Author Archives: Ron Miksha
Too Close?
Today I have a photo essay for you. These are fantastic close-ups of honey bees – maybe too close for some people. All of these pictures are from the United States Geological Survey. As such, they are in the public … Continue reading
May 20: World Bee Day
There’s a small country in Central Europe, a very beautiful alpine country, called Slovenia. Slovenia has only about two million people, but this tiny country is very big in beekeeping. Tucked between Italy and Austria, it has both mountains and … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, or lack thereof, History, Outreach, Save the Bees
Tagged Anton Jansa, honey bees, Slovenia, World Bee Day
13 Comments
Drawing the Bee
Not long ago, Scientific American had a piece about drawing. The story, written by a biology professor, encourages us to look at nature and draw it. The case is made that drawing helps you understand what you are observing. But … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, or lack thereof, Science
Tagged efficiency, honey bees, Jennifer Landin, scientific drawing, The Little Prince
7 Comments
Friends Among the Bees
I spent a few hours in the bees today. This was part of our bee club’s beginner beekeeping course and I was one of the instructors, showing 50 new beekeepers the mysterious inner workings of our club president’s hives. The … Continue reading
Almonds Doing Selfies
Almond pollination season is over. The billions of bees working in California have moved on. They are now mostly scattered across the American plains. It’s not easy to be a bee in the almond groves during February and March. Colony … Continue reading
Bananas
Originally posted on Bee-Nuts:
Guerrilla gardening must be the most benign form of environmental protest; just find some under-utilised land and plant some flowers. So much more constructive than the vandalism embraced by some eco-warriors. Aside from the obvious pun,…
Meanwhile in Montréal
Here’s an interesting idea. Beekeepers rent massive numbers of colonies to almond, blueberry, cranberry, durian, eggplant, and so on farmers. Money is the attraction – neither the meager honey crop nor the diseases picked up on most of these pollination … Continue reading
Posted in Bee Yards, Outreach, Save the Bees
Tagged Montreal, Pollination, urban beekeeping
2 Comments
Bee Rustlers on the Rise
In the old days, cowboys occasionally stole cows. Horse thieves were sometimes hanged. Not always, though. Back in Val Marie, Saskatchewan, a cattle town that I lived in for ten years, there was a fellow named Joseph Ernest Nephtali Dufault … Continue reading
Posted in Commercial Beekeeping, Movies, People, Strange, Odd Stuff
Tagged bee theft, Drurer, Quebec, Val Marie, Will James
2 Comments
Herbicides, Bacteria Killers, and Honey Bees
Recently, I learned that herbicides such as Roundup and 2-4-D kill bacteria. Not only do they do a fine job of killing broadleaf pollen producers, they also kill some microbes. This information didn’t come from the tin-hat doom-sayer who lives … Continue reading
Posted in Ecology, Pesticides, Save the Bees
Tagged glyphosate, herbicides, Monsanto, Roundup
6 Comments
Honey Times in Oz
I’ve not yet travelled to Australia – Oz, as some here in Canada call it. We who have never seen Oz can only picture the place with the same sense of awe that the scarecrow had for the Emerald City. … Continue reading
Posted in Beekeeping, Commercial Beekeeping, History
Tagged Australia, eucalyptus, record honey crop, Rob Smith
12 Comments
Bad Beekeeping Blog 