DRB Beekeeping and Supplies, LLC

DRB Beekeeping and Supplies, LLC DRB Vision: "Bee Happy, Be Successful" We supply traditional beekeeping training and personal service

Good Evening Beeks. What a good way to start the unofficial Summer season by rescuing a honey bee swarm. Thank You Kev...
05/25/2026

Good Evening Beeks. What a good way to start the unofficial Summer season by rescuing a honey bee swarm. Thank You Kevin and Marcel for giving me a call. With the warm, then cool wet weather we've had, and now the warm up, this is a prime time for honey bee to swarms. With pollen being brought in, flowers beginning to bloom, temps rising, queens are going to begin laying a lot of eggs. With strong over-wintered hives, that means a population explosion and overcrowding. Colonies are feeling the need to swarm as it an integral step in the reproduction process. Today's rescue was relatively simple: A swarm was bivouac for several hours in a lilac bush, 5 feet off the ground. A simple shake of the branch, the ball of bees dropped into my swarm tub, let it set for an hour to get as many scouts back from their mission, and walla, the colony is now resting in a prepared Primal Hive in the back yard. I find it fascinating that in less than 1.5 hours in the swarm tub, the bees began to repair the wax on the brood frame that I placed in the swarm tub (sorry no pics). Honey bees are so awesome, they are definitely one of God's great creations! Have a great Summer and remember: Bee Happy, Be Successful. Tim

April 27, 2026, 33 degrees, with a high of 42 with a chance of snow and rain…throughout the week…this Black Hills weathe...
04/27/2026

April 27, 2026, 33 degrees, with a high of 42 with a chance of snow and rain…throughout the week…this Black Hills weather in April and May is why I hesitate to take off my winter hive protection until after Mother’s Day. I use this as a general guideline: until the average day and night temps average out to 50 degrees or higher for a week or more, I leave my insulation on. Beekeeping is local, so it maybe different in your area or elevation. Bee Happy, Be Successful. Tim.

Good Morning Beeks. Checked some colonies yesterday and found most were doing well, but one not so well. The healthy loo...
03/29/2026

Good Morning Beeks. Checked some colonies yesterday and found most were doing well, but one not so well. The healthy looking colony is just that, but with populations being so high, so early in the season, the healthy colony was just days from looking like the one that died. The deadout is a classic case of starvation. Though I was feeding fondant throughout the winter months, high populations plus warm weather makes for active bees. Active bees eat more resources. Fortunately I was able to supplement the other colonies in the apiary with pollen paddy, fondant and sugar syrup and hopefully the extra resources are in time! Learn from my mistakes Beeks, check those hives now and ensure they have resources until the natural nectar and pollen flow. Bee Happy, Bee Successful! Tim

Good morning Beeks! I wanted to drop you a note about an exciting event which happened a week ago. While visiting some...
03/14/2026

Good morning Beeks! I wanted to drop you a note about an exciting event which happened a week ago. While visiting some friends in Arizona, my friends, wife and I hiked a trail called Echo Canyon adjacent to the Camel Back hills near Phoenix. When we hit the trail head, the “use caution, active bees in the area” naturally caught my eye. While moving down the trail, our friend Tina, saw comb hanging on one side of the rock walls, about 30 yards off the trail. It was an exposed comb nest, most likely a home to an Africanized honey bee colony. It was not active and it looked abandoned. I was explaining what Africanized honeybees were to a few folks, and a hiker passing by indicated that the colony nest had been there for years, with no activity. Needless to say, when it was active and only 30 yards off the trail, it was probably the reason for the warning sign at the trailhead. European Honey Bees (Apis mellifera) in S. America were Africanized by breeding with African Queens (Apis mellifera scutellata), in an effort to make a hybrid bee more adaptable to the tropical environments. As Africanized Hony Bee (AHB) colonies occupied managed apiaries, drones with Africanized DNA now bred with more European bee queens in DCAs, which spread Africanized traits and behaviors all over S. America, where it is still prevalent today. Colonies migrated to the Southern U.S. in the 1990s where their DNA still survives today. With the open mating practices in the South and up the East and West Coasts, it’s easy to see why we occasionally get “hot hives” when we purchase NUCs, packages and queens from areas with known Africanized activity. It’s becoming more important to stay LOCAL, using splits, NUCs and queens from local beekeepers and bee club members. Keep on keeping and we’ll see you in the apiaries. Bee Happy, Be Successful. Tim

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