Category Archives: Books
Remembering Eva Crane: Beekeeper and Physicist
June 12th. I have an excuse to write a bit about the amazing Ethel Eva Widdowson, born in London on June 12th, 1912. By age 30, she had defended her doctorate in nuclear physics, begun to teach at Sheffield University, … Continue reading
Posted in Books, History, People
Tagged Canada, Eva Crane, IBRA, Mexico, Miel Carlota, Saskatchewan, Tammy Horn, varroa mites
3 Comments
Can we learn old tricks?
I have a small collection of old bee books, and I like searching them for new ideas. (If you can’t get new ideas from old books, what’s the point of history?) My favourite beekeeping books are the ones that tell … Continue reading
Posted in Books, History, People
Tagged Bad Beekeeping, beekeepers, CC Miller, Golden Age of Beekeeping
7 Comments
Good Neighbour Beekeeping
It’s worth repeating. Especially at this time of the year. Be a good neighbour beekeeper. I wrote the following post last March. If you missed it, here’s your chance to miss it again…. 🐝 🐝 🐝 🐝 🐝 🐝 🐝 … Continue reading
Posted in Bee Yards, Beekeeping, Books, Outreach
Tagged Andony Melathopoulos, bee safety, urban beekeeping
1 Comment
Turner’s (belated) Birthday
I can’t believe that I missed reminding you yesterday that it was Charles Turner’s birthday. Here’s the story of the man who figured out that honey bees can think. 🐝 🐝 🐝 🐝 You probably know that Karl von Frisch … Continue reading
Posted in Bee Biology, Books, Culture, or lack thereof, History, People, Science
Tagged bee brains, Charles Henry Turner
1 Comment
Is bee-talk keeping you awake?
So, you’re hauling bees across the country – and you’re drowsy. Or having trouble staying awake while doing the dull, repetitive manual labour we call extracting. What do you do? A lot of people keep their eyes open by listening … Continue reading
Posted in Beekeeping, Books, Culture, or lack thereof, History
Tagged Andony Melathopoulos, audiobooks, Books, kiwimana, Langstroth, podcast
2 Comments
Celebrating the Gifts of Langstroth
I’m repeating a blog which I post each Christmas Day, Langstroth’s birthday. With his movable frames and his brilliant beekeeping book, Langstroth was one of the founders of modern beekeeping. He invented the modern beehive, making it easier, more productive, … Continue reading
The Metaphysical Beekeeper
As I continue to plod along with my Master’s in bee ecology at the University of Calgary, I feel obligated to apologize for the infrequency of these bad beekeeping posts. Sorry. But I’m not going to apologize for occasionally repeating … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Comb Honey, Commercial Beekeeping, Culture, or lack thereof, History, People
Tagged Comb Honey, famous beekeepers, Richard Taylor
8 Comments
Sue Hubbell and her Bees
One of the first really good beekeeping story tellers whom I remember encountering was Sue Hubbell. Her books, A Country Year: Living the Questions (1986) and A Book of Bees and How to Keep Them (1988) showed me that books … Continue reading
More on High Temperatures and Bees
A couple of days ago, I posted about our all-time record high temperature. It was 37 ºC (98.6 ºF) – a temp that’s not too extravagant for many beekeepers, but the city of Calgary had never seen such a hot … Continue reading
Posted in Beekeeping, Books, Climate, Commercial Beekeeping
Tagged extreme weather, Langstroth
8 Comments
Smokers, beware: Stuff I’ve Smoked
Yesterday, I started a discussion about whether beekeepers should use a smoker. (Smoke or no smoke?) I think you should use one, but you’ve got to be smart about it. I’ll write more about smart smoking tomorrow, in a piece … Continue reading
Posted in Beekeeping, Books, Tools and Gadgets
Tagged Bad Beekeeping, bee smoker, Earl Emde, Florida, Saskatchewan, smoker fuel
8 Comments
