Ethan Brooks

Installing your first nucleus colony is one of the most exciting milestones in beekeeping. When I installed my first nuc into a full hive body, I spent hours watching YouTube videos and rereading my notes because I was terrified of making a mistake. The good news is that the process is straightforward once you understand … Read more

A hive inspection is a hands-on checkup of your bee colony. You open the boxes, look at the frames, and assess whether the queen, brood, and food stores are healthy. I run inspections on every colony in my apiary and I still learn something new in . This guide walks you through how to do … Read more

If you’ve ever stared at your hive at 7 a.m. with your smoker in hand, wondering whether today is the day to peek inside, you’re not alone. I remember my first season checking frames every few days until a mentor said something that stuck with me: “Every time you open the box, you’re tearing down … Read more

Learning how to read a frame eggs larvae capped brood and stores is the single most important skill a beekeeper can develop. After you crack open a hive and lift out a frame, the comb is telling you a story about the queen’s status, the colony’s health, and the food supply ahead. I’ve been inspecting … Read more

Choosing a beehive is the first big decision any new beekeeper makes, and the three designs that dominate backyard and small-scale apiaries are the Langstroth, the Top Bar, and the Warre. Each one manages bees in a fundamentally different way, and the management differences between them affect how often you will inspect, how much you … Read more

If you keep bees long enough, there comes a day when a hive needs to move. Maybe the afternoon sun is too harsh, a neighbor complained, or you found a better spot with morning light and wind protection. Whatever the reason, relocating a colony is one of the most nerve-wracking tasks a beekeeper faces, and … Read more

Every piece of brood comb inside your hive is slowly accumulating problems. Pesticides soak into the wax, disease spores hide between cocoon layers, and the cells themselves shrink as bees emerge over and over again. Smart comb management means knowing when to rotate out old brood comb before these issues weaken the colony. I have … Read more

Choosing between a single vs double brood box is one of the first big decisions a beekeeper makes, and the right answer depends heavily on where you live. I have run both setups across three different climates over the past decade, and I can tell you the “best” choice is rarely universal. This guide breaks … Read more

If you are setting up your first Langstroth hive, one of the biggest decisions you will face is whether to use wax or plastic foundation in your frames, or let your bees build comb naturally. The foundation vs foundationless beekeeping debate has strong advocates on both sides, and for good reason. Each method comes with … Read more

Winter is the hardest season for a honey bee colony. When temperatures drop and nectar disappears, your bees survive on whatever honey they stored. If those stores run low, a candy board for bees can mean the difference between a thriving spring colony and a dead hive. I have been making and installing candy boards … Read more