Bee Farmers: What do you fear?
Extracts from my interviews with bee farmers about the main threats to their livelihood
Category: Pests and Diseases
Important Varroa Research
I have just been directed to this by hivemaker on the beekeeping forum (Peter Little) and it really is groundbreaking stuff. It seems extremely likely from this work that the varroa mites feed on the bees' fat body material rather…
Managing the Mighty Mites
Gosh, it's been a long time since I wrote a blog post. Perhaps I have some sloth DNA somewhere in me. Maybe long ago a wayward walrus mated with a sloth and generations later the characteristics of our three-toed slow-moving…
Velutina has a touch of Latina
Penelope Cruz Getty Images On my recent trip to Brittany, I saw my first Asian Hornets (Vespa Velutina). They were queens trying to establish nests early in the season, and even though I'd only seen photographs before I instantly recognised…
How very Vulgar
Common Wasp (Vespula vulgaris), queen As we are now in the middle of the summer holiday season there are plenty of opportunities to use my word for the day, “vulgar”. What a delicious word. Just saying it makes my walrus…
Enter the Beekeeper
To me, the bee season never seems to last very long. I’m already thinking about winter holidays and it’s still August. Perhaps this has something to do with all the rain we have had in my area over the last…