Author Archives: Ron Miksha

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About Ron Miksha

Ron Miksha is a bee ecologist working at the University of 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.

Miel Carlota – Once the World’s Biggest Bee Farm

Posted on June 5, 2017 by Ron Miksha

One of the world’s largest honey farms was a Mexican outfit started by a couple of guys on holidays from Germany. The Second World War broke out while they were rambling around the Mexican coast, so they stayed for an … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping, Books, Commercial Beekeeping, History, People, Queens | Tagged , , , , | 27 Comments

The Serious Lawn

Posted on June 4, 2017 by Ron Miksha

Do we take lawn care too seriously? Whether we are wasting water on Kentucky bluegrass in the great American southwest, or soaking tonnes of weedkiller and insecticide into pleasant little villages across the continent, much of our obsession is just … Continue reading →

Posted in Ecology, Strange, Odd Stuff | Tagged , | 10 Comments

Mind the Gap!

Posted on June 2, 2017 by Ron Miksha

If you travel metro in London (and many other cities) you might hear a polite admonition from the public address system, “Mind the gap!”  It’s advising you not to get your footwear stuck between the train and platform while boarding. Beekeepers … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping, Ecology, Honey Plants | Tagged , , | 15 Comments

Bee Man Freeman

Posted on June 1, 2017 by Ron Miksha

Born in 1938,  Morgan Freeman is 79 years old today, June 1, 2017. (Happy Birthday!) You know him as the actor (Driving Miss Daisy; Shawshank Redemption; Million Dollar Baby) with the resonating voice. But did you know that Freeman resonates … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, or lack thereof, Outreach, People | Tagged | 4 Comments

Swarm Season

Posted on May 31, 2017 by Ron Miksha

It’s swarm season here in the north. That will end soon enough, but right now it’s pushed by long days and a heavy dandelion flow. Hives just can’t help themselves. In the old days of skep and gum beekeeping, a … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping, Friends, History, Swarms | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Bee’s Eye View

Posted on May 27, 2017 by Ron Miksha

Looking down from a light aircraft gives insights you just can’t match on the ground. At 6,000 feet, you appreciate how close flowers are along a beeline from hive to field. Beeing in the air is useful for a beekeeper … Continue reading →

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Long Live the (New) Queen

Posted on May 26, 2017 by Ron Miksha

During the past week, we looked at how to requeen a hive. On Monday, we considered the reality of queen troubles and how our hives differ from feral colonies. Tuesday was about identifying a queen’s quality from her brood pattern, … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping, Queens | Tagged | 5 Comments

Sticking the Queen In

Posted on May 25, 2017 by Ron Miksha

Over the past few days, I’ve written a little about identifying poor queens by examining brood patterns. Then we discussed  finding and pinching her failing heinousnesses.  The next step in your requeening saga is inserting the caged queen. Here in … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping, History, Queens, Tools and Gadgets | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Pinching the Queen

Posted on May 24, 2017 by Ron Miksha

Today I’ll write a few words about finding and murdering the old queen. We’ll assume that you have decided the queen must die. Harsh as that sounds, sometimes it’s the only way to save a hive. Think of the colony … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping, Queens | Tagged | 10 Comments

Good Queen; Bad Queen

Posted on May 23, 2017 by Ron Miksha

Quite a few commercial beekeepers replace queens every second year. It’s a scheduled event, sort of like a birthday. Half the hives will get a new queen in 2017, the other half in 2018, then back to the first group … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping, Queens | Tagged , , | 22 Comments