Discover expert beekeeping insights, comprehensive guides, and inspiring stories from our community of passionate hobby and commercial beekeepers. Learn proven techniques for hive management, honey production, bee health monitoring, and sustainable apiary practices to help your colonies thrive.
The holiday season is the best time of year to sell the honey you have left. Here is what beekeepers are charging in 2026, how to price gift jars and bundles, and the rules to check before your first holiday market.
Budget roughly $500–800 for your first hive in 2026, or $800–1,200 for the recommended two. Here is exactly where every dollar goes — plus the ongoing costs most guides skip.
The mite count you take in late July and August is the most consequential of the whole beekeeping year. Miss this window and the winter bees your colony is raising right now get raised sick. Here's exactly what to do — and the free tools to do it.
Amitraz — the backbone of varroa control — is failing as mites evolve resistance. But a USDA lab in Davis has a clever workaround: pair it with a compound that switches off the mite's chemical defenses. Here's what the research shows, and what it means for your hives right now.
A 16 oz jar of honey can cost a few dollars at the grocery store or about $12 from a local beekeeper — and more for a rare varietal. Here's why the price swings so wildly and what you're actually paying for with local raw honey.
Your bees don't die in January — they die in September and October, when you make the decisions winter later reveals. Here's an honest, region-aware guide to prepping hives for fall and getting them through the cold.
Summer is when beekeeping gets real. Swarms, supering, the dreaded dearth, robbing, mites, and heat all collide. Here is how to keep your colonies strong and productive through June, July, and August.
A single established hive can produce anywhere from a few jars to over a hundred pounds in a banner year. Here is what actually drives the number, what to expect your first year, and how to figure out what your honey is worth.
Most states do not require a license to keep bees - but many require you to register your hives. Here is how to tell the difference between a license, registration, and a local ordinance, and how to find the rules where you live.
Record colony losses, amitraz resistance spreading fast, and the USDA threatening to close its flagship bee lab. But a scrappy population of hybrid bees in Southern California might be showing us the way forward.
Thinking about getting into beekeeping? Before you drop hundreds on equipment, here's what nobody tells you about the real costs, time, and commitment involved.
Spring is the most critical time of the beekeeping year. Here's a practical, week-by-week checklist to make sure your colonies come through strong.
The pollination crisis is real, measurable, and accelerating. Here's what the research actually says - and why it should worry you.
After losing two hives to varroa my second year, I got serious about mite management. Here's what the evidence says works, what doesn't, and why monitoring is the single most important thing you can do as a beekeeper.
I keep three hives on a tiny lot in Philadelphia. It's completely doable, your neighbors will probably love it, and your bees might actually do better than their country cousins. Here's how to make it work.
Everybody asks if you can make money keeping bees. The honest answer is complicated. Here's a full breakdown of what backyard beekeeping actually costs, what you can realistically earn, and why the math might not matter as much as you think.
Put what you read into practice with our free calculators — or find local raw honey near you.
Estimate startup costs, yearly expenses, and honey revenue for your hives.
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Find out how much to charge for your honey by state, jar size, and channel.
Estimate how much honey you'll harvest by state, hive stage, and colony count.
Track hives, log inspections, and monitor colony health with our free app.
Log inspections, monitor colony health, and get smart reminders — free, no credit card. Built for backyard and sideline beekeepers.
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