Category Archives: Bee Biology

Meet the Family Caste

Posted on December 17, 2016 by Ron Miksha

Yesterday, I vented about honey bees and honeybees – the former being correct, the latter wrong. Today’s a new day, so here’s a new vocab issue. In today’s interesting world of blended boundaries, I thought I’d write a few words … Continue reading →

Posted in Bee Biology, Books, Queens | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Spelling Bees with Uncommon Names

Posted on December 16, 2016 by Ron Miksha

I’m not a grammarian, I don’t have the most hugest vocabulary, and I have been known to produce some pretty bad spells of whetther – but even I appreciate the right word, used and spelt correctly. Without rules, confusion reigns … Continue reading →

Posted in Bee Biology, Culture, or lack thereof | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

Brood in Front of the Hive?!?

Posted on September 24, 2016 by Ron Miksha

I’m continuing with the series of questions which I overheard at a bee meeting a few days ago. Today, it’s dead brood. Here are those questions: My honey isn’t capped. What should I do with it? (I heard that one … Continue reading →

Posted in Bee Biology, Bee Yards, Beekeeping, Diseases and Pests, Pesticides, Strange, Odd Stuff | Tagged , , , , | 10 Comments

The Man Who Made Killer Bees

Posted on September 9, 2016 by Ron Miksha

Today (September 9) is the 94th birthday of Warwick Estevam Kerr, the man who made the Killer Bees. Just like his bees, Kerr comes from hot, tropical Brazil. And just like his bees, Dr Kerr has been much maligned and … Continue reading →

Posted in Bee Biology, Beekeeping, Culture, or lack thereof, Genetics, People, Science | Tagged , , , , , | 18 Comments

Bumble Bees and Free Will

Posted on September 8, 2016 by Ron Miksha

Much is made of a human’s ability to make free choices. It’s an illusion, of course, but if people should be awarded this mysterious power, then why not bees? To bolster this notion of bees and free will, we’ll look … Continue reading →

Posted in Bee Biology, Ecology, Science | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

The Worker Who Would Be Queen

Posted on September 1, 2016 by Ron Miksha

Bees have a complicated social structure which some political scientists have sought to embrace. In the old days, people assumed that the King Bee ruled with an iron fist that imposed order, harmony, sacrifice, and unflinching duty. Now that the … Continue reading →

Posted in Bee Biology, Genetics, Queens, Science | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

A Bee with Racing Stripes?

Posted on August 23, 2016 by Ron Miksha

My friend Stephen was helping a new beekeeper when they spotted these spotted honey bees. It almost looks like someone was doing a science experiment using marked bees. It’s probably sticky pollen that got glued to the bees’ blind spots … Continue reading →

Posted in Bee Biology, Friends, Strange, Odd Stuff | Tagged | 12 Comments

Zombees in Canada

Posted on August 16, 2016 by Ron Miksha

I wish I had good news. Canada’s first confirmed case of zombees has appeared – on Vancouver Island, out in the Pacific. Hundreds of kilometres from my home in Calgary.  Zombie zombees, like the human kind, are undeads who are … Continue reading →

Posted in Bee Biology, Diseases and Pests, Ecology, Strange, Odd Stuff | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

The Bees’ Sixth Sense

Posted on June 28, 2016 by Ron Miksha

Bees sense the environment differently than humans. For example,  bees can see ultra-violet colour and distinguish it from violet and white, yet they see red as if it were black. They sense the orientation of polarized light. Their massive compound … Continue reading →

Posted in Bee Biology, Science | Tagged , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Too Close?

Posted on May 22, 2016 by Ron Miksha

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 →

Posted in Bee Biology | Tagged , , | 2 Comments