James Lee's Bees

James Lee's Bees I am a beekeeper in Romulus, Michigan. I raise bees bred and selected for resistance to Varroa mites!

How do you tuck in your colonies for winter ☃️❄️?I am finally getting to the final phase of winter prep. There literally...
11/11/2025

How do you tuck in your colonies for winter ☃️❄️?

I am finally getting to the final phase of winter prep. There literally is no going back at this point. I have followed the advisement of Adrian Quiney for the past few years and like to push boxes together while insulating the outside ends.

More could be better, less could be worse. But stress is definitely reduced a bit with this approach.

I am looking forward to meeting my peeps in Central Wisconsin next February! I will be discussing the methods and result...
11/05/2025

I am looking forward to meeting my peeps in Central Wisconsin next February! I will be discussing the methods and results for the Northern Queen Initiative after three years of implementation! Be sure to take advantage of the early bird special!

SPEAKER FEATURE: Learn from the best—our speaker line-up is buzzing! Check it out: https://www.mstc.edu/beek-meet

How do you prep for winter?Wintering bees is a source of anxiety for many northern beekeepers. I was installing mouse gu...
11/04/2025

How do you prep for winter?

Wintering bees is a source of anxiety for many northern beekeepers. I was installing mouse guards and moving colonies around for winter configurations...but some clusters were just not having it!

This colony did not like the banging and shifting at the entrance and kept me at bay. I will have to return later to finish the mission!

Not bees! But donuts! With peanuts. Which aren't nuts! How fitting? Ever seen a "nutty-cake"?What sweet treat do my non-...
10/29/2025

Not bees! But donuts! With peanuts. Which aren't nuts! How fitting? Ever seen a "nutty-cake"?

What sweet treat do my non-Michigan peeps have that I can only find in your state?

Overwintered vs. Spring Queen Nucs? What is your fancy and why? We have always offered overwintered nucs to beekeepers b...
10/27/2025

Overwintered vs. Spring Queen Nucs? What is your fancy and why? We have always offered overwintered nucs to beekeepers because let's face it, that spring boost of brood, bees, and resources is a good option for new beekeepers.

But, you get a similar scenario a month later when you buy one of our spring nucs, with a first year queen, bees, brood, and resources AND less likely to swarm off on you!

There are tradeoffs for sure, but which option do you prefer when buying bees?

What's the messiest part of your beekeeping experience?I feel like beekeeping is easy. The prep and messes...that's a wh...
10/23/2025

What's the messiest part of your beekeeping experience?

I feel like beekeeping is easy. The prep and messes...that's a whole other story. Cleaning up after extraction sure feels good. But I sure will miss sticky Crocs.

Not.

Til next year!

How do you check for adequate hives stores and winter weight on your colonies? Winter prep is about all that is left as ...
10/20/2025

How do you check for adequate hives stores and winter weight on your colonies? Winter prep is about all that is left as far as bee business is concerned.

Watch the exploits here: https://youtu.be/5MBNHvK0LcU

I have always been a proponent of treatment free beekeeping. How do we measure it, promote it, and predict success? Ther...
10/18/2025

I have always been a proponent of treatment free beekeeping. How do we measure it, promote it, and predict success?

There are many tools available to us now more than ever. What's your reservation with pressing forward and reducing or removing acaricides?

This colony is a second year queen, ready for winter, and carrying zero mites June, July, and August via wash. I do wonder what year three will bring.

What if we thought about saving honey bees as a species vs. saving individual colonies? How does that impact our perspec...
10/14/2025

What if we thought about saving honey bees as a species vs. saving individual colonies? How does that impact our perspective on mite bombing?

A routine queen mark turns into full-blown drama when she faints in my hand—then wakes up! In this episode I follow up o...
10/10/2025

A routine queen mark turns into full-blown drama when she faints in my hand—then wakes up! In this episode I follow up on Formic Pro treatments, assess colonies with prior high mite loads and DWV signs, and show a practical fall combine (no newspaper) to rescue a weak hive while protecting a newly mated queen. We talk condensing brood, two medium 8-frame wintering, small hive beetle pressure, and why I avoid moving potentially virus-loaded bees into strong colonies—even after a successful treatment.

Watch Here >>> https://youtu.be/Y7wZMoGyPnc

🐝 After three seasons reduced treating - should I go back to treatment free? I’ve been asking myself: Is it worth it? Is...
10/08/2025

🐝 After three seasons reduced treating - should I go back to treatment free?

I’ve been asking myself: Is it worth it? Is losing colonies better than treating them? Or are treatments just a band-aid that still lead to losses?

Are treatments actually improving survival, or are genetics the real key?

👉 Watch the full video to see the raw results—good, bad, and ugly—and join me in questioning what’s really worth it in beekeeping.

https://youtu.be/TfSI5o_c5LQ?si=vIT_EOJODqQBQRr_

Address

11126 Wayne Road
Romulus, MI
48174

Telephone

+17343778720

Website

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