Monthly Archives: April 2019

The reason we don’t raise April queens in Alberta

Posted on April 28, 2019 by Ron Miksha

It snowed again. After weeks of sweet weather, balmy enough for T-shirts, the bees quit hauling pollen and focused on hibernation.  This is the reason so few queens are bred in Canada.  We can do it, but freaky weather gets … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping, Climate | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Bees learn to drive tiny cars

Posted on April 10, 2019 by Ron Miksha

I wouldn’t believe this if I had seen it with my own eyes! Sam Droege, bee scientist extraordinaire, has a USGS Flickr website populated with great bee photographs. Last week, somewhere around April first, Sam posted the results of some … Continue reading →

Posted in Humour, Native Bees, Science, Strange, Odd Stuff | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Comb on demand

Posted on April 9, 2019 by Ron Miksha

Here’s something that I never thought anyone would manufacture. It’s fully-drawn comb, just the way bees would make it, if bees were machines. I’m impressed with the technology, but I’m not sure how marketable these manufactured combs will be. Perhaps … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping, Hives and Combs, Strange, Odd Stuff, Tools and Gadgets | Tagged | 14 Comments

Good Neighbour Beekeeping

Posted on April 8, 2019 by Ron Miksha

It’s worth repeating. Especially at this time of the year. Be a good neighbour beekeeper.  I wrote the following post last March. If you missed it, here’s your chance to miss it again…. 🐝 🐝 🐝 🐝 🐝 🐝 🐝 … Continue reading →

Posted in Bee Yards, Beekeeping, Books, Outreach | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Comb honey euphoria?

Posted on April 7, 2019 by Ron Miksha

Three million people have watched this 12-minute video of a person eating honey comb and fried chicken. Every nuance of the first stage of digestion is clearly visible and audible. Microphones focus on noisy chewing and slurping sounds. Why would … Continue reading →

Posted in Comb Honey, Culture, or lack thereof, Strange, Odd Stuff | Tagged , | 8 Comments

Beekeeping goes Global

Posted on April 4, 2019 by Ron Miksha

Global TV interviewed me at noon today. Our chat went OK. I covered most of what I wanted to talk about in the five minutes allotted. I’d like to give a special thanks to Liz Goldie, who helped immeasurably with … Continue reading →

Posted in Ecology, Outreach, Save the Bees | Tagged , , | 10 Comments

A bit of pollen

Posted on April 3, 2019 by Ron Miksha

Today’s high was only 12 ºC (53F), but the bees had discovered pollen. It’s surprising how small the pollen pelts are, and doubly surprising that nearly every bee is carrying some. Both of our backyard colonies are weak, but coming … Continue reading →

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Polar Vortex Insurance: Extended to Beekeepers!

Posted on April 1, 2019 by Ron Miksha

Our local Auto Club (Alberta Motor Association) is offering Polar Vortex Insurance. This is a great new feature (for members only) – if the temperature stays at -25C, or colder, for any 14 consecutive days, each paid-up member gets to … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate, Humour, Save the Bees, Strange, Odd Stuff | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments