Greetings, bee-botherers and those interested in the care of honey bees with the goal of producing honey and bees for sale. I have been AWOL, I deserted my post, by which I mean that I haven’t written anything on here for many moons. There are reasons – call them excuses if you will – but … Read more
After a stuttering start, our queen production is now in full swing, so I thought I’d share how we do it. This probably won’t suit everybody, but it works for us. A big part of queen production is being organised, getting the timings right, and having a process that is familiar and effective. Another important … Read more
I have written a fair few articles about raising queens, and, as time passes, my experience grows (or maybe my memory fades?). The only beekeeping I have been doing is feeding fondant to most of my nuclei, and a couple of hives that were a little light. So, here’s another queen rearing article that tries … Read more
Virgin Queens Are Not Making It Back I’m deep into writing a book, with the deadline approaching faster than my output of words, but it seems wrong to neglect my blog for too much longer. This one is not very scientific, just some observations and musings about some changes that I have seen in the … Read more
Some Of My Beekeeping Mistakes Murphy’s Law – “If anything can go wrong, it will” – comes from a chap in the US Air Force in the 1940s. He was involved in testing new engineering designs. Perhaps he was always messing things up, or maybe he was super cautious and used the ‘law’ to try … Read more
Best Time For Queen Mating Flights The problem with beekeepers is that we are all cooped up for ages over the winter with no bees to see. It isn’t enjoyable. Then, suddenly, the weather improves, spring arrives, and we’re back in the game. The boundless optimism that comes with that first spell of warm weather … Read more
I stumbled upon a fantastic resource for beekeepers concerning the monitoring and management of Varroa mites by the Honey Bee Health Coalition. There is some comprehensive guidance, including videos plus a neat decision tool to help decide whether to treat and what the treatment options are. A few of my colonies contain a full comb … Read more