Category Archives: Ecology
Better Bees
Hungary, where I am today, has a long beekeeping history. Honey bees have been part of the ecology for thousands of years. Here, they are indigenous species whereas in the Americas (and Australia, New Zealand, and much of Asia), the … Continue reading
Posted in Bee Biology, Climate, Culture, or lack thereof, Ecology, Genetics, Science
Tagged bee races, black bees, Carniolan honey bees, Galtee Queen Breeding, Hungary, Ireland
2 Comments
The Serious Lawn
Do we take lawn care too seriously? Whether we are wasting water on Kentucky bluegrass in the great American southwest, or soaking tonnes of weedkiller and insecticide into pleasant little villages across the continent, much of our obsession is just … Continue reading
Mind the Gap!
If you travel metro in London (and many other cities) you might hear a polite admonition from the public address system, “Mind the gap!” It’s advising you not to get your footwear stuck between the train and platform while boarding. Beekeepers … Continue reading
Posted in Beekeeping, Ecology, Honey Plants
Tagged dandelions, feeding bees, June beekeeping
15 Comments
PolliNation Podcast
Here’s a great new podcast. I’ve just listened to the first episode (twice!). If all the future episodes will be as good as Episode 1, PolliNation will be a great resource and a fun listen for beekeepers. Since beekeepers spend … Continue reading
Posted in Ecology, Friends, Outreach, Pollination, Save the Bees
Tagged Andony Melathopoulos, Oregon State University, podcast, Pollination, Ratnieks, urban beekeeping
10 Comments
International Workers’ Day
My home city of Calgary celebrated May Day (International Workers’ Day) by welcoming 1,176,334 foreign workers into our community last night, doubling our population. 196 packages of worker bees had arrived. A swarm of Calgary beekeepers greeted the immigrants. (The … Continue reading
Supporting “Painting the Bees”
It’s pretty hard to pry money out of my pockets. Unless you’ve got something really great going on that can use a little support. The Good of the Hive is one of the worthy ones. It aims to bring awareness … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, or lack thereof, Ecology, Outreach, Save the Bees
Tagged bee art, crowd-funding, Matthew Willey, The Good of the Hive
2 Comments
Wildflowers and Bees
My friend Liz Goldie was in the news again. This time it was a good thing. She had dropped by a local greenhouse to set up delivery for July for some bee-friendly wildflower seeds to distribute at Calgary’s Stampede. Before … Continue reading
Posted in Ecology, Friends, Honey Plants, Outreach, Save the Bees
Tagged Calgary, planting for bees
1 Comment
Bee Virus with a Cute Name
It will never end. But at least this one has a cute name: The Moku virus. Science Daily had a piece, A New Threat to Bees Worldwide, which gives us yet another bee story that may go viral. The Moku … Continue reading
Ending the Senseless Roadside Carnage (of bugs)
Bugs impact windshields from time to time. You’ve scraped off the gooey result. A lovely dégustation if there’s ever been one. Placing a bee yard near a busy road makes you an accessory to the beeslaughter of millions. You are … Continue reading
Posted in Bee Yards, Ecology, Humour, Science, Strange, Odd Stuff
Tagged Ontario, roadkill, Vietnam
4 Comments
A Two-minute Pollinator Break
Jonathan sent a link to this little video. It was filmed in northeastern France (in Marne) this summer. He says it took Mukibrain about a month to film, edit, and compose the accompanying music. In this lovely little piece called … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, or lack thereof, Ecology, Pollination
Tagged France, Mukibrain, pollinators, video
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