Steve Donohoe 
A recently published article in Scientific Reports suggests yet another way in which varroa mites are bad for honey bees. Varroa reduces bees’ surface antimicrobial defences. Apparently, many social insects do something called “venom bathing”, which basically involves coating their bodies with venom from sting glands. The main component of bee venom is melittin, which … Read more
For those who start beekeeping, probably as a hobby, or to save the world, some will become obsessed for the rest of their lives, and many will give up within three years. When reality crashes into idealism, there are casualties. That’s actually a good thing; it makes sense to keep looking until you find your … Read more
To the handful of crazy beekeepers who wait in anticipation for my blog posts – there are a few, apparently – I’m afraid this one is basically a few photographs that I have taken this season. It’s all too much effort to string words together into sentences, because I have just MOVED HOUSE. This means … Read more
It should be fairly straightforward, shouldn’t it? A colony makes several virgin queens, eventually whittles them down to one, and she flies off on several mating flights. She returns to the welcoming embrace of her workers, and begins the long process of laying hundreds or thousands of eggs every day during the summer, autumn, and … Read more
It really is quite incredible how a supposedly intelligent creature such as myself, with years of experience – I am in my early sixties after all – can continue to have an endless supply of Walrus wobbles. Yet, this is the case. Some of my calamities stem from idiocy or carelessness, but others appear to … Read more
Having just finished extracting our Spring 2025 crop, I thought I’d share what I have learned about processing honey. It’s a subject many new beekeepers pay little attention to, until the day comes when their bees make a decent crop. What to do with it all? Do I have to spend even more money? Is … Read more
Beekeeping attracts practitioners with different backgrounds and motivations, different levels of expertise and experience, and even some people who prefer things like honey shows and committee meetings to actual beekeeping. There’s room for all of us. However, the special combination of factors required for success; a grasp of biology, hard facts, and something more tenuous … Read more
Sometimes unexpected things happen in beekeeping. What seems weird to me, or peculiar, or interesting, may not chime with you, but here are a few cases that caused a raised eyebrow or two. Welcome to my beekeeping twilight zone. Her Majesty Returns Recently, the Mole and I were inspecting a colony that had clearly swarmed. … Read more