Author Archives: Ron Miksha
Busy as a Bee
I try to write at least one blog post every week. It’s not hard to find material. Honey production, honey chemistry, queen breeding, nectar sources, apitherapy, famous beekeepers, colony management, bee diseases, and on and on – it’s easy to … Continue reading
Walden Publishing: Helping New Beekeepers
A few months ago, Walden Publishing printed a beginning beekeeping article which they asked me to write: When to Harvest Honey. It can be found here. Then I was asked to produce a more general piece on beekeeping, which is … Continue reading
Posted in Beekeeping, Culture, or lack thereof, Outreach
Tagged beginning beekeeping, Walden Publishing
9 Comments
Unseen Pollinators
If you are interested in ecology (and especially pollination), there’s a great piece you’ll want to read on Jeff Ollerton’s website. Dr Ollerton (University of Northampton) has just released a comprehensive paper on pollinator diversity in Annual Review of Ecology, … Continue reading
Posted in Bee Biology, Ecology, Pollination, Save the Bees
Tagged Jeff Ollerton, pollinators
22 Comments
Creamed Honey
I’ve written about ‘creamed’ honey before, but I think it’s time to mention it again. I don’t know what you call smooth honey – some folks call it creamed (though no dairy products are involved), spun (though no spinning is … Continue reading
Posted in Friends, History, Honey, Tools and Gadgets
Tagged American Bee Journal, creamed honey, Dyce, marketing honey, spun honey
16 Comments
Why are Hives Damp in the Winter?
Last time, I wrote about my over-wintering misadventures with wet hives. In many parts of the world (I’m looking at you, England.), the biggest winterkill comes from moisture, not disease or starvation. During the winter, water may collect under the … Continue reading
Posted in Bee Biology, Beekeeping, Science, Tools and Gadgets
Tagged Adony Melathopoulos, hive equipment, wintering bees
7 Comments
Winterprep: What’s the neighbour doing?
Fall has arrived and you’re preparing your bees for winter. If you are new to beekeeping, this should make you nervous. You might lose every colony you have in the next few months. What you do now has a huge … Continue reading
They Got Me – on the Kiwimana Podcast!
Just a short blog post today… If you’ve been curious about my voice (which has been described as dull and boring), you have a chance to hear it in its full-depth vibrato. I was in conversation with Gary Fawcett of … Continue reading
My Failure as a Beekeeper: Part VI
My anno horribilis apis had one more final insult to bestow upon my ever-shrinking self-esteem. Our little hive was attacked by robber bees. Once again, it was a scene entirely reminiscent of Tolstoy’s dying Moscow: There is no longer the … Continue reading
My Failure as a Beekeeper: Part V
When a colony has lost its queen and not replaced her, the hive is almost certain to die a slow and sorrowful death. The great plans we had for this small nuc – a source of a pound or two … Continue reading
