Honey Bees
Swarm Rescue & Beekeeping Lessons
We rescue Honey bee swarms and relocate them in the Eugene and Springfield area where they can thrive.
Did you Know?
That Honey Bees are not native to North America. They were first brought here from Europe on ships around 1622.
Honey Bee Swarms
When honey bees swarm, about half of the active bees leave their hive with the queen. They fly a short distance and find a place to stage themselves and protect the queen while scout bees go out and look for a new home.
While the bees are in their swarm state, they are usually fairly calm and not prone to sting since they don't have a home they are trying to protect. Once they have settled into a bush, on a tree branch, or some other structure, the honey bees will remain there for a few hours or occasionally overnight.
This is the best time to collect the honey bees and place them into a new hive. It is the least stressful on the bees and it keeps them from building a new hive in the eve or wall of someone's home where they would have to be removed later.
Beekeeping
Honey bees could easily be considered humanity's favorite insect. We eat their honey, use the wax they make, and couldn't sustain our current agricultural practices without them as our primary pollinators.
Keeping bees is fun and rewarding, but it requires some knowledge and carefully timed work to be successful. There are a lot of great resources available, but sometimes it's nice to have an experienced beekeeper do a hive inspection with you gain hands-on knowledge and local beekeeping tips.
Honey Bee Resources
~ Books and Publications ~
This is a great introduction to beekeeping book. Whether you are just getting started or want a book that covers all of the basics, this is the book to read.
A more advanced beekeeping book. This is the book recommended for the Oregon State Master Beekeeping program.
Honey Bee Biology and Beekeeping
For truly deep dive into honey bees, this is the book that covers it all.
~ Podcasts ~
BeeKeeping Today has a four-part series on how to get started with bees beginning at Season 2 episode 16.
~ Honey Bee Health ~
Mushroom Extracts for Honey bees
This paper published by Washington State University describes how they have been able to dramaticly lower viral loads in honey bee colonies using a 1% mushroom extract fed to their bees in a sugar water solution.