Beekeeping Learning Center
Clear, practical answers to the questions beekeepers actually ask, like how much to feed, when to expect a new queen and what goes on a honey label. Every guide pairs with a free tool to do the math for you.
Overwintering
How Much Honey Do Bees Need for Winter?
Store targets by climate, how to count frames and heft a hive, the fall feeding window and what to do when a hive comes up light.
7 min read
Winter Hive Wraps and Insulation
What a wrap actually does, where it earns its place and where it is optional, and why the evidence is genuinely mixed.
8 min read
Condensation in Winter Hives
Where the water comes from, why cold drips kill and wet walls do not, and the real split between venting it out and insulating so it never forms overhead.
8 min read
Combining Weak Colonies Before Winter
Two weak colonies usually make two dead ones. Why a colony is weak matters more than the fact, and how the newspaper method works.
8 min read
When to Stop Feeding Bees in Fall
Feed 2:1 while they can still cure it, and stop before they cannot. Temperature, moisture and late brood rearing all set the window.
8 min read
Emergency Winter Feeding
Fondant, candy boards and dry sugar for when a colony is light and it is too cold for syrup. Placement matters more than the recipe.
8 min read
Why Did My Hive Die Over Winter?
How to read a deadout before you clean it up, and the one-minute test that separates the most common cause from the one people blame.
9 min read
Preparing Hives for Winter
Mites, stores, queen and moisture, in the order that decides whether a colony sees spring.
9 min read
Queen Timing
Queen Marking Colors Explained
What the queen marking colors mean, the year color code, the mnemonic, and how to mark a queen yourself.
5 min read
My Hive Swarmed, Now What?
What happens after a colony swarms, a week-by-week recovery timeline, what not to do, and when to step in.
7 min read
How to Make a Walk-Away Split
A step-by-step walk-away split, what to expect day by day, and the one rule that decides whether it works.
7 min read
When Will My New Queen Start Laying?
Realistic timelines for splits, swarms, queen cells and purchased queens, plus when checking helps and when it hurts.
7 min read
Bee Development Timeline
How long a worker, drone and queen take to develop stage by stage, and how to use the bee math chart to time splits, egg checks and brood breaks.
5 min read
Pest Management
How to Check for Varroa Mites
The alcohol wash step by step, how many bees to sample, doing the math and how it compares to a sugar roll or sticky board.
7 min read
Oxalic Acid for Varroa
Dribble, vaporization and extended release compared, why oxalic acid only works broodless, and how to dose it safely.
8 min read
Formic Acid for Varroa
The one treatment that reaches mites under the cappings and can run with supers on, plus the temperature limits that make or break it.
7 min read
Amitraz (Apivar) for Varroa
The commercial workhorse: how amitraz strips work over a brood cycle, the temperature and super rules, and why resistance means you have to rotate.
7 min read
Thymol (Apiguard) for Varroa
The essential-oil option: how thymol works, the temperature window it needs, its effect on brood, and where it fits after the harvest.
7 min read
Which Varroa Treatment Should I Use?
Pick a treatment by season, temperature, brood and whether your supers are on, with oxalic, formic, thymol and amitraz compared.
8 min read
Integrated Pest Management for Varroa
Beat mites with more than chemicals: brood breaks, drone trapping, resistant stock and monitoring working together across the season.
9 min read
When to Treat for Varroa Mites
When to test, the mite counts that should trigger a treatment, and why the late summer window decides winter survival.
8 min read
Harvest
Honey Labeling Requirements
What US law requires on a honey label: the federal basics every jar needs, when a nutrition panel is required, and how to find your own state rules.
8 min read
Selling Honey by State
Which states let you sell pure honey from your own hives without a license, which require registration, and what each label must say — all 50 states.
3 min read
Selling Honey in the UK
What UK law requires on a honey label: the reserved name, metric weight, best before date, lot number, country of origin and registering with your council.
7 min read
Selling Honey in Ireland
Mandatory DAFM registration before your first jar, the label elements, the June 2026 origin rules and how market stall sales work.
7 min read
Selling Honey in Canada
When CFIA licensing and grading apply, what every jar needs, the Ontario farm gate exemption and where your province fits in.
8 min read
When to Harvest Honey
How to tell honey is ready, how much to leave the bees, and the timing that protects both the harvest and the colony.
6 min read
Beekeeping Tools and Calculators
Jump straight to the calculators for syrup ratios, queen timelines, winter feed, honey yield, and more.
Choosing a Beekeeping App?
An honest look at what's free, what's a free tier and what's a subscription, including where the paid apps beat us.