Humans (and walruses) are part of the natural world. We are animals. Sometimes we like to set ourselves aside from nature as if we are not part of it, but this is wrong. However, there is no denying the powerful and often damaging impact that homo sapiens have made upon our planet and its inhabitants. … Read more
I often like to have some theme for my blog posts, but today I’m just writing whatever pops into my head. There are lots of things to say about bees, but after a while, it can get a bit stale. Bees are fascinating insects, and most beekeepers tend to be obsessed with them, but to … 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
Beekeeping is Local Maybe I am naive or just positive and optimistic, but I’m sure that to many people I have some dangerously liberal ideas. For a start, I deliberately travelled all over the place to meet experienced bee farmers to see what I could learn. Then I wrote a book about the inspirational people … Read more
So Long, Spring Spring is over. I’m not going by the calendar but by what I see at my beehives, although as it happens, the two are in synch. We are now in what they call the “June Gap”. The trees have finished flowering apart from lime trees (Lindens). The oilseed rape is long gone, … Read more
Extracts from my interviews with bee farmers about the main threats to their livelihood
As I slump in my incredibly comfortable La Z Boy chair in front of my super amazing iMac computer, I can still feel the bulk of my birthday meal progressing steadily through my walrus body. That meal was yesterday, and very delicious it was too, but birthdays are not just about stuffing one’s face with … Read more