Beekeeping attracts practitioners with different backgrounds and motivations, different levels of expertise and experience, and even some people who prefer things like honey shows and committee meetings to actual beekeeping. There’s room for all of us. However, the special combination of factors required for success; a grasp of biology, hard facts, and something more tenuous … Read more
Audio (Podcast) Version: Click here When you start to look at the history of life on Earth, it quickly becomes apparent that humans have only been around for a relative blink of an eye. For bees, it’s a different story. Here is one version of the story of the evolution of honey bees and humans. … Read more
It’s been a while since my last blog post, so sorry to anybody who has been struggling to get through their days without hearing about life, the universe, and bees from this corner of the internet. I am obsessed with bees and beekeeping. I have found that I am prone to the odd obsession, and … Read more
My time here in New Zealand is drawing to a close. I have managed to interview three different beekeepers and have had a great time too, plus I have picked up a bit of a sun tan. All three interviewees were generous with their time and gave me plenty of interesting material for my book. … Read more
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 yard – I’m a backyard wormer! The idea is that I establish a colony of worms and then, once they … Read more
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 to it, so it isn’t going to happen tomorrow, but the preparations will be underway. Honey bees reproduce by swarming … Read more