Author Archives: Ron Miksha

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About Ron Miksha

Ron Miksha is a bee ecologist working in 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.

Do you know the queen colours?

Posted on June 11, 2019 by Ron Miksha

If you mark your queens, you should follow the international queen-colour code: White in 2016 and 2021, Yellow in 2017 and 2022, etc. This system has been around for decades because it’s uniform, consistent, and lets a beekeeper know the … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping, Queens, Strange, Odd Stuff | Tagged | 4 Comments

Can we learn old tricks?

Posted on June 10, 2019 by Ron Miksha

I have a small collection of old bee books, and I like searching them for new ideas. (If you can’t get new ideas from old books, what’s the point of history?) My favourite beekeeping books are the ones that tell … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, History, People | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

Save the People

Posted on June 6, 2019 by Ron Miksha

A few decades ago, most prisons had farms. Inmates grew some of their own food while learning a few basic skills. That changed for a number of reasons, partly because of the tendency to lock everyone up if they couldn’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Outreach | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Laying worker, new queen, or both?

Posted on June 4, 2019 by Ron Miksha

Following on yesterday’s post about laying workers, I thought I should add this important caveat.  If you have a new queen (from a split which was given a young caged queen, for example), you may occasionally find multiple eggs in … Continue reading →

Posted in Bee Biology, Beekeeping, Queens | Tagged , | 5 Comments

At least one of these bees is a laying worker

Posted on June 3, 2019 by Ron Miksha

At least one of the bees in the picture above is a laying worker. Can you spot her?  I can’t. But if you read this post to the end, you will have the answer – and a really nice bonus, … Continue reading →

Posted in Bee Biology, Beekeeping, Diseases and Pests, Queens, Science | Tagged , , , , , | 8 Comments

Are you listening to your bees?

Posted on May 26, 2019 by Ron Miksha

Experienced beekeepers approach their hives as one might enter a church or temple. With quiet respect. Once there, we listen. That’s an important part of our role.  The listening beekeeper knows in an instant if the colony is queenless or … Continue reading →

Posted in Bee Biology, Beekeeping, Diseases and Pests, Tools and Gadgets | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Another podcast you’ll like

Posted on May 23, 2019 by Ron Miksha

I’m a steady fan of two great beekeeping podcasts. Kiwimana, produced in New Zealand, is a nice mix of practical beekeeping, bee news stories,  and interviews with beekeepers. The PolliNation podcast, made up of bee chats with Dr Andony Melathopoulos … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping, Commercial Beekeeping | Tagged , | 3 Comments

How tough are we?

Posted on May 22, 2019 by Ron Miksha

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

Posted on May 20, 2019 by Ron Miksha

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 , , , , | 5 Comments

The reason we don’t raise April queens in Alberta

Posted on April 28, 2019 by Ron Miksha

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 , , , , | 1 Comment