Author Archives: Ron Miksha

About Ron Miksha

Ron Miksha is a bee ecologist working at the University of Calgary. He is also a geophysicist and does a bit of science writing and blogging. Ron has worked as a radio broadcaster, a beekeeper, and Earth scientist. (Ask him about seismic waves.) He's based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

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

Posted in Culture, or lack thereof, History, Travels | Tagged , , | 12 Comments

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 , , , | 4 Comments

Bye ’21: Don’t let the door hit you. . .

This was the year that my motor neuron (ALS variant) advanced more than anyone would like, but I’ll especially remember 2021 as the year I had an unexpected heart attack! (Three, actually, but who’s counting?) I am still plodding along … Continue reading

Posted in Beekeeping, Culture, or lack thereof, Personal | Tagged | 4 Comments

EO Wilson, 92, has left the lab

The entire Earth was Ed Wilson’s lab. When his death was announced on Monday, I knew that I wanted to write a few words words in his honour, but I also knew that this would be a difficult task. One … Continue reading

Posted in Bee Biology, Books, Culture, or lack thereof, Ecology, History, People, Science | Tagged , , | 8 Comments

Langstroth’s Christmas Present

I’ve been posting this piece every Christmas for a while. If you’ve read it before, read it again. Or not. Christmas Day is L.L. Langstroth’s birthday. He’d be 211 years old, if he hadn’t been struck down in his 85th … Continue reading

Posted in Beekeeping, Books, History, Hives and Combs, People, Tools and Gadgets | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Bees in the Snow

New beekeepers (and some of us old ones) worry when we see ‘lots’ of bees in the snow during winter. The black dots (above) are frozen stiffs – bees that left their hive and didn’t make it back. To me, … Continue reading

Posted in Beekeeping | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

The Bees are Fine

My favourite line from one of my favourite movies was spoken by Peter Fonda, playing Ulee Jackson in a film about a Florida beekeeper. When Ulee visits his son, who is in prison for robbery, the son asks about the … Continue reading

Posted in Beekeeping, Commercial Beekeeping, Honey, Movies | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

Look at me! I’m green!

A Calgary oil company’s office tower has a bee just around the corner. This beautiful wall-poster points the way to the bee. Yes, ‘the bee’ according to the sign. I would be quite embarrassed if I had allowed such a … Continue reading

Posted in Bee Yards, Ecology, Save the Bees | Tagged , | 5 Comments

Bees Kill Endangered Penguins

Well, this isn’t a nice story. Apparently 63 endangered African penguins were stung to death by honey bees last week. My first thought, of course, was that the culprit was one of the more vicious African honey bees – Apis … Continue reading

Posted in Ecology, Killer Bees, Stings, Strange, Odd Stuff | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Free International Symposium

Global Trends in Beekeeping. This two-day symposium is being held in Moscow. Registration is free, but if you are in the western hemisphere, be prepared for a couple of very early mornings. (The Congress begins at 10am, Moscow; 3am in … Continue reading

Posted in Apitherapy, Beekeeping, Culture, or lack thereof | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment