At this time of the year, many beekeepers are preparing trips to Stoneleigh and/or Harper Adams to attend beekeeping supplier trade shows. New or future beekeepers may find that the vast array of available options is difficult to navigate. Polystyrene hives have recently grown in popularity, so I thought I’d write about my experience. I … Read more
Genetic science has come on in leaps and bounds in the last few decades. It turns out that appearances can be deceptive as far as genes go. Even with their large population and worldwide distribution, humans have a remarkable lack of genetic diversity. Despite what we look like and where we live, we are all … Read more
When I interviewed Murray at his home in Perthshire in 2017, I asked him about honey production. Firstly I wanted to know how much honey he makes. (That’s with an ‘h’ not an ‘m’!) Average Crop per Hive Murray: Our long-term average? We don’t really count the blossom much, but we should be looking at … Read more
As many say in the beekeeping world, ask ten people about something, and you’ll get eleven different answers. I don’t think that’s entirely true, but beekeeping is undoubtedly a ‘broad church.’ A common way to start beekeeping in the UK is to buy a nucleus colony; a small but perfectly formed colony of bees in … Read more
Peter Drucker The legendary management consultant, Peter Drucker, may well have kept bees; I don’t know. He certainly made a vast contribution to twentieth-century management theory, and I’m sure his influence will stretch far into the current century too. He is well known for, amongst other things, these sayings: “If you can’t measure it, you … Read more
How this Walrus does it I harvested my last honey in August and treated for mites as soon as the honey supers were off. This works for me. Many beekeepers leave the harvest until later, maximising their honey crop, but I’m happy with what I do. At that time my bees are still bringing in … Read more
There are many things in beekeeping which cause furious debate. One part of this, which this demonstrated below, is that different beekeepers deal with different environmental conditions. Here are some extracts from Interviews with Beekeepers on the subject of hive ventilation: Murray McGregor (Perthshire, Scotland) Steve: Another thing that crops up a lot, mainly between … Read more
It’s that time of the year when it’s time for me to start to get my hives ready for the winter. I’m currently treating all of them with Apivar, which means that the evil varroa destructor mites are taking a beating. If I had any weak colonies, I would combine them with stronger ones after … Read more