Prefer a podcast? https://youtu.be/8S3AAW-ey9E I have returned from a holiday in Lanzarote – the Seaside Hotel Los Jameos Playa as usual – and I’m eagerly awaiting the Beekeeping Show at Telford. Snowdrops and hazel catkins have been out for some time, but there is still a cold bite to the air. It’s tempting to overreact … Read more
This week I did a Zoom talk for the Suffolk beekeepers, which was fun. Well, as much fun as it can be for an introvert. Maybe the virtual environment suits people like me who shy away from big crowds and do better in a one-to-one situation. However, sometimes it’s good to know if people are … Read more
Many beekeepers in the UK are in the process of removing supers and extracting their honey. The summer is nearly over, queens are laying less, and the bees are beginning to arrange their nests for the winter ahead. Most of the varroa treatments available to us should not be used when honey supers are on, … 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
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate: Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, And summer’s lease hath all too short a date (William Shakespeare, from Sonnet 18) The End is Nigh Strange as it may seem, we are approaching the end of the beekeeping … Read more
Gosh, I’ve been running around like a blue-arsed fly, a headless chicken, a striped ass ape…[insert favourite metaphor here]…which is not how your average walrus likes to be. We are sedentary creatures. We like to muse, and ponder, and pontificate; the occasional stretch is delicious, but all this frantic activity has unbalanced me. It has … Read more