Category Archives: Beekeeping
Honey Times in Oz
I’ve not yet travelled to Australia – Oz, as some here in Canada call it. We who have never seen Oz can only picture the place with the same sense of awe that the scarecrow had for the Emerald City. … Continue reading
Posted in Beekeeping, Commercial Beekeeping, History
Tagged Australia, eucalyptus, record honey crop, Rob Smith
10 Comments
Packages Arrive in Calgary!
Calgary has a hyper-active bee club. Members help members with all manner of thing. Equipment exchanges, educational programs, disease control. The latest big event was the arrival of 160 packages of bees from New Zealand. By the way, 160 packages … Continue reading
Weird Spring
We are having weird, weird weather here in Alberta. It’s dry as a desert and almost as hot as one. Since January, our temperature has stayed well-above normal. Ten degrees above normal, in fact. And that’s embarrassing. It’s embarrassing because … Continue reading
Posted in Beekeeping, Climate
Tagged Alberta, Calgary, climate change, dandelions, nectar flow
2 Comments
Location, Location, Vocation
My last two blog posts (Alberta is Beekeeping and Canada’s Hive Beetles) were unseemly braggadocious pitches. I wrote about how great beekeeping is on Canada’s western prairies. Alberta, Canada, has not had CCD, but instead has increasing numbers of kept … Continue reading
Posted in Beekeeping, Commercial Beekeeping, Honey, Honey Plants
Tagged Alberta, Bad Beekeeping, bee locations
5 Comments
Canada’s Hive Beetles
A couple of nights ago, Alberta’s chief apiculturist spoke at our local (Calgary) bee club meeting. Close to 150 people turned out to hear Dr Medhat Nasr give us a recap on the status of Alberta beekeeping and the status … Continue reading
Posted in Beekeeping, Diseases and Pests
Tagged Alberta, Calgary Bee Club, Florida, Medhat Nasr, migratory beekeeping, small hive beetles
2 Comments
Alberta is Beekeeping
Last night, the Calgary and District Beekeepers Association hosted its monthly general meeting. About 150 people showed up. To accommodate the growing membership and big turnout, our club’s president found an affordable and spacious new meeting hall near the Bow … Continue reading
Posted in Beekeeping, Friends, Outreach, Save the Bees
Tagged Alberta, Calgary, Calgary Bee Club, Medhat Nasr, statistics
4 Comments
Almonds, Water, and Bees
February is almond pollination month in California. A couple of nights ago, the CBC aired a story about almonds, water, and bees. They try to cover everyone involved – the consumer who loves the heart-friendly food, the almond grower who … Continue reading
Posted in Bee Yards, Beekeeping, Commercial Beekeeping, Ecology, Honey Plants, Pollination
Tagged almond pollination, almonds, California, migratory beekeeping
2 Comments
TV Bee Outreach
How does your bee club reach the public? TV interviews are difficult, nerve-racking, and can go seriously wrong. But when Liz Goldie of the Calgary Bee Club took to the air with a local station, everything went seriously right. From … Continue reading
Posted in Beekeeping, Friends, Outreach
Tagged Bees on TV, Calgary Bee Club, urban beekeeping
Leave a comment
Clipped and Marked? Part 2
I’m not going to suggest how you should hold a queen and a paint bucket when you mark your monarch. For that, I added a video, which you’ll find below. Instead, when your favourite queen supplier gives you a choice … Continue reading
Clipped and Marked? Part 1
If you live north of the equator, you’ve noticed the days getting longer. Your bees have noticed, too. Maybe you’ve already had your first late-winter inspection. Hopefully, you are not peering into hollow tombs, but instead you’re seeing bustling little … Continue reading
Bad Beekeeping Blog 