Author Archives: Ron Miksha
Babysitting the queen
A friend left town for a few days. She had two queens, in cages, which she’d acquired for her hives. As it turned out, she used one of them but her second hive wasn’t strong enough to split. That meant … Continue reading
Psst. Wanna make some money?
Most hobby beekeepers keep bees for fun, not profit. But almost every beekeeper whom I’ve ever met tells me that, well, it would be nice to hear the cash register jingle once in a while. Bird-watchers or golfers rarely expect … Continue reading
Posted in Beekeeping, Books, Commercial Beekeeping
Tagged bee course, economics, Money from Honey, teaching beekeeping
20 Comments
First day with the bees
On Friday evening, just after the sun had set, we installed two packages of bees. Earlier in the day, we arranged six drawn-out deep brood frames (purchased from Scandia Honey, a very reputable bee farm in our area), two new … Continue reading
Posted in Beekeeping, Commercial Beekeeping
Tagged beginning beekeeping, Calgary, packages, pollen, urban beekeeping
7 Comments
Welcoming some new friends
The bees arrived. It was getting late. I was getting anxious. But just after the sun settled for the night, my friend Mark arrived with our two packages. He brought us 13,637 worker bees and two queens. We counted them. … Continue reading
Posted in Beekeeping, Tools and Gadgets
Tagged Calgary, hive equipment, package bees, urban beekeeping
12 Comments
The Perfect Place for Bees
An easy way to intimidate a new beekeeper is to read the list of requirements for a perfect apiary. Here’s my list. It’s not comprehensive. But even as a starter, it’s menacing: Your bees should be: In partial shade: avoid … Continue reading
Pollen Specks
Yesterday, I saw the first pollen of the year carried by bees in our area. It’s almost May! Local bees have been without fresh pollen for over six months. The pollen specks which I saw were pitifully specky. If you … Continue reading
Posted in Beekeeping, Climate, Ecology, Honey Plants
Tagged Andony Melathopoulos, crocus, pollen, Spring, willow
6 Comments
The Fragile Earth Egg
I try to stay on topic. This is a bee blog. But it’s hard to think about bees when our weather is so crummy. It has been extremely cold! Winter is officially over, but only on the calendar. A few … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, or lack thereof, Humour, Strange, Odd Stuff
Tagged Alberta, Calgary, Easter, winter
14 Comments
World Apitherapy Day: Bee Carefully!
Today is World Apitherapy Day. Apitherapy, which means using bee stuff for health, can include eating pollen, propolis, wax, royal jelly, bee larvae, and the like – or rubbing them on your face. But for many, apitherapy is bee sting … Continue reading
Posted in Apitherapy, Culture, or lack thereof, Outreach, People
Tagged anaphylactic shock, Apitherapy, Apitherapy Day, bee stings, Filip Terč, rheumatism
10 Comments
Ask Three ‘Experts’ (and get six answers)
A few days ago, three long-time beekeepers were asked to sit on a panel and take bee-management questions from a large audience of (mostly) younger, newer beekeepers. The three beekeepers were all commercial beekeepers or had run commercial outfits. Altogether, … Continue reading
Posted in Beekeeping, Friends, Outreach
Tagged Allen Dick, beginning beekeeping, Calgary Bee Club, Neil Bertram
10 Comments
Hobby Beekeepers Get an Extra Hour
Most folks I know reset their clocks last night. This is great for hobby beekeepers who race home after work to don gaudy bee suits and ignite smoker fuel, hoping to beat the setting sun. Not so fast, Beekeepster. You … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, or lack thereof, Friends, History, Humour, Reblogs
Tagged Arizona, Ben Franklin, Hutterites, Saskatchewan, Savings Time
5 Comments
Bad Beekeeping Blog 