These guides cover the hands-on work: inspections, splits, swarm control and getting back on track after a loss, using the exact methods we use across our own apiaries.
- Written from real experience managing hundreds of colonies
- Step-by-step so you know exactly what to do and when
- Honest about what can go wrong and how to put it right
Every guide is free, practical, and based on how we actually manage our own bees.
Good colony management isn’t one clever trick. It’s a series of small, practical decisions made consistently through the season. The guides below cover the biggest colony management jobs you’ll face, from routine seasonal care to splitting hives, stopping swarms, and recovering after a loss.
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Winter beekeeping: fondant, bee space and varroa
Winter beekeeping advice on feeding fondant, checking hive stores, preventing mice and fixing bee space problems before spring.
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Supersedure in bees: can two queens live together?
Supersedure in bees: I found two queens together and explain how the brood guided my decision to replace them.
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When to add a super to a beehive
Learn when to add a super to a beehive, how to spot enough bees and how drawn comb helps them move up.
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Winter beekeeping: feeding, moving hives and cleaning
Winter beekeeping advice on syrup or fondant, hive insulation, moving colonies and cleaning spare polyhives safely.
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Abandoned beehive inspection: what I found
This abandoned beehive inspection shows how to assess old comb, heavy Varroa damage and the risks of moving a neglected colony.
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Removing a wasp nest with a bee vacuum
See what happened when I used a bee vacuum to remove a huge wasp nest hidden inside a log, and why the job became dangerous.
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Autumn beekeeping: feeding, hive space and winter checks
Autumn beekeeping advice to help you judge stores, winter hive space and treatment checks for each colony.
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Starting over after hive losses
Lost a colony over winter? Here’s how to work out what went wrong, clean your kit properly and start over after hive losses the right way.
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How to Stop Bees Swarming
Swarming is the single biggest challenge most beekeepers face. Lose a swarm and you lose half your colony, and most likely your honey crop with it.
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How to split a beehive without finding the queen.
Splitting a hive is one of the best ways to grow your apiary and prevent swarming.
