This detailed and highly relevant article by Kirsty Stainton is essential reading for all beekeepers. Kirsty Stainton is the Technical Manager for the National Bee Unit (NBU) and holds a PhD (DPhil) in Insect Molecular Genetics from Oxford University. She is the author of Varroa Management (Northern Bee Books, 2022) and a member of the Bee … 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
Varroa mites cause the death of more colonies than most people admit – here I discuss a summer mite check, if only for peace of mind.
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
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
Yesterday I treated all of my hives with oxalic acid vapour using a Sublimox device plugged into a generator. The generator was a gift from a friend who I have helped out with bees over the last year. The Sublimox was a gift to myself and my bees. Research at LASI, located at my old … Read more