Category Archives: Beekeeping

Visit the UK National Honey Show – Free!

Posted on October 21, 2020 by

I’ve always wanted to visit the UK National Honey Show, renowned as the ultimate in honey judging. But, it’s in the UK and I’m in Canada. Well, because of COVID-19, the event has moved on-line and we all have a … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping, Culture, or lack thereof, Hive Products, Honey | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Ready for the cold?

Posted on October 13, 2020 by

Podcasts continue to grow in popularity. People are spending about two hours each day following the wise musings of their favourite word-weavers. I heard that Joe Rogan signed with Spotify for $100,000,000 (though he’s locked in for ten years). I … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping, Tools and Gadgets | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Frosted Honey

Posted on October 11, 2020 by

My cousin, who lives in Europe, sent me the photograph above. She was wondering what had gone wrong with her honey – and how she could fix it. First, I have to wonder if this is something ‘wrong’. Honey with … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping, Friends, Honey | Tagged , | 5 Comments

Covid: How we got our bees

Posted on July 17, 2020 by

Some really unusual things have been going on in the bee world since the advent of Covid-19. These include a big setback for beekeepers in my community and the rescue of stranded Canadians in Central America – a rescue performed … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping, Commercial Beekeeping, Pollination | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

A Guide to Controlling Varroa

Posted on February 15, 2020 by

Spring is arriving in the north, and a young man’s mind thinks about romance. And varroa. There’s a nice new single-page guide that offers a quick look at integrated pest management (IPM) for the varroa beast. You can read some … Continue reading →

Posted in Bee Biology, Beekeeping, Diseases and Pests | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

The Richard Taylor Centennial

Posted on December 27, 2019 by

I certainly could not let this year pass without a note or two about Richard Taylor, American beekeeper and philosopher. He would have reached 100 years in November. Alas, he expired seventeen years earlier. It’s hard to say which of … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping, Books, People | Tagged | 1 Comment

Langstroth’s Christmas Present

Posted on December 25, 2019 by

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 219 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 , | 8 Comments

Interview at CJSW with Ian Perry

Posted on December 19, 2019 by

A couple of months ago, I was invited to chat about my research with Ian Perry, who runs a radio/podcast interview program (Keeping Green) at the University of Calgary’s CJSW. Ian is interviewing people who are studying ecology in western … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping, Ecology, Native Bees, Personal, Science | Tagged , | 6 Comments

Winter’s coming – are you insulated?

Posted on September 23, 2019 by

When I kept bees in Florida, I didn’t wrap my hives for winter. In Pennsylvania, where I grew up, we sometimes wrapped hives with thin black building paper. That was supposed to keep wind out of the cracks and heat … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping, Hives and Combs, Tools and Gadgets | Tagged , , | 34 Comments

Apimondia 2019: Thursday (some presentations)

Posted on September 16, 2019 by

On Thursday at the Montreal Apimondia, I gave a presentation about the average distance bees fly while foraging. The full title was Foraging distances of commercially-deployed bees: a meta-analysis.  When I find some time, I’ll do a voice-over and create … Continue reading →

Posted in Bee Biology, Beekeeping, Commercial Beekeeping, Ecology, Native Bees, Pollination, Science | Tagged , | 1 Comment