Rellik Hill Farm

06/06/2026

🐝 Mite Check Reminder! 🐝

Checking your bees for Varroa mites at least four times a year is one of the best ways to stay ahead of problems before they affect colony health.

A mite check tells you whether treatment is needed. It’s also a good idea to check again after treating to see how well it worked.

While we’d all want zero mites, that’s not a realistic goal. Instead, it’s important to know your infestation percentage. To calculate your mite percentage, count the number of mites and divide by the number of bees sampled. For example, 9 mites in a 300-bee sample equals a 3% mite load.

Every treatment we put into a hive has an impact on the colony. Whether it’s disrupting normal bee behavior, limiting queen laying, or adding stress during the treatment period, treatments should be used when they’re needed—not just because we assume mites are present. Monitoring helps you make informed decisions and avoid unnecessary treatments that could harm your colony or help mites develop a resistance.

The Honey Bee Health Coalition’s Tools for Varroa Management Guide does a great job explaining treatment thresholds and comparing different treatment options. It’s a helpful resource when deciding what treatment, if any, is needed based on your mite count.

https://honeybeehealthcoalition.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/HBHC-Guide_Varroa-Mgmt_8thEd-082422.pdf

06/01/2026

Mentorship makes all the difference for new beekeepers. We’re a husband-and-wife team in our fifth year of beekeeping, sharing virtual and hands-on support through our club, Beekeepers of the Northern Shenandoah BONS. We enjoy helping newer beekeepers build confidence in the hive after completing the BONS beginner beekeeping course, and we’re glad to have helped reset this hive, giving it a fresh start and a better chance at a successful first year.

05/20/2026

Happy World Bee Day 🐝

Did you know honeybees vote, dance directions, recognize faces, and build perfect hexagons?

We turned bee facts into a song and made this little video using mostly clips from around our farm. Our beekeeping journey started with Slovenian hives, which feels fitting since Slovenia helped create World Bee Day in honor of Anton Janša 🇸🇮 In Slovenia, beekeeping is deeply woven into the culture and passed down through generations.

All bees are incredible, and they need more native flowers and habitat wherever they can get it 🌻

Hope you enjoy the song and maybe learn a weird bee fact or two.

05/16/2026

And just like that, the second hatch has graduated to the outdoor duck trailer. They’re 6 days apart in age.

05/13/2026

They’re growing faster than we can keep up with!

Our first hatch of the year officially graduated from the indoor brooder to their outdoor duck trailer today. It has a divider system so we can safely raise two age groups at once before combining the flock. Watching these little ones hit each new stage never gets old.

05/05/2026

Swarm action in the yard yesterday from one of our Slovenian AŽ hives!

We’re not always ready when a colony decides to swarm, but yesterday we were able to try a new trick for the first time— netting the entrance with a veil when we heard them roaring and getting ready to roll out.

Worker bees run the show, not the queen. They get the hive worked up, then a wave of workers pours out of the entrance. The queen doesn’t lead, but she’s usually right in that rush, with workers pushing and guiding her along. If you time it just right, you might catch her in that burst which is what happened here.

Lesson learned: keep her caged, or she’ll likely try again. Good thing we were able to catch her twice!

Always something fun to learn in beekeeping. Like, follow, and share to see more!

05/04/2026

Today’s exciting pickup! Three of our nucs went home with Lea, yet another lottery winner of three hive bodies through the Virginia Beehive Distribution Program with VDACS. With around 1,000 hive units distributed annually to 400+ recipients across Virginia, it’s an incredible opportunity for new beekeepers to get started.

For more information on this annual program, visit the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services website: https://www.vdacs.virginia.gov/plant-industry-services-beehive-distribution-program.shtml
Applications typically open toward the end of summer.

04/30/2026

If you like your eggs fresh, flavorful, and brought to you by a flock that truly knows how to enjoy life, we’ve got you covered!

Rainy days like this is duck paradise. While they’re out there having the time of their lives, they’re also busy making some seriously delicious eggs.

Don’t worry, we wash them. 😉 Every egg is washed, weighed, graded, and dated in full compliance with VDACS standards, so you get clean, high-quality, farm-fresh eggs from our very happy (and now very muddy) ducks.

get them at Amanda's Regal Canine

04/29/2026

Busy day on the farm! Joanne and Giddeon each took home two strong nucs. All four packed with bees and ready for more space!

Both are BONS members (Beekeepers of Northern Shenandoah) and received our $20 nuc discount which is our way of supporting the local beekeeping community.

Thanks for stopping by, and best of luck this season!

04/29/2026

Time’s running out to complete this year’s beekeeping survey! Your data matters. It’s fast to fill out and essential for understanding what’s happening to our bees. 🐝

Final call for the 2025-2026 US Beekeeping Survey! Deadline Extended to Sunday, May3rd (midnight local time)

This year we will leave our portal open until midnight local time on Sunday, May 3rd to allow you to take advantage of the weekend to complete the survey.
We appreciate the more than 1,500 beekeepers that have participated so far. We need a BIG BIG push this final week to hit our goal of 3,000!
Remember, the Survey is a tool for our industry. It is among the most cited works by the honey bee research community, and the numbers you provide are directly communicated to our representatives in Washington by our national beekeeping groups so that they understand the state of beekeeping in the country.

All US beekeepers aged 18 and over – from backyard hobbyists to those running multi-state commercial operations – are invited to participate. The survey will take 20-30 minutes to complete.

To participate in the survey, visit: https://apiaryinspectors.org/US-beekeeping-survey-26.2

This information is provided by the Apiary Inspectors of America