ROB Manley Archives - The Walrus and the Honey Bee

Practical Tips About Queens

New virgin queen Finding, Marking and Introducing Queens As any regular reader of my blog will know, I'm obsessed with two things; queens and Varroa mites. Queens are essential to honey bees, as mothers are to all families. Mites are horrible things…

29 Mar 21 Walrus

Let’s Talk About Swarms

They can't possibly be my bees! I've written about swarming quite a bit in the past. I'm not sure how many people who read my stuff are beginners, but I'm going to assume it's not the majority. You probably all…

13 Feb 21 Walrus

Timing and Flows

White Clover Flower Sometimes we look at life on our beautiful planet with wonder and awe at the incredible way in which it all fits together so perfectly. Perhaps some people with a religious or spiritual leaning can see a…

22 Jan 20 Walrus

Demaree

Demaree Method Many very experienced beekeepers in the UK advocate using the Demaree Method of swarm prevention for people with a small number of hives. George Demaree (1832–1915) from Kentucky first published his approach in an article in the American…

18 Jul 19 Walrus

Mistakes!

The Fool In beekeeping, as in life, everybody makes mistakes. Even bees occasionally make them. The hard part is owning up to them. Douglas Adams said, "a common mistake that people make when trying to design something foolproof is to…

14 Jan 18 Walrus

The Eternal Question

2013 Swarm How to prevent swarming? I previously wrote about some potential factors involved in the swarming of honey bees and why swarm prevention and control are so important for the beekeeper. The idea that we can prevent swarms is…