bee-keeper

Tips & guides

bee-keeper is not just a logbook — it's a home for everything about bees. Tips for beginners and seasoned beekeepers.

• 🌱How to start beekeepingEverything a new beekeeper needs for the first season — equipment, location, getting bees, and the first mistakes to avoid.
• 🐝How a bee colony worksQueen, workers and drones — who does what, how the colony makes decisions, and why understanding this is the key for every beekeeper.
• 👑The queen: heart of the hiveHow to find the queen, what the year colors mean, how to spot a queenless colony, and when and how to replace her.
• 🌀Swarming: why it happens and how to prevent itSwarming is natural, but it costs you half your bees and your harvest. Here's why it happens, how to prevent it, and what to do when it does.
• 🏠Hive types: LR, DB, AŽ and horizontalWhich hive suits you — a detailed look at the most common types in our region, with the pros and cons of each.
• 🧰Beekeeping tools and equipmentWhat a beginner really needs and what can wait — and how not to waste money on things you won't use.
• 🍶Feeding bees: when, with what and how muchStimulative and winter feeding, syrup and fondant — when feeding is a lifesaver and when it's a mistake that does harm.
• 🩺Varroa under controlThe bee's worst enemy — how to measure infestation, when to treat, and how not to lose colonies over winter.
• 🍯Harvesting honey and honey typesWhen honey is ripe, how to harvest it properly, the honey types found in our region, and how to keep the quality.
• 📅The beekeeping calendar: month by monthWhat happens in the hive throughout the year — season by season, with concrete tasks and goals.
• 🦠Bee diseases and pests: spotting them and preventing themHow to recognise the most common brood and adult-bee diseases, what is dangerous and legally notifiable, and how good management keeps a colony healthy.
• ❄️Wintering: getting your bees safely through the coldA strong colony, a young queen, enough food, and protection from damp — everything a hive needs to reach spring alive and ready.
• 🌸Bee forage plants through the yearFrom willow and dandelion in early spring to acacia, linden, and meadow flowers — which plants give nectar and pollen, and how to track the forage on your own ground.
• 🫙Hive products beyond honeyPollen, propolis, beeswax, royal jelly, and bee venom — what they are, how they are harvested and stored, and why they are valuable.
• 🏷️Selling and marketing honey for small beekeepersHow to present your honey well, set a price, meet the labelling rules tidily, and find repeat customers — without a big budget.
• 🔍Inspecting a hive: how, when, and what to look forHow to open a hive without stressing the bees, exactly what to look for on the frames, and how to recognise a healthy colony — step by step.
• ✂️Splits and queen rearing: how to make new coloniesHow to turn one strong colony into two, how bees raise a queen, and how to grow your apiary on purpose — instead of waiting for a swarm to fly off.
• 🌷Spring management: building a strong colony for the main flowFrom the first inspection to opening up the nest — how to use spring so the colony is strong and ready for the first big flow, such as acacia.
• 🛡️Bee stings, protection, and allergies: what every beekeeper must knowWhy bees sting, how to reduce the number of stings, what to do when you are stung, and how to recognise a dangerous allergic reaction.
• 🚚Migratory beekeeping: chasing the flow, step by stepHow to move your bees to acacia, sunflower, or meadow, what you need for a move, and how to do it without losses or overheating the colony.
• 🔁Requeening: how and when to replace your queenThe queen is the heart of the colony — how to spot when it's time to replace her, where to source a new one, and how to introduce her safely.
• 🕯️Comb and beeswax: drawn comb, foundation and replacing old framesHow bees draw comb, foundation vs foundationless, what good and bad comb looks like, and why old black comb must be rotated out.
• 🏙️Urban and backyard beekeepingCan you keep bees on a rooftop, balcony or tiny garden — and how to do it considerately, safely and to your neighbours' delight.
• 🌻Bees and pollination: bees for your garden and orchardHow bees pollinate, what a nearby hive gives your orchard and garden, how to place bees for pollination, and how to protect every pollinator during bloom.
• 🚨Robbing: how to recognize, stop and prevent itWhen the flow stops, strong colonies plunder weak ones — how to spot robbing in time, how to stop it, and, more importantly, how to keep it from starting at all.