I’m Steve Donohoe; beekeeper, bestselling author, and the person behind Walrus Apiaries in Cheshire, where my son Alex and I manage colonies across a patchwork of farmland and hedgerows, enduring whatever the British weather decides to throw at us.
I’ve been keeping bees long enough to have made most of the mistakes worth making, and I write about them here with as much honesty as I can manage. This blog is for beekeepers who want more than seasonal checklists: people who are curious about the science behind what they see in their hives, and who want to make better decisions rather than just follow instructions.
The posts here cover the topics that actually matter for keeping healthy, productive colonies in the UK. Varroa management — what the evidence actually shows, not what social media tells you. Honey bee nutrition and the under appreciated role of pollen quality and diversity. Queen rearing and the genetics of bee improvement. Swarm control that works at scale. And the broader questions about how beekeeping advice is made, where it comes from, and when to trust it.
If you’re just starting out, you’ll find that I try to explain the biology behind the practice, because understanding why tends to make the what stick. If you’ve been at it for years, I hope you’ll find something to argue with, or agree with, in the more analytical posts.
My books Interviews with Beekeepers and Healthy Bees, Heavy Hives (co-authored with Paul Horton) are available in most online book stores. The blog is free, updated regularly (ish), and comes without adverts.
Grab a cup of tea, and have a look around.