Category: Bees

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2025 Spring Bee Packages/Queens Pickup Info for April 22-26

 

Dear Beekeeper,

Hooray!! Your bee packages and queens are arriving on Tuesday, April 22! We’re doing pickups a little differently this year to help reduce long lines and bee more customer friendly 😊

If you have already arranged an appointment with us for your bee pickups, we’ll see you at your scheduled timeframe!

If you have not scheduled a timeframe with us to pickup your bees, we’re offering the following three-hour windows starting Tuesday afternoon, April 22 and running through Saturday, April 26. You may choose any of the timeslots below to pick up your bees:

Package/Queen Pickups:

  • Tuesday, April 22:
    • 2 – 5 p.m.
  • Wednesday, April 23-Friday, April 25:
    • 8 – 11 a.m.
    • 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
    • 2 – 5 p.m.
  • Saturday, April 26:
    • Anytime between 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.
    • This is the last possible day for packages and queens pickup

Pick-Up Address: Great Lakes Bee Company, 5973 S. Warner Avenue, Fremont, MI  49412

Beekeepers can take 25% equipment during pick-up.

Check or Cash helps keep costs down. If you prefer to use a card, a 3% card fee will be added at time of payment. Payments will be due at pick up.

Any questions – text (231) 335-0929 or email info@greatlakesbeeco.com

See you soon!

– Great Lakes Bee Company 

P.S. If you also ordered bee nucs from us, we’ll send nuc pickup information as it gets closer to that pickup date on May 10!

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April in the Hive

 

Good friend of the Great Lakes Bee Company Larry Hasselman once told us “the hardest part of beekeeping is lighting the smoker!” Beekeeping novices and veterans alike may find themselves needing to refamiliarize themselves with their beekeeping equipment as spring rolls around.

Let’s walk through the basic and most essential equipment to help you get started!

Hive Tool

  • Hive tools are an essential and versatile piece in your beekeeping toolkit. When bees glue everything in the hive together, the hive tool allows you to detach the combs from the sides of the hive, cut and scrape propolis, and even remove nails or take apart boxes.

Smokers and fuel

  • Bees are naturally aggressive creatures, which is why beekeepers use smokers to make their bees docile. Smokers mask the pheromones let out by guard bees, which minimizes the defensive reaction from the colony, allowing for effective and safe hive inspections.

Queen clip

  • Queen clips are used to pick up or hold a queen bee. The clip acts as a cage that contains the queen, but the bars still permit worker bees to pass through and attend to the queen’s needs. The clip helps protect the queen during any work that needs to be done inside the hive.

Feeders

  • Feeders are convenient for feeding bees and checking on your sugar syrup levels without needing to open your beehive. Typical entrance feeders have a jar filled with syrup that drips onto a tray, which is inserted to the front of the hive.

Protective gear

  • The most important equipment in your arsenal will be your protective gear. Veils and gloves protect your head and face from any arrant aggressive bees, and prevent stings.

All of this equipment and more is available in our online store!

AND … If you’re looking to purchase bees, we still have 5 Frame Nucs and Mated Queens available for purchase online!

Our 2025 Spring Bee Pick-Ups dates are:

  • Packages & Queens: Tentatively scheduled for Saturday, April 19
  • Nucs: Confirmed for Saturday, May 10
  • Location: Great Lakes Bee Company, 5973 S. Warner Avenue, Fremont, MI 49412
  • More info: https://bit.ly/2025_GLBC_BeePickups
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2025 Spring Bee Pickup Info and Dates: What you need to know

 

 

IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT BEE PICK-UP DATES

If you’ve ordered bees for the 2025 season, bee pick-ups are currently scheduled for:

• Packages & Queens: Tentatively scheduled for Saturday, April 19
• Nucs: Confirmed for Saturday, May 10

Time: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Pick Up Address:
Great Lakes Bee Company
5973 S. Warner Avenue
Fremont, MI 49412

Check or Cash helps keep costs down. If you prefer to use a card, a 3% card fee will be added at time of payment. Payments will be due at pick up.

Packaged bees and 5 frame nucs:
These are contained and easy to transport. They will need air and circulation, but no additional box or covering is needed.

We have a wide variety of woodenware and bee equipment available for purchase at pick up.

Keep your eye out for more updates as we get closer!

Any questions – text (231) 335-0929 or email info@greatlakesbeeco.com

We can’t wait to see you as you pick up your bees!

– Great Lakes Bee Company

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Paint and show off your hives!

 

Now that the weather in West Michigan is slowly but surely getting warmer and sunnier, you may be eager to get out of your house and into your hives! Though it’s not quite time to get bees into their boxes yet, you should still be preparing your equipment and hives for when that day comes.

Painting your boxes can be a fun and beneficial project this time of year. Many people have found that painting their hives helps them weather the elements and may make the hives last longer. Some even use paint as a way to camouflage their colonies in the environment. However, you must take care during certain parts of the process so you don’t damage the hives or endanger your bees.

Start by coating the exterior of the hive in primer. Oil-based exterior primer works best for weather protection, but any house primer should get the job done. Primer is important to seal and protect the wood, and will help final coats of paint adhere to the surface better. Make sure you’re only painting the outside pieces of the hives, and allow ample time for the primer to dry before you move onto the final painting process.

It’s also important to consider what type of paint you’re using. In general, look for water-based paints that are rated for their exterior use, or eco stains. You can find information on volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, which are chemicals that evaporate out of the paint as it dries. To prevent chemicals from affecting your bees and their pheromones, look for paints with VOCs under 100. We recommend ECOS paints, which are zero-VOC with good coverage, adhesion, and mildew resistance.

Now it’s time to paint! Unless you’re opting to camouflage your boxes, feel free to get creative. One thing to consider when choosing colors is that darker paints may cause the hive to get too hot in the summer sun. However, this may be to your benefit if you live in a cooler area. Lighter, reflective colors will be beneficial for those in warmer climates as they tend to keep the hives cool. Depending on the design, you may be able to get a good mix of both. This may be a good opportunity for you to get together with your community of local bee keepers! Work on building new hives or preparing your old ones by hosting a painting party. This can also be a great activity for children, who may come up with their own unique designs.

Have you painted your hive boxes before, or are planning a painting party? Send photos to our Facebook, or tag us in your posts! We’d love to feature your work on our social pages.

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March in the Hive

 

It’s time to think spring! March is all about getting your apiary ready. Depending on the climate in your area, you can perform regular checks on the hives. On the warmest days, you can clean out your hives and inspect the status of the bees; check out January and February in the hive for last minute tips. There is still a chance that your bees are alive, but may not make it much longer if the temperatures continue to fluctuate. Don’t be discouraged if your bees didn’t overwinter! Michigan winters can be unpredictable. Instead, look forward to the new season, and decide what you’d like to change or do differently.

This is a great time to restock your supplies, or look into upgraded equipment. Before your supplies run out, order early to ensure you get them in time. You can also check out our options for bee packages. They will be available at GLBC in early to mid-April, with nucs coming early in May. If you’re wondering what kind of bees to get this year, check out our “No Bad Bees” blog, where we discuss the options available in our store and their pros and cons.

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No Bad Bees

 

Even though the blustery winter weather is upon us, it’s not too early to think spring. And with spring, comes bees!  If you’re thinking about purchasing a new batch of bees, Great Lakes Bee Company offers different types of honey bees to choose from, each with their own unique benefits. Let’s go through the types of bees we offer, and you can decide which is right for you!

Italian Honeybee

  • These are some of the most widely used race of honey bees. They are known for their prolific brood cycles and production, gentle nature, and their reluctance to swarm. They are also excellent foragers and are known for being strong comb builders. However, this Italian breed consume resources at a rapid pace due to their long brood cycles, and they are notorious for robbing the reserves of weaker or neighboring hives. Italian honey bees also tend to have more difficulty with pests and are more prone to collapse because of this. Despite that, the Italian honeybee is still used by both novice and experienced beekeepers alike.

Carniolan Bee

  • Another popular bee among novices, the Carniolan bee is favored for their docile nature. Carniolan bees are also renowned for their long tongues, which help them pollinate crops like clover, meaning they have more sources of nutrition for the colony than the traditional strain of honey bee stock, and because of their origin in central and Eastern Europe, Carniolan bees are best at foraging in colder climates. Carniolan honeybees are also some of the most efficient workers, due to their ability to adjust worker population relative to nectar availability, creating periods of high nectar with high worker population. This creates large quantities of honey and pollen during those periods.

Saskatraz Honeybee

  • Saskatraz bees are a newer addition to the beekeeping world, a recently developed breed where scientists aimed to create a honeybee breed with strong resistance to pests and diseases. More recently, Saskatraz honeybees have undergone more selective breeding processes to try and increase stability of the varroa tolerant trait. Due to their highly selective breeding process, Saskatraz bees are harder to acquire than other breeds of honeybee. The specificity of their foraging behaviors may affect their honey production in certain environments, meaning supplemental feeding may be necessary. You can read more about this new breed on OHBees!

Golden West Honeybee

  • The Golden West Bees originated in the California foothills, where a family of beekeepers began to selectively breed their bees when they noticed one of their hives were able to completely avoid mite infestation. From this breeding, Golden West queens have become notable for colonies that are very gentle and healthy, exhibited above average honey production, and proved strong for almond pollination, on top of their increased mite resistance.

Now that you know a little more about the different honeybees we offer, head on over to our online shop to explore your options for the upcoming season! Keep in mind that there are no bad bees, and a flexible beekeeper who has careful consideration of their hives will often have the best results!

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January in the Hive

 

Entering the new year with even colder temperatures can be nerve-wracking for any beekeeper. Here are some tips for checking on your bees without too much disturbance to the hive:

  • If there is snow on the ground, check the areas around your hive. There may be brown spots signaling that the bees have recently had the strength to fly outside and relieve themselves. There may be visible dead bees outside, particularly in areas with heavy snowfall, but this should not be cause for alarm.
  • The easiest way to check on your bees from outside the hive is to listen to them. Stand, or kneel, at the corner of a hive. Set your shoulder against one surface and bend your neck so your ear is flat against the hive body, just around the corner. Other keepers have found success listening through the walls of their hive with a stethoscope. You should be able to hear the familiar buzzing of your bees. Even a faint whisper is a good sign of life.
  • If you discover that your bees did not survive over winter, don’t be discouraged! Over wintering bees in cold climate is challenging, especially with temperature fluctuations and length of the winter temperatures. When warmer weather comes, take time to inspect the hive to determine what caused the colony to die; Beekeeping Made Simple’s Hive Autopsy may help figure this out. Take steps to clean equipment, learn, treat neighboring hives if needed, etc.
  • Some dead bees may have piled up by the entrance. This is normal for the wintertime as morgue bees may not risk venturing outside to dispose of the dead. You can help them by using a long, flat stick or metal rod to sweep out the dead bodies from the entrance and from along the sides and corners of the hives.
  • You can also check the weight of your colony. In January, it should still feel heavy compared to their fall weight, because bees do not use up much of their honey in the early winter. If your hive feels too light, you can provide extra food for your bees, like loose sugar or fondant. However, once you start feeding you may encourage the bees to move upwards, prematurely leaving some stores behind. If you provide supplemental feed, keep doing it regularly until the bees can forage again.

 

 

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December in the Hive

 

Winter should be a quiet time for your bees. Take a look at our November In The Hive blog for any last-minute preparation you may be doing to prepare your bees for cold weather. You should avoid disturbing the beehive too much during this time, but occasional checks can help you identify issues early.

Keep your eyes out for signs of disease, pests or deceased bees in or around the hives entrance. If you can hear a quiet hum outside of your hive, that is a good sign that your bees are actively maintaining their temperature.

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DIY Beeswax Holiday Ornaments

 

As you get ready for the holiday season, you’re probably spending less time with your hives, which means more time decorating! Handmade beeswax ornaments can save you some expenses this year, and use up any extra beeswax you might have lying around. They also make for a great children’s craft!

To make beeswax ornaments, start by melting your beeswax over low heat on the stove. You can add essential oil or fragrances for extra holiday flair. If you have silicone molds, you can prep them with vegetable spray and pour the wax directly into the molds and leave to harden. You can also pour cold water onto a plate, place cookie cutters, and distribute the wax evenly. Then poke holes into the wax and add ornament holders, twine, fishing line, or ribbon to hang your ornaments on your Christmas tree or holiday garlands.

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November in the Hive

 

You should already be preparing your hives for colder weather by providing plenty of food for your bees and insulating the hive, but November means your bees may be entering dormancy.

A strong hive won’t need much help feeding during the winter. To know how much assistance your bees may need to keep their nutrition up, look at their stores of honey. If the honey has been recently depleted or the bees have simply not produced enough, it may be time to add sugar, fondant, or liquid feed to the mix before it gets too cold.

You can also prepare for the cold by providing wind-breaks, such as hay bales or scrap metal, to protect your hives from harsh wind. But be careful not to shade the hive, as the bees will be needing as much warmth and sunlight as they can get.

Now is the time to start preparing for next year! Take stock of what kind of equipment you’ll need, such as more hives, new foundations, or more specialized tools. We have a variety of bee equipment and hive tools available for purchase online at Great Lakes Bee Co.! You can also spend the extra time this winter not tending to your bees by studying up on bees and beekeeping. Check out this selection of books recommended by the Best Bees Company!