Aging Is Good For The Ego
Rainbow over the Kyles of Bute I used to think that 60 yrs is quite old, but now that 2023 has arrived – the year in which I will have been alive for six decades (hopefully) – I’m thinking that…
Reader Survey Results 2022
Many thanks to those of you who completed the survey that I posted on here a few weeks ago. Several people got halfway through then bailed out, which isn't surprising as it wasn't the most straightforward thing to fill out;…
The Ten Best Books On Beekeeping
Some of my favourite books We all have our favourites, don’t we? There are the books we refer to again and again because they contain so much wisdom, and the ones we love because they remind us of a golden…
Life Stuff (not beekeeping)
A beach in Lanzarote New book in progress I have been working with Paul Horton of Apidae Honey on a new beekeeping book. Paul is well known in bee farming circles in the UK but may not be a household…
New Research Updates From The NBU
York Biotech Campus Our Regional Bee Inspector, Mark McLoughlin, hosted delegates from the various Northern BKAs at the York Biotech Campus on 11th November. The day featured presentations about new research updates from the NBU by experts in their fields.…
Bees Drift More Than You Think
Drones are not the only bees that drift Bee Hives in New Zealand Something has been vexing me about honey bees. Two observations, both true, seem to be in direct conflict with each other: They are excellent navigators, able to…
Quick Survey: How Do You Keep Bees?
What Matters to You in Beekeeping? Please can you do me a huge favour? My survey: how do you keep bees won't take long; I'd really appreciate it if you could spend ten minutes answering questions about your beekeeping. Thanks!…
Losing Queens On Mating Flights
Virgin Queens Are Not Making It Back Hives lined up beside a field I’m deep into writing a book, with the deadline approaching faster than my output of words, but it seems wrong to neglect my blog for too much…
Crunching numbers to stay ahead of the bees
Find out how maths can transform your beekeeping Number crunching on a spreadsheet (Randy Oliver Model) I am no maths (‘math’ in the USA) genius, but I do like to mess about on a spreadsheet. The magic happens when data…
Advice for beekeepers in their first years
Beekeeping Tips From A Walrus Wild comb made by a swarm (try to avoid this!) Just in case there are any fairly new or potential keepers of bees reading my blog, here is a quick run through of things to…
Feeling Helpless About Surging Chronic Virus
Frightening Bee Virus Is Aptly Named A bee infected with CBPV (crown copyright - National Bee Unit) Recent Reader Poll Thank you to those kind readers who responded to my poll about the greatest challenges facing you as beekeepers. The…
The Biggest Challenge In Beekeeping?
If I Had A Magic Wand... I have put together a brief survey of my readers - please spare a minute of your busy day to share your experience. Thanks! There was a poll here, but it's closed now. Here…