Author Archives: Ron Miksha
Surviving on Bees and Berries
A 40-year-old Ohio man was lost for six days and nights in the Pacific Northwest. Rescuers found him in reasonably good shape. His family says that he was always interested in nutrition so they weren’t surprised that he survived by … Continue reading
Smoky Bees
Originally posted on Bad Beekeeping Blog:
Calgary – a smoker’s haven. My home town – Calgary – is under a smoke advisory. The sky is hazy with smelly gray smoke from the trees, grass, and homes that are on fire…
Posted in Beekeeping, Ecology, Honey, Reblogs, Uncategorized
Tagged Alberta, bee smoker, Calgary, forest fires, pheromones, smoke
2 Comments
More on High Temperatures and Bees
A couple of days ago, I posted about our all-time record high temperature. It was 37 ºC (98.6 ºF) – a temp that’s not too extravagant for many beekeepers, but the city of Calgary had never seen such a hot … Continue reading
Posted in Beekeeping, Books, Climate, Commercial Beekeeping
Tagged extreme weather, Langstroth
8 Comments
Our Hottest Day
My home town, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, just set a record for heat. In all the past decades of weather-watching here, we’ve never been as hot as it was today. Ever. (In recorded history.) Officially, it reached 37C, which is over … Continue reading
Bee Art Exhibit
Beginning Saturday, August 11, four Vancouver Island artists will exhibit Bee Art at the Leighton Art Centre just south of Calgary. I don’t know if I’ll make it out there for the opening reception (Saturday, 2-4pm) but the exhibit continues … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, or lack thereof, Outreach
Tagged bee art, Calgary, Leighton Art Centre
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Bears and Bees: Not the story you’re expecting
I live in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. A few weeks ago, a family of pandas moved to our city. They are staying at the zoo. If you live anywhere within a thousand kilometres, drop by and meet the bears. If they … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, or lack thereof, Outreach, Pollination, Save the Bees
Tagged Calgary, Calgary Zoo, native bees, panda
2 Comments
A Bee ID Expert
How well do you know bees? Not just honey bees, but all the other ones – masons, carpenters, diggers, sweat, cutters, bumblers, and the other many thousands of species. If you are like most of us, not so well. There’s … Continue reading
Posted in Bee Biology, Outreach, Save the Bees, Science
Tagged Andony Melathopoulos, native bees, podcast, Sam Droege
3 Comments
Expecting the unexpected
For the past two days, I described how we might predict a future honey flow. I mentioned how difficult soothsaying can be yet I went on to say that experience and a tool like a scale hive can help us … Continue reading
Posted in Bee Yards, Beekeeping, Climate, Commercial Beekeeping
Tagged Bee Yards, extreme weather
14 Comments
How to predict the honey flow
This post will be disappointing to anyone hoping for a quick and easy way to predict what the honey flow will bring. There is no substitute for experience. It may take years to gain the knowledge you’ll need because every … Continue reading
Posted in Beekeeping, Climate, Commercial Beekeeping, History, People
Tagged Alberta, August, dearth, Don Peer, nectar flow, scale hive, statistics, UBAC
2 Comments
What will August bring?
I had an email last week with a question about beekeeping. I couldn’t answer it. The reader asked, “What can I expect my bees to do in August?” It depends, of course, on where you are keeping bees. In the … Continue reading
