Mersey valley in winter showing frost on trees

The Fight Continues

Winter is nearly over It won't be long until spring has sprung and beekeepers across the land start to open hives and assess how their bees did over the winter. I could be more cynical than the average walrus, but…
Chart 3 'Caged Queen' method

Charting Brood Breaks

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…
Varroa Mite close up view

Brood Breaks to Control Varroa

Varroa Mite (https://aristabeeresearch.org/varroa/) 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…
Steve Donohoe and Elaine Bousfield taking a break in Argyll

Give us a Break

Mr & Mrs W taking a break in Argyll Somebody asked me yesterday, "what makes a good beekeeper?" I don't know if I'm qualified to answer that, but what I said was, "If you can keep your bees alive from…