part of book cover showing sketch of hives
20 Nov 23 Walrus

Healthy Bees, Heavy Hives

How to maximise your honey crop Book cover A new beekeeping book seems to get published every week, so I have joined the party alongside my co-author, Paul Horton. Our new book, Healthy Bees, Heavy Hives — How to maximise…
Steve Donohoe
Varroacides
3 Nov 23 Walrus

Three Times Per Year

Yes, I’m going to go on about varroa mites again. What percentage of beekeepers carry out an alcohol wash on their colonies to understand the mite loads of those colonies? I reckon it’s a low number, maybe below 5%. A…
Pests and Diseases
Beeswax candles
23 Oct 23 Walrus

Mind Your Beeswax

My first ever candles - not perfect, but I'm working on it It’s quite alarming how much honey and wax I used to lose before I purchased my Dana Api-Melter from Swienty. That particular piece of equipment is not cheap;…
Wax Products
Steve Donohoe and Michael Palmer near Lake Champlain
22 May 23 Walrus

Only The Best of Queens

Me and Michael Palmer near Lake Champlain I imagine that we all have our heroes. On the matter of producing queens, mine are Jay Smith & Brother Adam (both no longer with us) and Mike Palmer (alive and well). The…
Queen Rearing