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 eye, post surgery. I suppose it could have been “Stephen’s is perfect” (referring to his work rather than … Read more
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 C.L. Farrar, who died on 2nd October 1970 in Wisconsin, USA. Yes, Varroa mites have changed the face of beekeeping, but much of … Read more
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 people. The following is to provide the big picture: successful beekeeping, according to this walrus. Doesn’t really matter why I have my reasons for … Read more
Beekeeping Tips From A Walrus Just in case there are any fairly new or potential keepers of bees reading my blog, here is a quick run through of things to know that will probably help. At this point, I’m assuming that you have bought your hive(s) and installed bees, so what now? Patience, Young Padawan … Read more
Frightening Bee Virus Is Aptly Named Recent Reader Poll Thank you to those kind readers who responded to my poll about the greatest challenges facing you as beekeepers. The issues of swarming and failed/missing queens topped the poll, but for a long time, the leader was Chronic Bee Paralysis Virus (CBPV), which ended up in … Read more
Moving New Bees Into Their Hive My three previous articles have been for prospective and new beekeepers because this is the time of the year when beginner classes get going. If you are enrolled on such a course, you don’t need me, but maybe you are not doing the classes and still want to start … Read more
How do you get your first bees? The Intolerance of Humans Newcomers to beekeeping will soon discover that there are rival factions in our ranks. One might expect that we should all be friends, us lovers of honey bees. Sadly, humans are not always the most tolerant of creatures; we seem to be able to … Read more
I gave a talk to South Clywd Beekeeping Association the other day. It was a presentation that I’ve done five or six times before, about my travels to meet and learn from beekeepers worldwide. My favourite part is the questions and chat afterwards, which is strange because I am not known for being especially interested … Read more