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.

Invasive bee hives

Posted on September 11, 2013 by Ron Miksha

Dutch bee hives in Manhattan? Of course. Four hundred years and counting. New York was known as New Amsterdam by its first settlers, the Dutch from Holland who arrived on lower Manhattan Island in 1614. That’s even before the Pilgrims … Continue reading →

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The economist’s bees

Posted on September 9, 2013 by Ron Miksha

You can be one of the smartest economists in the world, and still not realize beekeeping is a lousy investment. The celebrated author and public speaker, Gary Shilling, who writes for The New York Times, Forbes, and The Wall Street … Continue reading →

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Getting away with murder

Posted on September 4, 2013 by Ron Miksha

A bee-kill decision in Florida. According to The Ledger, beekeepers Barry Hart and Randall Foti lost $390,000 worth of bees and honey production when one of Florida’s largest citrus producers sprayed pesticides. (The loss does not seem exaggerated. For example, … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping, Culture, or lack thereof, People, Pesticides, Save the Bees | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

China car swarmed

Posted on August 31, 2013 by Ron Miksha

Does this story remind you of Hitchcock’s Birds? According to this Metro news story, a Driver’s Ed instructor and two students were trapped in his car until fire fighters were called to pressure-wash the car. I suppose the bees were … Continue reading →

Posted in Humour, Strange, Odd Stuff, Swarms | Tagged | Leave a comment

Windshield bees

Posted on August 26, 2013 by Ron Miksha

Road kill. In this case, it’s bees. I was out of the city yesterday, cruising the Alberta back roads at 110. (The posted speed limit was 100, so maybe that was really my speed.) I passed a few bee yards … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping, Humour | Tagged | 1 Comment

Chinook Honey Festival

Posted on August 24, 2013 by Ron Miksha

Chinook Honey Farm’s Honey Harvest Festival was today, near Okotoks, just south of Calgary. As always, Art and Cherie entertained their hundreds of guests with lots of games, demonstrations, and programs. The farm has a great meadery with a wide … Continue reading →

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CBC discovers CCD

Posted on August 23, 2013 by Ron Miksha

CBC Evening News Blames Neonics for Colony Collapse… In a touching – and sad – news program from CBC’s National, we see the story of an Ontario beekeeper who is losing his bees. View the complete video on YouTube. CBC … Continue reading →

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Time to say goodbye – or maybe not

Posted on August 9, 2013 by Ron Miksha

Bees have made the cover of Time. Missing bees, that is. The cover announces “A World without Bees” and promises to disclose “the price we’ll pay” if we can’t stop the bee losses. I’m not sure exactly what triggered this … Continue reading →

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Movies

Posted on July 15, 2013 by Ron Miksha

Another movie about honey bee deaths? Why not? It appears the public isn’t tired of hearing about dead bees yet. The latest installment is “More than Honey” which was filmed on location inside a beehive studio somewhere in Switzerland. Last … Continue reading →

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Flooded

Posted on June 27, 2013 by Ron Miksha

My home town has been hit by a flood. We would call it the “once in a century flood” but we had that back in 2005. We are told, however, that this flood beat all records for high-water levels over … Continue reading →

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