The queen is the genetic foundation of every colony, and the decision about which queens to breed from is the single most powerful lever a beekeeper has for improving their bees over time. This category covers queen rearing in practical terms — cell builders, grafting, mating nucs, introduction methods — alongside the broader questions of bee genetics, selection, and what “improvement” actually means in the context of UK beekeeping conditions.
Posts here range from step-by-step accounts of what works at apiary scale to more analytical pieces on the genetics of traits like swarming tendency, temperament, and varroa resistance. The debate about local versus imported queens also features here — examined properly, with reference to what the science actually shows about local adaptation, rather than the version that circulates on forums. If you want to take control of your queen supply and understand the biology behind it, this is where to start.
Drones are awesome. Everyone should love them, but they have had a bad rap. Many believe that they are “lazy” and all they do is hang around eating stores and contributing nothing much to the hive. Then they leave for a leisurely flight at noon to try to have sex with a queen. They may … Read more
You don’t even need to be able to graft larvae to make good queens. Apparently, grafting puts a lot of people off, because they find it too hard or they heard that it was difficult and didn’t try. I think it’s like most skills; at first, you are a bit rubbish, but with practice, it … Read more
The Chosen Ones I have some great queens in my hives. My best one is a “yellow dot” in her third season. Her hive is always one of my tallest, giving me loads of honey every year. I’ve never seen any signs of swarming in her colony, and she has gone through two winters in … Read more
The term “newb” is typically used by gamers to describe somebody new to the game, or gaming, and is somewhat derogatory. However, we all have to start somewhere. Even the most gloriously proficient expert at something was once a humble newb. With bees, we usually start off knowing very little. After years with bees, we … Read more
It’s a dog’s life I have always struggled with the idea that there are sub-species of honey bees but not dogs. A chihuahua is a tiny dog, and a great Dane is enormous. There are many differences between these two animals, and yet all dogs are the same species, and there are no defined sub-species. The labelling of … Read more
There are some topics guaranteed to cause blazing arguments even between friends and family, such as Brexit, or in the case of British beekeepers; the Black Bee (Apis mellifera mellifera). I love all bees and think it would be a disaster if any particular sub-species were to die out, so I’m certainly in favour of … Read more
I knew that Peter Little was a nice guy, having had a few telephone conversations with him at various times, but I had no idea until I met him just how highly skilled he is in so many technical areas. He is all about being self-sufficient with all aspects of his beekeeping and queen breeding. … Read more
In the Winter of 2017, I met Murray McGregor, owner of Denrosa Apiaries, based in Coupar Angus, Scotland and was delighted to be able to spend over a day with him. He carefully chooses his words and takes his time answering questions, making sure that his encyclopaedic knowledge, based on decades of experience, is passed … Read more