Author Archives: Ron Miksha
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
Wax Worms Biggly in the News
The folks who write my favourite business magazine, Economist, have a freebie on their website. They are giving away a 50-page book, Ten Things We Learned in 2017. You’ll like the second story in their feature: “How plastic-eating caterpillars could … Continue reading
Posted in Bee Biology, Diseases and Pests, Ecology, Science, Strange, Odd Stuff
Tagged Economist, environment, wax worms
3 Comments
National “I Love Honey Day”
I’m not sure how serious this is, but someone somewhere has declared December 18 to be national I Love Honey Day. I’m not sure what we’re supposed to do. But here’s an idea: Go out and buy some honey. Even … Continue reading
