If a beekeeper lives anywhere near bears, it is important that they know how to protect their hive. In the United States, specifically in the west coast, Northeast regions, in the Rocky Mountains, and some parts of Alaska, black bears are the most common type of bear that beekeepers need to worry about. Most black…
Read more
If you have free land available for agricultural purposes, you might be deciding to put it to good use. Greenbelt laws are laws (that differ by state) that dictate that if the primary use of a property is for bona fide agricultural purposes or “good faith commercial agricultural use,” the property owner can pay significantly…
Read more
As climate change, disease, and a variety of other factors jeopardize the future of honey bees, farmers are implementing practices on their own land to support bees and other pollinators. This includes planting cover crops. What Are Cover Crops? Cover crops are crops planted to improve soil quality and promote sustainability rather than to produce…
Read more
LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, and it is a globally recognized green building certification program created by the U.S. Green Building Council. AS of 2019, there are almost 70,000 LEED certified buildings in the U.S.. To become LEED certified, a building must reach a certain number of points by having resource-efficient,…
Read more
You can now get a taste of what the ancient gods and kings drank. Mead, commonly known as “honey wine,” is an alcoholic drink made with honey, wine, and yeast (for fermentation). Similar to beer, it can be flavored with fruits, spices, and grains, but it isn’t quite beer and is stronger than beer, ranging…
Read more
We’ve learned that we use a variety of products that come from bees—from honey to propolis to beeswax products. There is an infinite number of ways to incorporate bee products into daily life…and one of those ways is by using beeswax wraps! What are beeswax wraps? Beeswax wraps are wraps used in the kitchen to…
Read more
The fruits and vegetables we eat to sustain our health are all made possible by the pollination of bees. However, bees’ impact goes far beyond the food we eat—perhaps the most well-known product in our household, honey, is a byproduct of bees. In addition to honey, products made from beeswax, propolis, royal jelly, pollen, and…
Read more
It is well known that Varroa destructor mites are one of the honeybee’s (Apis mellifera) worst enemies. Since Western honey bees do not possess the defense mechanisms to fend off non-native parasites, the mites can transmit deadly viruses to the bees. Seeing that Varroa mites have such a damaging effect on honey bees, numerous articles…
Read more
Before you start selling your honey, you need to make sure that it complies with federal, state, and local regulations. There are federal labeling standards that your honey should adhere to. Common Name First, the “common” name of the product should be visible on the label—in this case, “honey” should be clearly visible. If the…
Read more
Without bees, we would not have many of the vegetables and fruits we eat every day. Pollinators such as bees, birds, bats, beetles, and other small insects pollinate over 1,200 crops. Between $235 and $577 billion of annual global food production depends on the direct contributions of pollinators, and almost one out of every three…
Read more