Author Archives: Ron Miksha
The Synthetic Apiary Revisited
I posted this piece a couple of years ago, but it’s timeless. I was reminded of this blog post when my WordPress splash alarm went off – someone was linking to this page on their own blog. That’s OK, of … Continue reading
Support the Students
I don’t usually ask readers to help (even with good causes), but you will feel great about this one. The University of Calgary, where I am looking at the interaction between honey bees and native bees, has a smart group … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Ecology, Native Bees, Outreach, Save the Bees
Tagged bees, Calgary, University of Calgary
1 Comment
Keeping the Bees: Netflix
It’s great to know a lot about bees, although it sometimes comes between you and a good time. I enjoyed Keeping the Bees, a Turkish-language drama (2019; 93minutes), but some bee-science was forgotten in the lab and the jars of … Continue reading
Posted in Bee Yards, Beekeeping, Culture, or lack thereof, Movies
Tagged bee movies, Caucasian bees, honey bees, Turkey
1 Comment
April 7: Day in the bees
April 7. Our backyard hives are collecting real pollen! Last week, I showed you some fake pollen coming into the colonies. Nothing beats the real stuff. Although desperate honey bees will carry worthless sawdust as a pollen supplement, nothing inspires … Continue reading
Posted in Bee Biology, Beekeeping, Ecology, Native Bees, Personal
Tagged Alberta, Calgary, honey bees, pollen, pollen substitutes, urban beekeeping
4 Comments
The invisible hive tool
At last! A hive tool I can see! I am severely colourblind, which generally means that the difference between red and green makes little sense to me. I have been told (by enough people) that grass is green, so I … Continue reading
Posted in Beekeeping, Personal, Queens, Tools and Gadgets
Tagged colourblind, hive tool, queen bees
2 Comments
What does that extra apiary cost you?
With fuel prices going scary high, I thought that a few comments on bee yards away from the home fortress might be timely. My father, an early migratory beekeeper, had about 800 hives and trucked them into apple pollination in … Continue reading
Posted in Bee Yards, Beekeeping, Personal
Tagged Bee Yards, expenses, honey bees, management, urban beekeeping
10 Comments
World Apitherapy Day
Today is World Apitherapy Day. And it’s my birthday. Coincidence? Maybe not. Apitherapy, which means using bee stuff for health, can include eating pollen, propolis, wax, royal jelly, bee larvae, and honey – or rubbing them on your face. But for … Continue reading
Posted in Apitherapy, History, People, Science, Stings
Tagged Apitherapy Day, bee stings, China, Covid-19, Filip Terč, health
3 Comments
Early Pollen?
A couple of days ago, on March 22, we had sunlight and heat. Honey bees were gathering pollen. I don’t remember such a rush of pre-season pollen in this area. It’s a lot earlier than expected. I figured their goodies … Continue reading
Posted in Bee Biology, Honey Plants
Tagged Alberta, Calgary, feeding bees, honey bees, pollen, urban beekeeping
14 Comments
Smart, Apimondia!
The day after the invasion started, a woman and her husband reached Lviv from a small city south of Kiev. The woman was suffering the late stages of cancer. She was weak and tired. Her husband helped her into the … Continue reading
Riot police battle beekeepers
These Chilean beekeepers chose the wrong place to set 60 colonies of bees. Or maybe the right place, as their plight drew national attention. Four beekeepers were arrested, seven riot police were hospitalized due to bee stings, and at least … Continue reading
Posted in Climate, Culture, or lack thereof, Save the Bees, Stings, Strange, Odd Stuff
Tagged Chile, climate change, drought, Protests
4 Comments
Bad Beekeeping Blog 