Here’s a repost from last year. I find it timely especially for those new at keeping bees. ~sassafrasbeefarm I find myself digging ever deeper into the void of my beekeeping knowledge. It seems the more you think you know, the more you realize you don’t know enough. That said, I’m forced into at least assessing […]…
California Dreaming
My adventures in which I meet my beekeeping heroes began with a trip to Vermont in the USA, in July 2017, and next week my final two interviews will take place in sunny California. I am seeing Ray Olivarez of Olivarez Honey Bees in Orland then Randy Oliver in Grass Valley. I will be landing…
7 Lessons from Beekeepers
I have been lucky enough to meet, interview, hang out with and in some cases work with people who have kept bees for most of their lives, and who are at the top of their game. Surely even I, a humble walrus, can do nothing but benefit from such experience? Recently I have been reflecting…
Black Bees and Brexit
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…
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 than blood, and 95% of mites attach to the underside of the bees. There will…
Inconsistency
Firstly, my dear Dad died last week. Apart from being a Dad, which is a pretty big thing to be, he was a loyal reader of this blog. Dads are meant to be supportive of their son’s endeavours, and mine was. I know that he learned a bit about bees and enjoyed some of my…
Birthday Review of the Year
As I slump in my incredibly comfortable La Z Boy chair in front of my super amazing iMac computer, I can still feel the bulk of my birthday meal progressing steadily through my walrus body. That meal was yesterday, and very delicious it was too, but birthdays are not just about stuffing one’s face with…
The Perils of Late Supersedure
For those that do not know, which probably means all non-beekeepers, supersedure is what happens in a beehive when the bees make a new queen to ultimately replace the existing queen. The other way of doing this is by swarming. In supersedure, the bees do not swarm, theoretically, so the beekeeper does not lose large…
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 friends popped up in me. It’s surprising how many people like sloths, perhaps because we…
A Craftsman and a Gentleman
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….