Healthy Bees–With beekeeper assistance

Bee-Friendly and Gentle Beekeeping

A “Power” Hive

Anything in common?

If a colony can swarm, it’s healthyfor the moment

• Was populous enough to undergo fission

• Swarming is a necessary gamble– New queen produced?– Successful home site

found?

• Food stores abundant?

This is a poor nesting site.What were the bees thinking?

Such colonies rarely survive

If the colony is producing wax, it is (generally) healthy

If bees are producing propolis, the colony is generally healthy

L.L. Langstroth

The artificial domicile

• For beekeeper benefit• Combs too straight• Colony too large• Swarming suppressed• Bee yards unnatural• Humidity issues• Combs too old• Too near the ground

Is this colony healthy or abnormal?

Standardized and Common, but

FAR FROM PERFECT