Author Archives: Ron Miksha
Support a Book
I’ve received a fascinating message from a relatively new beekeeper. The note was from a young man who is crowdsourcing funds to help pay for the translation and printing of an unusual beekeeping book. Mathijs Herremans is a young Dutch … Continue reading
Posted in Beekeeping, Books, Outreach
Tagged crowd-funding, dark bees, Dutch, varroa mites
2 Comments
Crazy Russian Hacker lost all his bees!
My son is a fan of a YouTube sensation who calls himself the “Crazy Russian Hacker.” Taras Kulakov came to America from the Ukraine as a child refugee. He’s 30 now. A few years ago, he began making fun videos … Continue reading
Why your honey gets hard
One thing that puzzles a lot of new (and used) beekeepers is the way that some honey granulates while other honey doesn’t. There are a number of things that affect crystallization rate, including ‘seed’ floating in the honey (dust, previous … Continue reading
Have you lithium-chlorided your bees yet?
A friend (Thanks, Thomas!) sent a note this morning about a new mite treatment. It was developed at the University of Hohenheim, Apicultural State Institute, Stuttgart, Germany. Findings were published in Nature. So, I am guessing that the science – … Continue reading
Posted in Diseases and Pests, Save the Bees, Tools and Gadgets
Tagged lithium chloride, varroa mites
24 Comments
Rotten: Lawyers, Guns & Honey
I’m invariably cautious – even cynical – about beekeeping movies. But I just saw one that breaks the mold and restores faith in the potential for delivering a great story about the honey industry without lies and exaggeration. The one-hour … Continue reading
Posted in Beekeeping, Commercial Beekeeping, Culture, or lack thereof, Movies, Pollination, Save the Bees
Tagged bee documentary, Honeygate
33 Comments
Americans eat four cents of honey every day. Wow.
It’s January. Here in Canada, that’s usually the coldest time of the year. Time to eat some honey. A healthy, quick energy treat that’s not too bad to feast upon. Especially good mixed with whiskey and lemon juice if you … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, or lack thereof, Honey, Strange, Odd Stuff
Tagged honey consumption, statistics, sugar
10 Comments
2017: The Year in Bee Review
As 2017 draws to a close, let’s look back at the year’s best beekeeping stories. With lower honey prices in 2017, some beekeepers left the business and colony counts fell a little. Back in 2016, I reported that honey bees … Continue reading
Posted in Apitherapy, Bee Biology, Beekeeping, Culture, or lack thereof, Diseases and Pests, Friends, History, Hive Products, Honey, Honey Plants, Killer Bees, Movies, Outreach, People, Pesticides, Pollination, Queens, Save the Bees, Science
Tagged blogging
6 Comments
The Man Who Discovered that Bees Can Think
You probably know that Karl von Frisch figured out how honey bees use their waggle-dance to communicate. He won the Nobel Prize for that and for other studies of bee behaviour. I think it was well-deserved and his experiments withstood … Continue reading
Posted in Bee Biology, Culture, or lack thereof, History, People, Science
Tagged bee communication, Charles Henry Turner, honey bees, Karl von Frisch
16 Comments
Langstroth: The Great Christmas Gift
I’m repeating a blog which I post each Christmas Day, Langstroth’s birthday. He is often considered the inventor of modern beekeeping. He invented the modern beehive, making it easier, more productive, and less stressful for bees. However, Lorenzo Lorraine Langstroth … Continue reading
Posted in Beekeeping, Books, Culture, or lack thereof, History, Hives and Combs, People
Tagged Langstroth
7 Comments
Solstice
My friend Nichol sent this picture of her backyard hive. It’s beautiful, isn’t it? A quintessential image of winter in Canada. Besides being a great photographer, Nichol is a woodworking artisan. She handcrafted the hive equipment in her workshop. It’s … Continue reading
Bad Beekeeping Blog 