We are expanding our work to develop mite-tolerant bees and strategies for other beekeepers to follow suit, and you can be part of it! We’ll be creating a bee yard with 60 hives, and each one costs about $150 to build. We’re looking for businesses, organizations, and individuals or groups who are interested in adopting … More Adopt A Hive! — Partner with Us to Help Bee Research
In addition to getting together our solar panel system, plans, and permits, we’ve been working on a grant proposal to greatly expand our bee breeding program. This application was written for nonbeekeepers. A more technical grant proposal is in the works for a beekeeper-specific organization. We have made a habit of sharing our grant proposals … More Where Have We Been? Writing a Bee Grant Proposal
This September 7th at 10 a.m., we’ll be giving a presentation on beginning beekeeping at the Edgerton Public Library. This free and public talk will go over some of the basics folks should know before taking the plunge and starting a backyard apiary. We’ll cover the bee life cycles, seasonal activities, equipment, how to get … More Upcoming Bee Presentation: Beginning Beekeeping, Sep. 7, 10:00 a.m., Edgerton Library
The Low Technology Institute is expanding its focus on honeybee research. In the next months, you’ll see blog posts describing the on-going and upcoming projects we are carrying out. Subscribe to our blog below to make sure you never miss a post. Varroa-Mite Tolerant Bee Breeding We’re selectively breeding isolated bee colonies in order to … More We’re Expanding our Bee Research. Join us!
Every year I get an email from the Bee Informed Partnership. They’re asking for beekeepers to fill out a 20- to 30-minute survey on our practices and results in our bee yards. As far as I know, this is the most comprehensive and popular survey of beekeeping in the US, netting an estimated 11 percent … More Bee Informed Partnership Releases Study Results
I recently received a call from Patrick Stutz of Stutz Photography, asking if I would help him with an upcoming show. Yahara Bay Distillery in Madison is putting on a Preserve Festival to celebrate food and its preservation. You can see an article covering the festival from the Wisconsin State Journal and find more details … More The Honey Thief — Recent Work with Stutz Photography on Display at Yahara Bay Distillery
I’ve been splitting hives since I started keeping bees 4 years ago and I’m still on my original line of bees (meaning I bought one nuc four years ago and am still going). This Saturday afternoon at 3:00 P.M. I’m going to start splitting my hives. The weather is cool, but I don’t want to … More Come Learn to Split Beehives This Weekend: 3 p.m. Saturday
In the last report, we found that the institute bees survived the “polar vortex” -30°F (plus windchill) temperatures but the research hives, which were split heavily and smaller in size, did not. It is now reaching flying temperatures most days (>50°F) and the bees in all four institute hives have been out. Institute Hives … More Bee Report — Early Spring is Here
After the polar vortex visited us with -30°F temperatures, we warmed up to the mid 40ºFs, and I took the opportunity to check on our bees. At this time of year, the bees are not hibernating, as many people think. They form a cluster around the center of the hive and shiver themselves together to … More Bee Report — Midwinter Check
The bees are preparing for winter. Last week I went into the hives to consolidate winter stores and check on the health of the colonies. We have four hives on the institute property and four hives around the village as part of our mite-tolerant breeding program. The four hives on the institute property were split … More Bee Report — Tucking the Bees in for Winter
