Audio (podcast) version is here or on my YouTube channel It is difficult to quantify what percentage of honey bee colonies die as a result of varroa mite infestation (and associated viruses) because multiple factors are often involved. From the information I have seen, it is the leading cause of colony losses worldwide. Probably 30 … Read more
I have been able to do some actual beekeeping recently, which is a wonderful thing. Suddenly, the Mole (my son, Alex) and the Walrus are back in the game; we have been reversing boxes, cleaning/changing floors, and marking/clipping queens. The land is boggy and wet, but the bees are mostly strong and raring to go. … Read more
It won’t be long until spring has sprung and beekeepers across the land start to open hives and assess how their bees did over the winter. I could be more cynical than the average walrus, but I strongly suspect that most beekeepers are like gamblers with winter loss figures. They are happy to talk about … 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
Even though I live in a densely populated country, there are plenty of rural places to escape to, and these are the places that I keep my bees. I’m not keen on the idea of having bees in my garden. I don’t happen to have a four-acre garden, sadly. I have neighbours with kids, a … Read more
Image above copyright Mariusz Nikiciuk Here in the UK, and particularly in my corner of our emerald isle, we are accustomed to some unpleasant weather, mostly of the wet kind. A couple of years ago I picked up some bees from somebody up in the hills of Derbyshire because I wanted to try out bees which get … Read more
Typically, when I tell somebody that I am a beekeeper I get a big smile, then I get told how wonderful it is that I’m doing my bit to save the bees, because they are really struggling at the moment aren’t they? It seems churlish to tell them that the reasons I keep bees are … Read more