Author Archives: Ron Miksha
How tough are we?
I missed about a month of blogging (did anyone notice?) from mid-April through mid-May. My hiatus, caused by emergency surgery, saw me kicking back at the local hospital. I’m not one for cooling my heals under the care of a … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
9 Comments
World Bee Day 2019
World Bee Day, May 20 of each year, is not just about honey bees. Although the idea arose in Slovenia, a little country that’s really big on honey-bee keeping, it’s also a celebration of all the world’s bees. About 20,000 … Continue reading
Posted in Ecology, History, Native Bees, Outreach, Save the Bees
Tagged Anton Jansa, dogwood, Native Bees, Slovenia, World Bee Day
5 Comments
The reason we don’t raise April queens in Alberta
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 Alberta, Calgary, Spring, urban beekeeping, wintering bees
1 Comment
Bees learn to drive tiny cars
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 bee photography, bumblebees, Sam Droege
6 Comments
Comb on demand
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 beeswax
14 Comments
Good Neighbour Beekeeping
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 Andony Melathopoulos, bee safety, urban beekeeping
3 Comments
Comb honey euphoria?
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 ASMR, Comb Honey
8 Comments
Beekeeping goes Global
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 Bees on TV, Calgary Bee Club, urban beekeeping
10 Comments
A bit of pollen
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
Polar Vortex Insurance: Extended to Beekeepers!
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 Alberta, cold weather, insurance, wintering bees
3 Comments
Bad Beekeeping Blog 