Sometimes unexpected things happen in beekeeping. What seems weird to me, or peculiar, or interesting, may not chime with you, but here are a few cases that caused a raised eyebrow or two. Welcome to my beekeeping twilight zone. Her Majesty Returns Recently, the Mole and I were inspecting a colony that had clearly swarmed. … Read more
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-walrus-and-the-honey-bee/id1788182933?i=1000706136759 There are plenty of bad things to say about losing swarms from honey production colonies, but I’m particularly interested in the big one – loss of honey crop. Many people cheer themselves up after losing swarms by reflecting on how a brood break will benefit the bees, and how it’s a wonderful natural phenomenon, … Read more
A year ago, the very idea of starting to raise queens at this time was madness, such was the hideous weather. This year, spring has been kinder, and I have already done my first batch of grafts. Now, I know that the easiest part of raising queens is making cells, and getting virgins well-mated is … Read more
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
I can’t remember if we are currently experiencing “fool’s spring”, the “spring of deception“, or some other amusingly named phase, but my bees are certainly enjoying it. In my area—and indeed across nearly all the UK—March provided more sunshine and considerably less rainfall than usual. This delightful situation is bound to change. The only certainty … Read more
I seem to have been quite busy lately, resulting in a lack of blog posts. A cynic might suggest that the real reason is that I have nothing much more to say, or that there are so many sources of beekeeping information nowadays that mine will be drowned out, so what’s the point? Well, the … Read more
If ‘bee improvement’ is something that you are striving for, and I hope it is, then the thorny issue of introducing queens will inevitably arise. By this, I mean the situation where I have removed a colony’s queen, and have replaced it with a cell, virgin, or mated queen of my choosing. This goes against … Read more
Prefer a podcast? https://youtu.be/8S3AAW-ey9E I have returned from a holiday in Lanzarote – the Seaside Hotel Los Jameos Playa as usual – and I’m eagerly awaiting the Beekeeping Show at Telford. Snowdrops and hazel catkins have been out for some time, but there is still a cold bite to the air. It’s tempting to overreact … Read more