It is six days since my son and I began our long journey to Christchurch, New Zealand, on the other side of the planet to our home. It was a LONG journey and even though …
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The Eternal Question
How to prevent swarming? I previously wrote about some potential factors involved in the swarming of honey bees and why swarm prevention and control are so important for the beekeeper. The idea that we can …
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Why do bees swarm and what do worms do?
Before I get all technical on the beekeeping front I must share with you that I have just started a dog poo (or poop as our North American friends would say) wormery in my back …
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How are Bees like Turkeys?!
Now that the days are getting longer bees in healthy colonies will have swarming on their minds, except that they don’t have minds, but you know what I mean. Obviously they have to build up …
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Beauty is in the eye of the beholder
All UV images are by Craig Burrows Karl von Frisch (November 20, 1886 – June 12, 1982) was a very clever man who received the Nobel Prize in 1973 for his work in the field …
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Schrödinger may have had a point
There is a saying which goes something like “ask 10 beekeepers the same question and you’ll get 11 different answers!” This makes things very difficult for anybody starting out as a beekeeper, which is why …
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Taxes, Taxonomy and Tolerance
At this time of the year the issue of tax raises it’s grim visage, with online filing of returns having to be submitted by 31 January. I have just been sorting my tax return out, …
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The Queen of Queens of Blairgowrie
One of the great pleasures that I derive from writing my book “Interviews with Beekeepers” is meeting the people that work with honey bees. Everybody that I have talked to on my travels so far …
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Meeting Mr McGregor
In preparation for my latest interview with another legend of beekeeping I decided to have a hair cut. Samli’s is a gents hairdressing establishment run by an engaging 59 year old from North Africa who …
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I’ll be in Scotland afore ye
I only have a small group of friends, most of whom really started out as my wife’s friends and I adopted them, but there is one chap who I found all by myself. He is …