning are not technical. A sting because you did not use the smoker properly, a frame that falls out, the day […]
Beekeeping taxes in Spain: VAT, income tax and registration
Understand Spain’s main tax rules for beekeepers: VAT schemes, income tax, form 036, records and the questions to check before starting honey sales.
Bee honey, blossom honey and honeydew: what is the difference?
Understand blossom and honeydew honey, compare their flavour and texture, and learn what origin labels and quality checks can really tell you.
Why honey crystallises: storage, texture and gentle warming
Understand why honey sets, how moisture and temperature affect it, how to distinguish crystallisation from fermentation, and how to warm a jar gently.
Oriental hornet (Vespa orientalis): protecting your beehives
Identify the oriental hornet, understand its annual cycle and assess entrance protection, trapping and colony support without relying on unproven guarantees.
Robbing in beehives: signs, causes and prevention
How to recognise robbing at the hive entrance, distinguish it from orientation flights, reduce feeding risks and protect vulnerable honey bee colonies.
Bee space: understanding the gaps inside a beehive
Bee space helps keep frames removable and the colony’s passageways open. Learn how it differs from frame spacing, excluder openings and the wider spacing used in honey supers.
Drifting bees: causes, consequences and prevention
Why bees enter neighbouring hives, how drifting affects an apiary and practical ways to improve entrance recognition, layout and colony health.
Is beekeeping profitable? How to calculate profitability
A practical method to calculate income, costs, labour, depreciation and break-even point for a beekeeping operation, using data from Spain.
Honey bee types: subspecies, local bees and breeding stocks
Compare European dark, Caucasian, Iberian, Carniolan, Italian and Buckfast honey bees. Understand local adaptation, breeding and the limits of stock comparisons.
Inside a honey bee colony: queens, workers and drones
Meet the queen, workers and drones: their development, changing roles, lifespan and the signals that help a honey bee colony function as a whole.
Integrated varroa control: monitoring, treatment and brood breaks
A practical approach to varroa management: measure mite levels, choose authorised treatments and plan brood breaks around the colony’s actual condition.
