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.

Bee Art Exhibit

Posted on August 10, 2018 by Ron Miksha

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 , , | Leave a comment

Bears and Bees: Not the story you’re expecting

Posted on August 5, 2018 by Ron Miksha

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 , , , | 2 Comments

A Bee ID Expert

Posted on August 4, 2018 by Ron Miksha

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 , , , | 3 Comments

Expecting the unexpected

Posted on August 3, 2018 by Ron Miksha

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 , | 14 Comments

How to predict the honey flow

Posted on August 2, 2018 by Ron Miksha

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 , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

What will August bring?

Posted on August 1, 2018 by Ron Miksha

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 →

Posted in Beekeeping | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Lighten up – it’s mid-week

Posted on July 25, 2018 by Ron Miksha

It’s Wednesday. We’re halfway through a July work week.  For those of you putting in hours while the rest of the world is at the cabin, this is for you. I blundered across a cigarette commercial (please don’t smoke) from … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, or lack thereof, Honey, Humour, Outreach, Strange, Odd Stuff | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Prolonging the sweet taste

Posted on July 23, 2018 by Ron Miksha

Most nectar-supping insects land on a flower, take a bit of nectar, then fly off. But bees are different. They hang around the flower, sometimes gorging for ten seconds or more, if there’s enough nectar. Why the difference? Scientists think … Continue reading →

Posted in Bee Biology, Science | Tagged , , | 10 Comments

A Taste of Honey

Posted on July 17, 2018 by Ron Miksha

I checked the bees this morning. They started as packages on foundation but are all grown up now and starting to fill honey supers. The main flow has been going well for a couple of weeks, though interrupted by a … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping, Honey | Tagged , | 8 Comments

Don’t Step on a Bee Day

Posted on July 10, 2018 by Ron Miksha

There’s a day for everything. Today is Don’t Step on a Bee Day. See if you can keep it up all week!

Posted in Culture, or lack thereof, Humour, Save the Bees | Tagged , | 4 Comments