Not That Bryan

How Hive Insulation Helps Bees Survive Winter and Thrive Year Round What is one simple change that can make the biggest difference to your bees? After years of beekeeping, losing hives, and learning through experience, one thing has become clear. Insulation matters more than most people realise. It is not just about helping bees survive winter. It is about giving them the stability they need to perform all year round. Watch How I Insulate My Beehives ▶ See this video about how to insulate a beehive for better survival and performance For more content beyond beekeeping, including leadership and real world thinking: https://linktr.ee/thelongwayforward Why Insulation Makes Such a Difference Bees are incredibly good at regulating their environment. But they are still working against external conditions. In climates where temperatures swing dramatically, that effort becomes much greater. Insulation helps reduce that strain by stabilising conditions inside t...

What Really Matters During a Summer Hive Inspection What should you actually be looking for when you open a hive in warm weather? It is easy to overthink inspections, especially during summer when everything inside the hive is moving quickly. But often, the most important insights come from slowing down and paying attention to the right details. This inspection walks through a long Langstroth hive step by step, focusing on what really matters at this time of year. Watch the Full Summer Hive Inspection ▶ See this video about how to inspect a long Langstroth hive during summer For more content beyond beekeeping, including leadership and real world thinking: https://linktr.ee/thelongwayforward Why Summer Changes How You Inspect a Hive Warm weather creates momentum inside the hive. Bees are more active, nectar flow increases, and brood development accelerates. This means inspections need to be more focused. You are not looking at everything. You are looking ...

Why Your Beekeeping Smoker Won’t Stay Lit (And What Actually Fixes It) Lighting a smoker sounds simple. Until you try to use it. You get it going, it looks fine, you walk over to the hive… and it’s out. This is one of the most common frustrations for new beekeepers, and it usually comes down to a few small details that are easy to miss. Watch How to Keep Your Smoker Lit Properly ▶ See this video about how to light a beekeeping smoker so it stays lit For more content beyond beekeeping, including leadership and real world thinking: https://linktr.ee/thelongwayforward The Real Reason Your Smoker Keeps Going Out A smoker rarely fails because of the smoker itself. Most of the time, it comes down to preparation. If something is not working, it is usually one of these: The fuel is damp or inconsistent Airflow is restricted The fire was not built properly from the start The setup was rushed Fix those, and the problem usually disappears. Why Dry Fuel I...

From Queenless Crisis to New Hive – How This Split Changed Everything Last inspection confirmed the worst. No queen. No brood. And eight queen cells developing at once. Left alone, that hive was almost guaranteed to swarm multiple times, weakening itself in the process. This is the moment where beekeeping shifts from observation to decision. And this time, the decision was to turn a problem into an opportunity. Watch How This Hive Was Split in Real Time ▶ See this video about splitting a queenless hive and creating a nuc colony For more content beyond beekeeping, including leadership and real world thinking: https://linktr.ee/thelongwayforward The Situation After Finding Eight Queen Cells After the previous inspection, the hive was clearly in emergency queen rearing mode. Eight queen cells meant eight potential queens, and with that comes serious swarm risk. If left untouched, the colony could: Swarm multiple times Lose large portions of its workfo...

  This Hive Is Definitely Queenless… And Now There’s a Bigger Problem Last time this hive was opened, something did not feel right. No eggs. No brood. Rising aggression. All signs pointed toward a possible queenless colony. This inspection was meant to confirm it. What was found inside did more than confirm it. It created a completely new problem. Watch What Happened When I Checked Again ▶ See this video about confirming a queenless hive using brood transfer and queen cell development For more content beyond beekeeping, including leadership and real world thinking: https://linktr.ee/thelongwayforward The Plan to Confirm a Queenless Hive After the previous inspection, a deliberate decision was made. A frame containing fresh eggs, developing brood, and nurse bees was introduced from another hive. The goal was simple. If the hive had a queen, it would continue as normal If the hive was queenless, the bees would begin raising new queens This is on...