Plain Talk: Five Nice Hives (286)
About this episode
Jim Tew inspects five package colonies and discusses the challenges of managing heavily propolized frames while testing a new tool.
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 have become firmly glued in place. This leads to a field test of an oscillating multi-tool as a possible aid for cutting through propolis and freeing stuck frames. Working directly in the apiary, Jim evaluates whether the tool offers practical value or is simply another interesting beekeeping experiment. Along the way, he shares observations about package colony growth, the effects of warm weather on propolis consistency, the challenges of working with plastic frames in heavily propolized colonies, and his continuing curiosity about beekeepers who successfully…
Sponsors
Betterbee
More episodes of Honey Bee Obscura Podcast
- Archive Special: Removing Honey (292)
- Plain Talk: Hot Bees, Ants and Weeds (291)
- A Small Open Colony (290)
- Plain Talk: Hot Bees (289)
- Archive Special: Working Bees in the Heat (288)
- Plain Talk: Tall Grass In The Bee Yard (287)
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Honey Bee Obscura Podcast podcast page.