I realise that I may be unusual in this, but I’m not a massive fan of social media. I’m a ‘baby boomer’ with two kids of the ‘millennial’ generation and one who is ‘Generation Z’. I’m cool with email and the world wide web; I can’t see the […]
Following on from my article about using brood breaks to help with varroa management, I’m going to get into ‘death by charts’ territory today. Regular readers will know that I’m a big fan of Randy Oliver’s spreadsheet model, which can be tweaked to reflect one’s colonies and treatment […]
Varroa mites have been a big problem for honey bees in most of Europe and North America for thirty or more years. Many colony deaths stem from varroa and associated viruses, and many beekeepers probably don’t even know that mites were the culprit. After all, who does mite […]
As many say in the beekeeping world, ask ten people about something, and you’ll get eleven different answers. I don’t think that’s entirely true, but beekeeping is undoubtedly a ‘broad church.’ A common way to start beekeeping in the UK is to buy a nucleus colony; a small […]
This week I did a Zoom talk for the Suffolk beekeepers, which was fun. Well, as much fun as it can be for an introvert. Maybe the virtual environment suits people like me who shy away from big crowds and do better in a one-to-one situation. However, sometimes […]
When Paul worked in IT over twelve years ago, he used to spend “far too long” gazing out of the window. “I’d had enough of office work; I was sick of it,” he told me. In 2008 he was enjoying a post-walk pint with Malcolm Thorpe and Janet […]
In 2005 some researchers studying matings in the Hope Valley (England) found out some interesting stats on mating distance. Mating distance is the distance between the hive from which the virgin queen flew and the colonies from which the successful drones came. 50% of matings were at a […]
Now is the time when I buy lots of bee stuff. It’s better to buy things when items are being discounted than wait until spring when suppliers run out of stock. I know that beekeepers are not well known for getting their wallets out, but I’m okay with […]
How to Buy If you want a signed copy: signed book (delivery may take a few weeks if you are thousands of miles away from the UK). Otherwise, there are lots of outlets throughout the world – please just search online or visit your favourite bookstore, being careful […]
