In this episode of Honey Bee Obscura, Jim Tew heads into the bee yard to check on five package colonies installed earlier in the spring. What begins as a routine inspection quickly becomes a reminder of how rapidly healthy colonies can develop during a favorable season. Each colony is thriving, filling its equipment and signaling that additional space will soon be needed to prevent overcrowding and potential swarming.
Jim also revisits a topic familiar to many beekeepers: heavily propolized colonies. After several challenging years that limited regular hive inspections, he discusses the realities of managing frames that...
