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.

No Cheery Welcome for the Beetles

Posted on December 2, 2014 by Ron Miksha

“Ladies and gentlemen, The Beetles!” **  That’s how Ed Sullivan introduced John, Paul, George and Ringo to the American public. The introduction was followed by a lot of screaming, some disruptive noise on Ed’s stage, and general hair-pulling by the … Continue reading →

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Packing Honey Combs

Posted on November 24, 2014 by Ron Miksha

With a break in the weather, my kids and I made a trip down to the farm. It is in Vulcan County, aptly named for heat. Vulcan can be really, really hot is the summer. But it is late fall … Continue reading →

Posted in Comb Honey, Friends | Tagged | Leave a comment

Buzzing Out-of-Sync

Posted on November 22, 2014 by Ron Miksha

If flowers bloom a month earlier than usual – as they reportedly did last year in Maryland – what does that mean for bees? According to Will Plants and Pollinators Get Out of Sync? it could mean trouble. The story … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate, Ecology, Genetics, Honey Plants, Pollination | Tagged | Leave a comment

Dead Swiss Bees

Posted on November 15, 2014 by Ron Miksha

Something odd was killing bees in Switzerland. It was sudden. It was peculiar. It was devastating. This past spring – in April, 2014 – beekeepers in the Zäziwil and Möschberg region found almost 200 colonies dying. They quickly recognized signs … Continue reading →

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A New Origin for the Bee?

Posted on November 8, 2014 by Ron Miksha

Years ago, we learned that honey bees developed in Africa, then spread north and evolved into different subspecies. It is not surprising that the bee could adapt to the much colder northern climates – you don’t even need to accept … Continue reading →

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A Long Time Bloggin’

Posted on October 29, 2014 by Ron Miksha

Web logs – blogs – have been around for about 20 years this month. That is according to this piece from (where else?) someone’s blog. I have been writing this bee blog – these pages about the politics and science … Continue reading →

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The Tired Honey Man

Posted on October 27, 2014 by Ron Miksha

Friends just back from Uzbekistan shared this photo with me. The gentleman is selling honey and he doesn’t seem too happy about it. We’ll get to that in a moment. First, what is Uzbekistan? It’s a place on the other … Continue reading →

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Who is the Saint?

Posted on October 20, 2014 by Ron Miksha

On this day in 1970, Norman Borlaug accepted his Nobel Peace Prize. You probably never heard of him. A few days ago, I read an interesting piece in an old New York Times column, written by author/philosopher Steven Pinker. He … Continue reading →

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No longer almost free

Posted on October 18, 2014 by Ron Miksha

At a get together with a small group of beekeepers, we all started bugging one of the fellows about the price of his honey. At $10/kilo (less than $5/pound) one lady figured we could do well buying his entire crop … Continue reading →

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Caught in the middle

Posted on October 12, 2014 by Ron Miksha

Are they staying or are they going? The Globe and Mail, “Canada’s newspaper,” has an editorial written by Margaret Wente. She calls her piece “Caught in the Middle of the Bee War” and it is about the vanishing honey bees. … Continue reading →

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