For those who start beekeeping, probably as a hobby, or to save the world, some will become obsessed for the rest of their lives, and many will give up within three years. When reality crashes into idealism, there are casualties. That’s actually a good thing; it makes sense to keep looking until you find your … Read more
Having just finished extracting our Spring 2025 crop, I thought I’d share what I have learned about processing honey. It’s a subject many new beekeepers pay little attention to, until the day comes when their bees make a decent crop. What to do with it all? Do I have to spend even more money? Is … Read more
I seem to have been quite busy lately, resulting in a lack of blog posts. A cynic might suggest that the real reason is that I have nothing much more to say, or that there are so many sources of beekeeping information nowadays that mine will be drowned out, so what’s the point? Well, the … Read more
The snow that had covered the ground here in Manchester, UK, has melted, and temperatures are set to be above freezing for the foreseeable future. By which I mean, the next nine days that my weather app sees. And we all know how reliable they are. But still, I’m optimistic; the days are getting longer, … Read more
I spotted an article about some interesting honey bee research (details below) in the excellent Beekeepers Quarterly (BKQ) magazine. Not everyone reads that, despite its excellence, so I thought I’d write a little about the research. The use of “Chemical-Free” in the headline refers to any chemicals, including organic acids and thymol (which are, of … Read more
How to maximise your honey crop A new beekeeping book seems to get published every week, so I have joined the party alongside my co-author, Paul Horton. Our new book, Healthy Bees, Heavy Hives — How to maximise your honey crop is likely to be out in February 2024. We miss the crazy Christmas rush, … Read more
The ability of honey bees to grow their colonies from little nucs to enormous hives with bursting supers is extraordinary. Some colonies that came out of winter looking small are now booming. Others dwindled and were shaken out, just to prove that nothing is always great. I still marvel at the growth rate of colonies … Read more
There are many ways to skin a cat, apparently, and the same is true of beekeeping (many ways to do it). I don’t understand why anyone would want to skin a cat. It seems harsh, even if cats aren’t your thing. Bees don’t even have skin, so they are way ahead of felines in the … Read more