As an editor of a bee farming magazine (called Bee Farmer, would you believe?), former director of BeeCraft, author, blogger, podcaster (sometimes) – you get the picture – I’m always interested in communicating valuable information on keeping honey bees to others. There are many others doing something similar, and probably better. The challenge that we … Read more
I’m not sure if varroa mites are the thing I write about most, or if it’s queens, but they both feature heavily, and with good reason. If I have good queens in my colonies and varroa is under control, then the chances are that my bees will do well. Anyway, it was pointed out to … Read more
I spotted an article about some interesting honey bee research (details below) in the excellent Beekeepers Quarterly (BKQ) magazine. Not everyone reads that, despite its excellence, so I thought I’d write a little about the research. The use of “Chemical-Free” in the headline refers to any chemicals, including organic acids and thymol (which are, of … Read more
There are a growing number of people who believe that treating honey bees to remove varroa mites is bad, whereas non-treatment is good. This is literally the opposite of what government funded experts in bee health say. How can this be so? How can some beekeeping associations actually encourage the idea that not treating for … Read more
Risky To Go Against NBU Advice The July 2022 issue of the BBKA News features not one, not two, but THREE articles on treatment-free beekeeping. That’s three out of eight (37.5%). Given that this is an association consisting of primarily hobby beekeepers with less than five hives each, I find it odd that so much … Read more
At the recent autumn convention of Cheshire Beekeepers’ Association, Professor Tom Seeley talked about ‘Darwinian beekeeping’. I had doubts but wanted to hear the great man speak. His many years of studying honey bees, particularly those living in the wild, have surely got to be of interest to anyone keeping bees. Pros and Cons Seeley … Read more