Category: Pests and Diseases

Almond plantation in California viewed from the air
23 Jan 22 Walrus

Spreading The Word

The pollination of California’s almonds is the largest annual managed-pollination event in the world - Bloomberg Last year, or perhaps the one before, I stumbled upon the Ulster BKA 'Winter Webinars,' and I'm so glad I did. The speakers are…
Pests and Diseases
An apiary showing hives in the snow
18 Oct 21 Walrus

Learning from Nature

Source: American Bee Journal At the recent autumn convention of Cheshire Beekeepers' Association, Professor Tom Seeley talked about 'Darwinian beekeeping'. I had doubts but wanted to hear the great man speak. His many years of studying honey bees, particularly those…
Pests and Diseases
Mersey valley in winter showing frost on trees
28 Jan 21 Walrus

The Fight Continues

Winter is nearly over It won't be long until spring has sprung and beekeepers across the land start to open hives and assess how their bees did over the winter. I could be more cynical than the average walrus, but…
Pests and Diseases
Chart 3 'Caged Queen' method
21 Dec 20 Walrus

Charting Brood Breaks

Following on from my article about using brood breaks to help with varroa management, I'm going to get into 'death by charts' territory today. Regular readers will know that I'm a big fan of Randy Oliver's spreadsheet model, which can…
Pests and Diseases
Varroa Mite close up view
12 Dec 20 Walrus

Brood Breaks to Control Varroa

Varroa Mite (https://aristabeeresearch.org/varroa/) Varroa mites have been a big problem for honey bees in most of Europe and North America for thirty or more years. Many colony deaths stem from varroa and associated viruses, and many beekeepers probably don't even…
Pests and Diseases
Piglets at 2-3 weeks old
15 Aug 20 Walrus

Pigs on the Wing

Piglets at 2-3 weeks old Many beekeepers in the UK are in the process of removing supers and extracting their honey. The summer is nearly over, queens are laying less, and the bees are beginning to arrange their nests for…
Pests and Diseases
three witches from Macbeth
29 Aug 19 Walrus

The Three Curses

When Shall we Three meet Again? There is always something new to learn about bees. The same probably applies to almost anything. Material for my blog posts should be endless and easy to come by. Ubiquitous, you might say. I…
Pests and Diseases
Randy Oliver's Varroa Model
18 Dec 18 Walrus

Defeating the Monster

Randy Oliver's Varroa Model Yesterday I treated all of my hives with oxalic acid vapour using a Sublimox device plugged into a generator. The generator was a gift from a friend who I have helped out with bees over the…
Pests and Diseases