The Walrus and the Honey Bee

Spring Fever: Beekeeping Activities for the New Season

Fondant applied to the tops of frames I’m writing this on 19th February and my bees are based in Cheshire, UK, just south of Manchester. We have a mild climate, without extremes of cold in winter nor extremes of heat…

13 Feb 23 Walrus

Honey Bee Polyandry: The Secret to Their Success

Chromosomes Honey Bee Polyandry: The Secret to Their Success. Yep, a nice catchy headline, but for most beekeepers the polyandrous nature of honey bees is not much of a secret at all. When a virgin honey bee queen takes her…

6 Feb 23 Walrus

New Beekeeping Show At Telford

Telford International Centre If you are a beekeeper in the UK, you will probably have heard about The Beekeeping Show in Telford, Shropshire on 25th February 2023. It’s a new trade show that has been set up by three bee…

30 Jan 23 Walrus

Pollen is Vital to Honey Bee Health and Survival

Grains of pollen I have returned to Manchester from three days ‘down South’ in London and Surrey, having had my eye surgery, which was a great success. The surgeon said something like “Stephen’s perfect” when describing the state of my…

23 Jan 23 Walrus

In Praise Of The Great C.L. Farrar

C.L. Farrar, Department of Economics University of Wisconsin I have a soft spot for certain wise personalities from the past, such as R.O.B Manley. It’s with this in mind that I wanted to write something in praise of the great…

Murray McGregor with some hives at a winter site

16 Jan 23 Walrus

The Big Picture: Successful Beekeeping

Murray McGregor with some hives at a winter site Beekeeping, eh? What’s it all about? I’m sure there are many answers to that question, but I’m going to talk about myself, as that way, hopefully, I can’t annoy too many…

9 Jan 23 Walrus

Discovering Extraordinary New Honey

Artisan honey from Apidae Honey People often tell me all sorts of extraordinary things about my honey, and honey in general. Some customers buy it because it’s delicious, or they want to support local producers; others have, shall we say,…

a rainbow over the Kyles of Bute in tighnabruaich

2 Jan 23 Walrus

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…

30 Dec 22 Walrus

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;…

18 Dec 22 Walrus

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…

12 Dec 22 Walrus

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…

21 Nov 22 Walrus

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.…