BroodMinder

Each beekeeper you meet is an aspect of yourself

Way back on November 5 the Virginia State Beekeepers Association (VSBA) had their annual Fall Meeting at Blue Ridge Community College in Weyers Cave, Virginia. Speakers for the one-day meeting included Dr. Kirsten Traynor and Dr. Wyatt Mangum. I took some notes and have been meaning to write up a short summary of the event, so here it is. Continue reading →

He that would have honey must endure the cackling of mites

My view of varroa mites and how to handle them has evolved this past year. I started out as a beekeeper not wanting to treat for mites. Then became a beekeeper who wasn’t worried about the mites because he had first year hives. Then finally a beekeeper who monitored for mites and treated during our warm winter. Around November 2015 I started recording the mite drop on my two Langstroth hives every few days. With the onset of spring weather I stopped (this past weekend), so it must be time to post some results. I also have some temperature readings from my BroodMinder devices to compare with this data. Continue reading →

Hey-bee it’s cold outside

151206 BroodMinder 2

Placing a BroodMinder sensor on top of Mars on December 6.

I received my BroodMinder “Health Telemetry Sensor” devices this past week. It was a good week to have temperature and humidity sensors, as it’s been colder here with some hard frosts overnight multiple days in a row. Mind you, this is Virginia, so it’s been warm with the bees flying in the afternoons. This weekend we’re expecting temperatures near 70 (21 C), so don’t feel too bad for me or the bees.

I thought I would share some initial experience with the device and some changes I’ve already made to the hives as a result of the readings. Continue reading →