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Welcome to
THE BUZZ
What's the Buzz?
The Buzz is a beekeeping blog by Master Beekeeper, Christine McDonald.
Through these articles, I share my experiences and advice in a way that is concise and easy to understand. If you would like me to speak at an upcoming club meeting or event, you can learn more about my speaking engagements here. And if you've found this valuable and would like to buy me a cup of tea, you can do so here.
Bee well!
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To Flip or Not to Flip
Reversing boxes in the spring is a somewhat controversial move among beekeepers. In this article, I will explain the purpose of...

rushingriverapiaries
Apr 8, 20232 min read


Managing Varroa: Brood Breaks
Mites cannot reproduce in the absence of brood. Thus, allowing a brief brood break is an effective way to slow mite population growth in...

rushingriverapiaries
Feb 27, 20232 min read


4 Ingredient Lip Balm
This is one of our market best-sellers. It's easy to make, needs only a little bit of beeswax, and produces a very effective product...

rushingriverapiaries
Feb 1, 20231 min read


Swarm Prevention
Operation keep the bees out of the trees usually starts when the first dandelions pop up. In this article, I will go through the steps...

rushingriverapiaries
Jan 28, 20233 min read


A Year of Beekeeping Tasks
There really isn't much time off when it comes to beekeeping! This list of monthly beekeeping tasks will help keep you on track and out...

rushingriverapiaries
Dec 24, 20223 min read


Making Beeswax Luminaries
They glow beautifully, fill a room with the warm scent of beeswax, and are reusable many times over. Meet, the beautiful beeswax...

rushingriverapiaries
Dec 2, 20222 min read


No Empty Space
This might be rule #1 for winter survival. No, wait, treating mites is #1, which makes this #2. Anyway, it's important. You do not...

rushingriverapiaries
Sep 24, 20223 min read


Time of Day
You might prefer working your hives in the afternoon sun in a t-shirt and flip-flops, or in the cool morning air so your full suit...

rushingriverapiaries
Sep 18, 20222 min read


Replacing a Blown Extractor Fuse
A minute ago you were spinning honey, and now the extracting room's gone quiet. Chances are, you've blown a fuse. Fixing an extractor...

rushingriverapiaries
Sep 14, 20221 min read


Using a Bee Escape Board
A bee escape board is the easiest and gentlest way to remove bees from the honey supers so that you can harvest honey. They are fairly...

rushingriverapiaries
Aug 21, 20221 min read


Harvesting Honey (Part 1)
The nectar flow is starting to wind down and it's time to get the honey off the hives and into your kitchen or extraction room. Here's...

rushingriverapiaries
Aug 12, 20223 min read


The Dreaded Dearth
Dearth is any time of year when there is not a great enough nectar supply to sustain a bee colony. During a dearth, your bees will...

rushingriverapiaries
Aug 7, 20224 min read


Culling Without Killing
When we reach mid-summer, if we have hives that are not starting to produce honey for any reason, we take them out of production. We...

rushingriverapiaries
Jul 22, 20222 min read


I Might Have Mites
No, no, you DO have mites (unless you live in Australia). The trick is keeping track of how many mites you have and knowing how to deal...

rushingriverapiaries
Jun 25, 20223 min read


Re-queening a Hive
Your hive needs a new queen. No matter how it comes about, your choices in how to ensure your hive gets a healthy new queen will be the...

rushingriverapiaries
Jun 19, 20224 min read


The Quick & Dirty
Sometimes you're in a hurry. It might be because you have a lot of hives and need to work efficiently. It might be because you fly away...

rushingriverapiaries
Jun 2, 20221 min read


The Basics of Making A Split
Making splits can be a strategy to grow your apiary, a way to earn back a bit of the small fortune you've spent on bees (if you sell the...

rushingriverapiaries
May 31, 20223 min read


Building an Electric Fence
Buckle up because this is a big one. But so is building a fence so let's do this, shall we? What you Need It really works best to draw...

rushingriverapiaries
Apr 21, 20222 min read


Reversing the Brood Chambers
Reversing the brood chambers is a classic spring move. Over the winter, bees move up from the bottom box into the top box as they...

rushingriverapiaries
Apr 13, 20221 min read


Moving Hives
Whether you're moving your bees across the yard or across the country, there are some basic principles and processes that will make the...

rushingriverapiaries
Apr 7, 20221 min read
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