Category Archives: Beekeeping

Good News: No Killer Bees at the Olympics

Posted on August 21, 2016 by Ron Miksha

Whatever happened to the Killer Bees? Killer Bees – more accurately, hybrids of European and African honey bees – were supposed to destroy the world, or at least kill a lot of people trying. They started out in Brazil, not … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping, Culture, or lack thereof, Diseases and Pests, History, Humour, Killer Bees, Movies, Stings, Swarms | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Saturday at the Hive

Posted on August 19, 2016 by Ron Miksha

I live in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It’s a remarkable city. Economist magazine ranks us as the world’s fifth-best city (they place Vancouver and Toronto as 3rd and 4th) while the international agency the Mercer Group says Calgary has the cleanest … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping, Commercial Beekeeping, Friends | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Bee Vandals

Posted on August 10, 2016 by Ron Miksha

I’ll never understand vandalism. Theft I understand. I don’t like it, I don’t condone it, I’ve been victimized by it. But I can understand how it might sometimes happen. Vandalism, however, is strange. And stupid. Vandalism is nothing new. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Bee Yards, Beekeeping, Commercial Beekeeping, Diseases and Pests | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Dead bee, in the middle of the ‘shield…

Posted on August 4, 2016 by Ron Miksha

A few days ago, I had a road trip that took me two hours from my home in Calgary. Flying low at 130 kph, I expected to whack a lot of bees on the forehead of my van, but I … Continue reading →

Posted in Bee Yards, Beekeeping, Culture, or lack thereof, Humour, Strange, Odd Stuff | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Can’t Get it out of the Comb?

Posted on August 2, 2016 by Ron Miksha

The American Bee Journal  published a timely piece in their August issue. It just hit my mailbox. The article is about avoiding granulated honey in your extracting frames. It’s written by your favourite bee-blogger. Me. I’m not going to repeat … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping, Climate, Commercial Beekeeping, Honey | Tagged , , , , , | 10 Comments

Bees Do Do-Do

Posted on July 23, 2016 by Ron Miksha

Diapers for bees?  Some folks stopped me when I was leaving an apiary that I once had in a Florida orange grove. They didn’t own the grove, but their house was within fifty yards. They told me that my bees … Continue reading →

Posted in Bee Yards, Beekeeping, Commercial Beekeeping, Humour, Strange, Odd Stuff | Tagged , | 15 Comments

Falling Honey Price Makes National News

Posted on July 20, 2016 by Ron Miksha

Something in the news caught my attention. The falling price of honey is now a national news item.  We noticed that prices began falling a year ago, when wholesale prices started their tumble from $2.25 to $1.25.  Now even the … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping, Commercial Beekeeping | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Dropping into Sunshine Valley

Posted on July 15, 2016 by Ron Miksha

My hometown – Calgary, Alberta, Canada – is having a much needed wet spell. In fact, there has been some ghastly local flooding which I’ll cover in a future blog. Lucky for me, I am a few hundred kilometres farther … Continue reading →

Posted in Bee Yards, Beekeeping, Ecology, Friends, Save the Bees | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

Bad Beekeeping Competition

Posted on July 11, 2016 by Ron Miksha

I came across a blog posting titled “Bad beekeeping” over at ScienceBlogs.com. I was concerned that someone had picked up on my nomen – not that I have universal rights on the bad beekeeping phrase. But I wrote the book … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping, Hives and Combs, Humour, Save the Bees | Tagged , | 4 Comments

African Beekeeping May “Save the Trees”

Posted on June 29, 2016 by Ron Miksha

Rather than “Save the Bees”, it’s “Save the Trees” in central Africa. A story from Zimbabwe reminds us that beekeeping can be very, very good for ecology. Bees (and beekeepers) are saving Zimbabwe’s forests. The country of Zimbabwe, lest we … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping, Ecology, Save the Bees | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments