Author Archives: Ron Miksha
The Queen, or Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second
Queen Elizabeth commands tens of thousands and lays up to 2,000 eggs a day? That might be an editing error. Dan Graur, a biologist in Houston, discovered that Reuters News Service once required that all stories about “the queen” should … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, or lack thereof, Humour, People, Queens, Strange, Odd Stuff
Tagged Queen Elizabeth
3 Comments
Hive Materials
Yesterday an e-mail arrived from a European beekeeper. He is new at bees and wanted my opinion about bee things (hive types, honey plants, eco-tourism). One of his questions particularly stood out. He had found an ad for “honeycomb material” … Continue reading
Posted in Hives and Combs, Tools and Gadgets
Tagged artificial combs, bee equipment, plastics
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Rhodo Poison?
The rhododendron is a beautiful plant, but it’s rumoured to intentionally maim and kill honey bees. My mother had a favourite rhododendron bush in the yard by our house in the Appalachian foothills. Now that I am older and presumably … Continue reading
Posted in Bee Biology, Ecology, Honey Plants, Pollination
Tagged Appalachian, azalea, bees in warfare, John Lovell, poisoned bees, poisonous honey, rhododendrons
3 Comments
Cher Justin Trudeau…
Regular readers of this bee blog know that I avoid politics with as much self-discipline as most people avoid lounging on sunny days on a south-facing deck. This is a bee blog, not a political blog. If I ever mention … Continue reading
Posted in Comb Honey, Friends, Outreach
Tagged Alberta, Comb Honey, Justin Trudeau, politics
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Ecology 1,2,3
On Friday, I led an ecology program at the local elementary school. My 32 students ranged in age from 6 to 12. They were part of an experimental class where kids in their school could select their interest and indulge … Continue reading
Posted in Ecology, Outreach, Pollination, Save the Bees
Tagged Benny the Bee, Ecology, school outreach, teaching beekeeping, wax foundation
2 Comments
Saving Honey
Brag time. We just got home from the big Calgary science fair competition. My 13-year-old won three awards. Here’s the kicker: his project was called Saving Honey with Sound. His experiment was based on sending ultrasonic energy waves into combs … Continue reading
Posted in Comb Honey, Hive Products, Honey, Outreach, Tools and Gadgets
Tagged Calgary, canola, economics, granulation, science fairs
12 Comments
Too much to do…
During the past two weeks, I flew from Calgary to Cincinnati (and back again); organized, prepared, and co-presented a day-long beekeeping economics program; ran a 2-hour ecology school at the neighbourhood elementary; was an invited “expert” at ask-an-expert night at … Continue reading
Buzz the Bee is on Vacation
General Mills is sending Buzz the Bee, their cheerful Honey Nut Cheerios spokesbug, on vacation. Or into hiding. In a campaign bound to raise awareness for the world’s suffering bees, and maybe to inadvertently sell more Cheerios, packages of the … Continue reading
Posted in Humour, Save the Bees, Strange, Odd Stuff
Tagged bee extinction, Benny the Bee, Buzz the Bee, Cheerios
4 Comments
Location, Location, Vocation
My last two blog posts (Alberta is Beekeeping and Canada’s Hive Beetles) were unseemly braggadocious pitches. I wrote about how great beekeeping is on Canada’s western prairies. Alberta, Canada, has not had CCD, but instead has increasing numbers of kept … Continue reading
Posted in Beekeeping, Commercial Beekeeping, Honey, Honey Plants
Tagged Alberta, Bad Beekeeping, bee locations
5 Comments
Canada’s Hive Beetles
A couple of nights ago, Alberta’s chief apiculturist spoke at our local (Calgary) bee club meeting. Close to 150 people turned out to hear Dr Medhat Nasr give us a recap on the status of Alberta beekeeping and the status … Continue reading
Posted in Beekeeping, Diseases and Pests
Tagged Alberta, Calgary Bee Club, Florida, Medhat Nasr, migratory beekeeping, small hive beetles
2 Comments
Bad Beekeeping Blog 