Beekeeping

A worker bee lives six weeks. Her mother, the queen, can live five years. They hatch from identical eggs. The difference comes down to what they were fed as larvae.

For most of human history, harvesting honey meant killing the colony. Then one design changed everything. A look at how beehive technology evolved - and where it stands today.

Two colonies per acre. Eight frames of bees minimum. A fee of $200-250+ per colony. California almonds consume 85% of US commercial colonies every February.

Oxalic acid kills 90-95% of phoretic mites in a single broodless application. It's cheap, organic-approved, and has become the winter treatment of choice.

Spring packages cost $150-180. Fall packages - when they're available at all - cost $100-120. The price reflects demand, not the bees.