Category Archives: Beekeeping

Location, Location, Vocation

Posted on March 14, 2016 by Ron Miksha

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 , , | 5 Comments

Canada’s Hive Beetles

Posted on March 11, 2016 by Ron Miksha

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 , , , , , | 2 Comments

Alberta is Beekeeping

Posted on March 10, 2016 by Ron Miksha

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 , , , , | 4 Comments

Almonds, Water, and Bees

Posted on February 26, 2016 by Ron Miksha

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 , , , | 2 Comments

TV Bee Outreach

Posted on February 23, 2016 by Ron Miksha

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 →

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Clipped and Marked? Part 2

Posted on February 20, 2016 by Ron Miksha

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 →

Posted in Beekeeping, Queens | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Clipped and Marked? Part 1

Posted on February 19, 2016 by Ron Miksha

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 →

Posted in Beekeeping, Queens | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Bumper Crop

Posted on February 12, 2016 by Ron Miksha

The numbers are in and the prize goes to Alberta. Alberta, a province in western Canada, has once again won the prestigious honey production award. For those of us who learnt beekeeping where 50-pound crops are the norm (in my case, … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping, Honey | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

The Honey Threshers

Posted on January 14, 2016 by Ron Miksha

A century ago, threshing crews worked their away across the American and Canadian prairies, harvesting farmers’ grains. When I was rather young (not quite a century ago) one of my Saskatchewan buddies signed up for a threshing crew job. Maurice … Continue reading →

Posted in Bee Yards, Beekeeping, Commercial Beekeeping, Honey, Strange, Odd Stuff | Tagged , , | 10 Comments

Winter Wonderland

Posted on January 7, 2016 by Ron Miksha

Every month I try to meet friends in a village called Bragg Creek. It’s just a half hour drive from my home in Calgary. It gets me out of town and up close to the mountains. When I get there, … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping, Friends | Tagged , , | 2 Comments