Getting Bees Through Winter presentation

Zoom Talk on Wintering Bees

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…
Formula for the area of a circle

Mating Mathematics

Math or Maths? 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…
Sister Queens different colours

Local Bees?

Sister Queens (same mother) There are some confusing messages out there in beekeeper-land regarding bee types, imports and so forth. In a world where the news that gets picked up is the one delivered in the loudest voice, sometimes accepted…
Kyles of Bute with sky reflected in water

The best laid plans…

Kyles of Bute This summer I was going to be staying with Mike & Lesley Palmer in Vermont, followed by a road trip to Toronto via Niagra Falls. Alas COVID intervened. Instead, we bundled into the car (farting beagle too)…
Steve Donohoe with a frame of honey 2020

The Mighty Pen

The author with a frame of honey When Richelieu said, "The pen is mightier than the sword," in Cardinal Richelieu (a play by Bulwer-Lytton in 1839) he was in a bit of a pickle. As a man of the cloth,…
Piglets at 2-3 weeks old

Pigs on the Wing

Piglets at 2-3 weeks old Many beekeepers in the UK are in the process of removing supers and extracting their honey. The summer is nearly over, queens are laying less, and the bees are beginning to arrange their nests for…
Mike Palmer's Cell Builder Apiary in Vermont

Better Bees

Mike Palmer's Cell Builders Humans (and walruses) are part of the natural world. We are animals. Sometimes we like to set ourselves aside from nature as if we are not part of it, but this is wrong. However, there is…
Hollyhock in Ulta Violet light

Nine Years In

Hollyhock in Ulta Violet light I am coming to the end of my ninth beekeeping season. I started with two hives, and now I have nearly forty, including nucs. My journey has just begun, but at least I'm through the…