Author Archives: Dave

About Dave

While recovering from heart bypass surgery I started to study honeybees. I had already been keeping mason bees for fun and I guess the honeybees were a natural progression. My first thought was to just go the traditional route since I have a beekeeper friend nearby, but the more I studied and learned the further I drifted from the idea. I ran across the Biobees website and forum and started to feel that they were singing my song. I built a Kenya top bar hive and while running my mouth about my newfound passion, I located my first cutout. Once the bees were in the hive I was hooked and the rest of the story is found throughout my website and this blog. From the bees and me, thank you for caring.

Earth, Weeds, and Bees – All gifts to be cherished.

Posted on April 27, 2012 by Dave

The month of April is a month to reconnect with our precious Earth. This is the month of Earth Day and Arbor Day; days for true reflection on what we as individuals might do to make a difference. While many … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping Naturally | Tagged arbor day, bees, blog, clover, creatures, dandelions, dave's bees, davesbees, dave’s blog, disease, earth, earth day, flowers, grow, health, home, honeybees, lawn chemicals, lawn weeds, life, micro organisms, microorganism, nature, nectar, nontarget, plantain pollinators, plants, pollen, products, soil, species, spray, spraying, target, weeds | 4 Comments

Mason Bees – A Safety Measure for Early Emergence.

Posted on March 27, 2012 by Dave

We have had some pretty wild weather this year and mason bees could get the signal to emerge really early. If you have them in a controlled environment then you will just proceed as you normally would. But if you … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping Naturally | Tagged bee, bees, davesbees, emerge, emergence, emerging, mason, mason bee, natural beekeeping, releasing, solitary | 2 Comments

Systemic Pesticides Are Killing Bees! What Else Might They Be Killing?

Posted on February 23, 2012 by Dave

Imidacloprid and Clothianidin are killing our honeybees and our governments know it. This is not a new finding by any stretch of the imagination. They have known for years and there is a really good chance that they knew all … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping Naturally | Tagged bee, bees, blog, CCD, chemicals, clothianidin, colony collapse disorder, davesbees, dave’s, food, honeybees, imidacloprid, insecticides, insects, killing, kills, neonicotinoid, neonicotinoids, parts of a plant, poison, pollinators, systemic pesticides, toxic, video, videos, what is killing bees | 4 Comments

How to Start Beekeeping in 6 Easy Steps

Posted on January 31, 2012 by Dave

1. Get a couple of books on Beekeeping. You have generally 3 choices of hives; the Langstroth type hive, top bar hives, and the Warre hive; we’ll talk about them in step 3. I really think the Beekeeping for … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping Naturally | Tagged anap, as natural as possible, bait hives, Beekeeping for Dummies, beekeeping tools, bees, blog, books on beekeeping, build a beehive, build your own hive, buy a top bar hive, davesbees, dave’s, feral swarms, find a mentor, free honeybees, How to build a beehive, how to start beekeeping, Kenya top bar hive, KTBH, Langstroth, The Barefoot Beekeeper, top bar hives, Warre hive | Comments Off

Free Mason Bees – Quick and Easy

Posted on January 7, 2012 by Dave

Get set up for mason bees or other solitary bees now. This is the season to get all straightened out for the spring season. If you have to pull tubes or straws now is a good time to do it. … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping Naturally | Tagged alfalfa leafcutter, bee, bees, block, books, box, buy, children, clean, cocoons, cuckoo, davesbees, dave’s, free, home, hornfaced, How to, inspect, kit, mason, mating, nature, nest, order, predatory, project, raise, raising, reeds, release box, solitary, starter, straws, tubes, video, videos, wasp | Comments Off

Skunked

Posted on December 28, 2011 by Dave

Our bees are all gone. We left Ohio with 3 hives; 1 overstuffed 10 frame and 2 – 8 frame hives. By the time we got to Maine the 10 frame had suffocated; it was a terrible mess. The smaller … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping Naturally | Tagged beehives, bees, damage, davesbees, dave’s blog, hives, Honeybees dying, killing, Langstroth, skunk, skunks, what is killing bees | 2 Comments

Swarms Galore

Posted on June 11, 2011 by Dave

We have had a really great start to the swarm season here in the Wheeling area. There are no empty Dave’s Bees originated hives. The dead out was filled with a great swarm retrieved in a cardboard box and it … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping Naturally | Tagged bait hives, bees, blog, davesbees, honeybees, how to bait a swarm, kenya top bar hives, KTBH, langstroth hives, natural beekeeping, picture of bait hive, swarm picture | Comments Off

Screened Mason Bee Blocks

Posted on June 11, 2011 by Dave

The Mason bees are done for this year at Dave’s Bees. We decided to put a screen over the front of the blocks to keep the woodpeckers and wasps from opening the holes. We used aluminum window screen with push … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping Naturally | Tagged blocks, blue orchard bee, davesbees, mason bee, nest, nests, orcahrd, pests, screen | Comments Off

Honeybee Survival Report 2010 – 2011

Posted on May 27, 2011 by Dave

We presently have just 2 Langstroth hives with no intention to expand prior to moving to Maine. These 2 hives actually went to Maine and back last fall and wintered well back here in Ohio. That leaves the 2 populated … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping Naturally | Tagged 2010, 2011, Apiary, davesbees, honeybee, honeybees, kenya top bar hives, KTBH, langstroth hives, nayural beekeeping, rescue, survival report, swarm, winter losses | Comments Off

Poison in our Food

Posted on May 13, 2011 by Dave

Imidacloprid and Clothianidin are Killing Bees…is that all they are killing? You should first search “systemic pesticides” to learn how they work. Don’t take my word for it, do your homework, this is very important! I typed the following in my … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping Naturally | Tagged acetamiprid, bees, clothianidin, crops, davesbees, food, honeybees, imidacloprid, insecticides, killing, neonicotinoids, nitenpyram, poison, systemic pesticides, thiacloprid, thiamethoxam, toxic, what is killing bees | 2 Comments