Welcome to

THE HIVE

Current Content

Welcome new members!

If you are on Instagram, please be sure to message me with the code word from your welcome email so that I can add you to my close friend list. Much of the value of your HIVE subscription comes from the day-to-day sharing that I do on there, delivering bite-sized bits of bee education that, over time, will grow into a broad understanding of bees and beekeeping.

Thank you for being here,

Christine

rushingriverapiaries

May 21
3 min

Beekeeping How-To

Queen Cells in my Nuc!

Getting a nuc is exciting, whether you're a brand new beekeeper just starting out or a veteran expanding your apiary or replacing winter...

rushingriverapiaries

May 5
1 min

Spring

Making Splits Q&A

Ahh, spring is in the air, the bees are flying, and holy &$^#@ is that a swarm cell already!? Making splits can help you grow your...

rushingriverapiaries

Apr 22
2 min

Spring

Harvest that leftover honey!

We are finding that our hives have tons of honey leftover this spring, which is not a terrible problem to have, expect that it IS a...

rushingriverapiaries

Apr 8
2 min

Spring

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

Jan 28
2 min

Spring

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 16
1 min

Disease and Pests

Chalkbrood

Chalkbrood is a fungal disease that can appear very alarming, but is usually overcome easily by your bees with a bit of intervention. We...

rushingriverapiaries

Jan 4
3 min

Equipment

Your Bee Equipment Order List

It's that time of year! Time to start preparing for the bee season ahead. Bees don't tend to wait around for their keepers to catch up,...

rushingriverapiaries

Jun 26, 2022
1 min

Beginner

Newbees, Start Here!

Your bees are on the way. Sh!t's about to get real. Here is a small collection of the very basics of getting started with bees. How to...

rushingriverapiaries

Jun 25, 2022
3 min

Beekeeping How-To

My Bees Won't Draw Comb

There are three things required to make fresh wax: young bees, lots of nectar, and heat. If any one of these is missing, your bees won't...

rushingriverapiaries

Jun 2, 2022
1 min

Beekeeping How-To

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

May 31, 2022
2 min

Beekeeping How-To

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

Apr 22, 2022
2 min

Beekeeping How-To

When to Split a Hive

Timing is everything, especially when it comes to bees. This article will help you decide when is the best time to split your hive, or...

rushingriverapiaries

Apr 13, 2022
1 min

Spring

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

Mar 28, 2022
2 min

Nucs

Boosting a Weak Nuc Above a Strong Hive

Coming out of winter, we had a handful of nucs that were not building up like they should be. They were queenright, but just had too...

What is the HIVE?

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Hi! I'm Christine McDonald from Rushing River Apiaries.

When you join my HIVE, I become your mentor and your cheerleader.

The HIVE is your one-stop-shop for straightforward and reliable advice about all things beekeeping.