Author Archives: Ron Miksha
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 219 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 Langstroth, The Hive and the Honey-Bee
8 Comments
Making honey talk
A biochemistry student at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, has been analyzing proteins in honey. Since proteins (for example, pollen grains, shown above) make up only about 0.1-0.5% (one to five parts per thousand) of the volume of a … Continue reading
Posted in Diseases and Pests, Honey, Science, Tools and Gadgets
Tagged honey biochemistry, pollen in honey
7 Comments
Interview at CJSW with Ian Perry
A couple of months ago, I was invited to chat about my research with Ian Perry, who runs a radio/podcast interview program (Keeping Green) at the University of Calgary’s CJSW. Ian is interviewing people who are studying ecology in western … Continue reading
Posted in Beekeeping, Ecology, Native Bees, Personal, Science
Tagged CJSW, urban beekeeping
6 Comments
National “I Love Honey Day”
I’m not sure how serious this is, but someone somewhere has declared December 18 to be national I Love Honey Day. I’m not sure what we’re supposed to do. But here’s an idea: Go out and buy some honey. Then … Continue reading
. . . it’s like calling an old friend
I’m breaking my longest blogging hiatus since I began spewing my myopic insights on the internet, way back in the mid-90s. Several folks wrote, asking if I were still alive. I didn’t answer them. Then it occurred to me that … Continue reading
Winter’s coming – are you insulated?
When I kept bees in Florida, I didn’t wrap my hives for winter. In Pennsylvania, where I grew up, we sometimes wrapped hives with thin black building paper. That was supposed to keep wind out of the cracks and heat … Continue reading
Posted in Beekeeping, Hives and Combs, Tools and Gadgets
Tagged Calgary, polystyrene, wintering bees
34 Comments
Apimondia 2019: Thursday (some presentations)
On Thursday at the Montreal Apimondia, I gave a presentation about the average distance bees fly while foraging. The full title was Foraging distances of commercially-deployed bees: a meta-analysis. When I find some time, I’ll do a voice-over and create … Continue reading
Posted in Bee Biology, Beekeeping, Commercial Beekeeping, Ecology, Native Bees, Pollination, Science
Tagged Apimondia, bee foraging
1 Comment
Apimondia 2019: Wednesday (And a scandal)
Wednesday at Apimondia was a more relaxed day for me. I ran into several more friends, looked around the city of Montreal, sat at several talks, viewed more posters, tasted more honey in the exhibition hall, and shared an afternoon … Continue reading
Posted in Honey, Science, Strange, Odd Stuff
Tagged adulteration, Apimondia, honey judging
7 Comments
Apimondia 2019: Tuesday (Posters)
This blog post is out of sync (“Tuesday” is being posted on Saturday), but as a good friend once told me, “It’s always Tuesday somewhere.” Truth is, it gets hard to post on a blog while on a conference. I’m … Continue reading
Apimondia 2019: Taste the honey!
Apimondia has honey. There are probably some serious honey trades going on among the world’s buyers and sellers visiting Montreal. The rest of us are getting small tastes of Slovenian acacia, Alberta white alfalfa, Chilean ulmo, Chinese jujube, and Argentine … Continue reading
