Category Archives: Beekeeping
Bees: Targeted and Poisoned!
Three million bees were apparently poisoned. The RCMP is investigating. A commercial beekeeper with about 1,200 colonies now has fewer than a thousand. The Winnipeg Free Press says that Manitoba beekeeper Jason Loewen suffered a “targeted attack.” Beekeeper Loewen told … Continue reading
Posted in Bee Yards, Beekeeping, Culture, or lack thereof
Tagged bee theft, Manitoba
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Beeman Freeman
Morgan Freeman is incredible. Whether you enjoyed him driving over Ms Daisy or gaining redemption after Shawshank, you likely admired the way the man can perform. I really began to appreciate Freeman when I started watching his series of science … Continue reading
Bee People
I previewed a new beekeeping movie, something a little different. I have to give Bee People a mixed review. I’ll walk through some of what I liked, do my thumbs down bit, then try to wrap up with some overall … Continue reading
Posted in Beekeeping, Culture, or lack thereof, Movies, Save the Bees
Tagged Bee People Movie
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Best place to keep bees?
I don’t know what causes colony collapse disorder. CCD is likely due to poor nutrition, weak genetics, farm pesticides, chemicals used inside beehives, varroa mites, and viruses carried by mites and injected into whatever gooey stuff bees use as blood. … Continue reading
Posted in Beekeeping, Diseases and Pests, Friends
Tagged Alberta, bee inspection, colony collapse disorder, Medhat Nasr, Peace River, varroa mites
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Wild bees again
A few days ago, I wrote a snarky blog entry about one researcher’s efforts to alert us to a hazard of urban beekeeping. It is Dr Cartar’s contention that keeping bees in an urban environment robs wild native bees of … Continue reading
Posted in Bee Biology, Beekeeping, Ecology, Science
Tagged habitat loss, Native Bees, Ralph Cartar, urban beekeeping
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Going native
A Calgary University professor has this to say about urban beekeepers: “It is not as rosy as they think. Every jewel* of honey that they get on their plate or in their jars is a jewel that has been robbed … Continue reading
Posted in Bee Biology, Beekeeping, Culture, or lack thereof, Ecology
Tagged invasive species, Native Bees, Ralph Cartar, urban beekeeping, Xerces Society
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Bee Spill
Glad I’ve never had one of these. This looks bad. The 460 double-story colonies being carried from south Florida to Maine’s blueberries for pollination were spewed after the driver rolled over on an I-95 exit ramp in Delaware. The 55-year-old … Continue reading
Bee Meetings
Best Bee Club in the World? Attended the Calgary & District Beekeepers Association monthly meeting last night, and as I drove home in the ten o’clock twilight, my mind recycled some of what I had learned. There was an absolutely … Continue reading
Rise of the Bee Thieves
Hive theft has been around ever since there were beehives and beekeepers. For example, the classic watercolour of Cupid, the Honey Thief, by Dürer was painted in 1514. Jumping ahead just a little, during the early 1980s, when I bee-kept … Continue reading
Dead and Dying
California almond pollination season is finished. And so are many of the bees which made the trip to the west coast to participate in the largest honey bee mosh pit ever in the history of beekeeping. (For those of you … Continue reading
Posted in Beekeeping, Ecology, Pesticides, Pollination
Tagged almond pollination, EPA, lawsuits, migratory beekeeping, neonicotinoids
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Bad Beekeeping Blog 