Communication that’s effective, efficient — and, to us humans, unusual — is the cornerstone to the fully functioning superorganism that is a hive of honeybees.

If this has been your first year beekeeping, many exciting things await. If you’re an experienced beekeeper, winter is a time to look ahead.

Treat the beekeeper in your life to something sweet this season. Here are some gift ideas, most of them practical but some humorous.

Take a step outside your comfort zone and connect with other beekeepers at your local bee club. Here are some of the ways you’ll improve.

If you live in an area with harsh winters, follow these common-sense guidelines to keep your chickens safe from frostbite.

The egg is pretty much a perfect food, good for the body and versatile in the kitchen. Getting inside the shell of chickens’ daily offering reveals why.

The queen bee personifies strength, endurance, perseverance and harmony, making her a respectable guiding force of the hive.

In the third part of this series, we continue alphabetically through chicken ailments, covering feathers, fleas, flies, frostbite, housing and injury.

These tree-nesting bees and the honey they produce were considered sacred in ancient Mayan cultures.

This less glamorous side of beekeeping is sometimes the most important. Fall is a good time for cleaning clothing, equipment and supers.