Category Archives: Culture, or lack thereof
A Langstroth Christmas Story
I’ve been posting this piece nearly every Christmas for a while. If you’ve read it before, read it again. Or not. Christmas Day is L.L. Langstroth’s birthday. He’d be 214 years old, if he hadn’t been struck down in his … Continue reading
Posted in Beekeeping, Books, Culture, or lack thereof, History, Hives and Combs, People, Tools and Gadgets
Tagged beekeeping, Langstroth, The Hive and the Honey-Bee
5 Comments
The Native and Non-Native Bee Debate
A few days ago, I sat down with the folks at Beekeeping Today Podcast to talk about how our non-native honey bees may affect native bees. Jeff Ott and Becky Masterman were informed, sympathetic interviewers. I had a great time … Continue reading
Posted in Beekeeping, Culture, or lack thereof, Ecology, Native Bees, Outreach, Personal, Podcasts, Save the Bees
Tagged Calgary, Native Bees, podcast, urban beekeeping
3 Comments
The Metaphysical Beekeeper
Revisiting Richard Taylor on his 104th birthday. He died 20 years ago. But Richard Taylor is interesting enough to remember, at least every November 5th when a small part of the world stands to salute the practical beekeeper and philosopher. … Continue reading
Posted in Beekeeping, Books, Comb Honey, Culture, or lack thereof, History, People
Tagged Comb Honey, lifestyle, philosophy, Richard Taylor
18 Comments
CBC’s 2022 Nonfiction: Advice to a new beekeeper
“Do not keep bees. . . “Keep cattle, or chickens or dogs. Their emotions are recognizable, their ailments familiar. Their speech, though foreign, is in a language we understand.” Thus begins Susan Cormier’s seasoned advice to beekeeping wanna-bees. There are sufficient … Continue reading
Posted in Beekeeping, Books, Culture, or lack thereof
Tagged bee language, beginning beekeeping, CBC, literary
2 Comments
The Synthetic Apiary Revisited
I posted this piece a couple of years ago, but it’s timeless. I was reminded of this blog post when my WordPress splash alarm went off – someone was linking to this page on their own blog. That’s OK, of … Continue reading
Keeping the Bees: Netflix
It’s great to know a lot about bees, although it sometimes comes between you and a good time. I enjoyed Keeping the Bees, a Turkish-language drama (2019; 93minutes), but some bee-science was forgotten in the lab and the jars of … Continue reading
Posted in Bee Yards, Beekeeping, Culture, or lack thereof, Movies
Tagged bee movies, Caucasian bees, honey bees, Turkey
1 Comment
Smart, Apimondia!
The day after the invasion started, a woman and her husband reached Lviv from a small city south of Kiev. The woman was suffering the late stages of cancer. She was weak and tired. Her husband helped her into the … Continue reading
Riot police battle beekeepers
These Chilean beekeepers chose the wrong place to set 60 colonies of bees. Or maybe the right place, as their plight drew national attention. Four beekeepers were arrested, seven riot police were hospitalized due to bee stings, and at least … Continue reading
Posted in Climate, Culture, or lack thereof, Save the Bees, Stings, Strange, Odd Stuff
Tagged Chile, climate change, drought, Protests
4 Comments
Bye ’21: Don’t let the door hit you. . .
This was the year that my motor neuron (ALS variant) advanced more than anyone would like, but I’ll especially remember 2021 as the year I had an unexpected heart attack! (Three, actually, but who’s counting?) I am still plodding along … Continue reading
EO Wilson, 92, has left the lab
The entire Earth was Ed Wilson’s lab. When his death was announced on Monday, I knew that I wanted to write a few words words in his honour, but I also knew that this would be a difficult task. One … Continue reading
Posted in Bee Biology, Books, Culture, or lack thereof, Ecology, History, People, Science
Tagged bees, biodiversity, EO Wilson
8 Comments
Bad Beekeeping Blog 