Cup-o-coffee, CHECK! Warm breakfast burrito, CHECK! Full tank of Blue Rhino, CHECK! Heavy duty welding gloves, CHECK! Branding iron, CHECK! A dozen plus bee boxes, CHECK!

Not unlike Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore (Robert Duvall) from Apocalypse Now, we love the smell of burnt cedar in the morning! A very robust and distinct flavor. You cannot help but notice the smell and if you like camp fires, you’d definitely like this smokey scent.

Beyond the scent we like the look of the brands themselves. But it is really not just an aesthetic detail for The Bee Ranchers, it actually serves (2) very important roles for us:

ROLE #1 – We keep track of all the hives we sell and ranch. So with the individually unique numbering system we are able to keep our clients easily updated in our database and inform them of the services performed on the specific beehives. Think, if we just sold (4) non-descript, white beehives to a client, how could we clearly report on our maintenance services without unique identification? Each of our hives is individually branded, numbered and tracked for optimal service reporting.

ROLE #2 – Nobody likes a thief! And unfortunately, now-a-days we need to be especially vigilant. The theft of beehives in California (and across the Nation) has dramatically risen over the recent years. If you do not believe us, read for yourself (Beehive Thefts) Our hope is that with a unique brand burnt into our hives, we’ll reduce the risk of our/your hives being taken by nefarious apiarists.

Some more pics from our branding session this morning.

If you are ever interested in joining us for a branding session, drop us a line to let us know. All we ask is that you bring the breakfast burritos!

There is a good chance the majority of us have seen a modern day bee hive. In fact they are quite prevalent along the Central Valley corridor and Wine Country – white boxes all lined up in rows typically along agricultural fields. While very recognizable from the outside, do you really know what they look on the inside? The following is a diagrammatic photo outlining the components of a bee hive.

A. Outer Cover / Top
The cover that goes over the sides of the top box of the hive to protect the inside from weather/water.  Typically made from galvanized metal or, in some cases, copper.

B. Inner Cover
Used to help better regulate the temperature by creating dead space inside the hive.

C. & D. Medium Super
The box where excess honey is stored by the honey bees on the frames inside.  This is where the beekeeper will harvest honey from.

E. & G. Deep / Brood Chamber
The space where the honey bees live.  The queen lays her eggs here, the brood is fed and raised here and pollen, honey and nectar are stored here as food.  Pollen is their protein source, nectar is their carbohydrate source.

F. Queen Excluder
Placed between the top brood chamber and bottom super box to prevent queen from entering super boxes and laying eggs.  Worker bees can slip through the screen mesh but the queen is too large and cannot.

H. Screened Bottom Board
Forms the floor of the hive.  The Bee Ranchers uses screened bottom boards exclusively for better ventilation and better pest control management.

Truth be told, our hives are really no different on the inside than the ones we see in the Central Valley, however, we like to think ours are better looking. Do you agree? Leave us a message and let us know!

Go to Our Hives section of our site for more detailed pics.