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.

The invisible hive tool

Posted on April 5, 2022 by Ron Miksha

At last! A hive tool I can see! I am severely colourblind, which generally means that the difference between red and green makes little sense to me. I have been told (by enough people) that grass is green, so I … Continue reading →

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

What does that extra apiary cost you?

Posted on April 3, 2022 by Ron Miksha

With fuel prices going scary high, I thought that a few comments on bee yards away from the home fortress might be timely. My father, an early migratory beekeeper, had about 800 hives and trucked them into apple pollination in … Continue reading →

Posted in Bee Yards, Beekeeping, Personal | Tagged , , , , | 10 Comments

World Apitherapy Day

Posted on March 30, 2022 by Ron Miksha

Today is World Apitherapy Day. And it’s my birthday.  Coincidence? Maybe not. Apitherapy, which means using bee stuff for health, can include eating pollen, propolis, wax, royal jelly, bee larvae, and honey – or rubbing them on your face. But for … Continue reading →

Posted in Apitherapy, History, People, Science, Stings | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Early Pollen?

Posted on March 25, 2022 by Ron Miksha

A couple of days ago, on March 22, we had sunlight and heat. Honey bees were gathering pollen. I don’t remember such a rush of pre-season pollen in this area. It’s a lot earlier than expected. I figured their goodies … Continue reading →

Posted in Bee Biology, Honey Plants | Tagged , , , , , | 14 Comments

Smart, Apimondia!

Posted on March 6, 2022 by Ron Miksha

The day after the invasion started, a woman and her husband reached Lviv from a small city south of Kiev. The woman was suffering the late stages of cancer. She was weak and tired. Her husband helped her into the … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, or lack thereof, History, Travels | Tagged , , | 12 Comments

Riot police battle beekeepers

Posted on January 5, 2022 by Ron Miksha

These Chilean beekeepers chose the wrong place to set 60 colonies of bees. Or maybe the right place, as their plight drew national attention. Four beekeepers were arrested, seven riot police were hospitalized due to bee stings, and at least … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate, Culture, or lack thereof, Save the Bees, Stings, Strange, Odd Stuff | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Bye ’21: Don’t let the door hit you. . .

Posted on December 31, 2021 by Ron Miksha

This was the year that my motor neuron (ALS variant) advanced more than anyone would like, but I’ll especially remember 2021 as the year I had an unexpected heart attack! (Three, actually, but who’s counting?) I am still plodding along … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping, Culture, or lack thereof, Personal | Tagged | 4 Comments

EO Wilson, 92, has left the lab

Posted on December 30, 2021 by Ron Miksha

The entire Earth was Ed Wilson’s lab. When his death was announced on Monday, I knew that I wanted to write a few words words in his honour, but I also knew that this would be a difficult task. One … Continue reading →

Posted in Bee Biology, Books, Culture, or lack thereof, Ecology, History, People, Science | Tagged , , | 8 Comments

Langstroth’s Christmas Present

Posted on December 25, 2021 by Ron Miksha

I’ve been posting this piece every Christmas for a while. If you’ve read it before, read it again. Or not. Christmas Day is L.L. Langstroth’s birthday. He’d be 211 years old, if he hadn’t been struck down in his 85th … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping, Books, History, Hives and Combs, People, Tools and Gadgets | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Bees in the Snow

Posted on December 24, 2021 by Ron Miksha

New beekeepers (and some of us old ones) worry when we see ‘lots’ of bees in the snow during winter. The black dots (above) are frozen stiffs – bees that left their hive and didn’t make it back. To me, … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping | Tagged , , | 5 Comments