Category Archives: History
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
7 Comments
City Mourns Loss of Beloved Beekeeper
The Amazon River city of Manaus has begun three days of official mourning for the death of a beekeeper. He was the beekeeper, research scientist, geneticist, educator, and political activist, Dr Warwick Kerr. The mayor of Manaus declared the tribute … Continue reading
How to predict the honey flow
This post will be disappointing to anyone hoping for a quick and easy way to predict what the honey flow will bring. There is no substitute for experience. It may take years to gain the knowledge you’ll need because every … Continue reading
Posted in Beekeeping, Climate, Commercial Beekeeping, History, People
Tagged Alberta, August, dearth, Don Peer, nectar flow, scale hive, statistics, UBAC
7 Comments
William Woodley – An Introduction
After several years of doing research on William Woodley and trying various mediums to tell his story, I feel video is the best. I have made an introductory video on Mr Woodley, and hopefully it justifies to the watcher, why…
Eva Crane: Nuclear Physicist, Beekeeper
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
World Bee Day: May 20, 2018
Time to party like it’s 1734 all over again! May 20th should be a big date on the beekeeper’s social calendar. It’s World Bee Day. Why did I mention 1734? That’s the year Anton Janša was born. He was baptized … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, or lack thereof, History, Outreach, Save the Bees
Tagged Anton Jansa, honey bees, Slovenia, World Bee Day
1 Comment
Hobby Beekeepers Get an Extra Hour
Most folks I know reset their clocks last night. This is great for hobby beekeepers who race home after work to don gaudy bee suits and ignite smoker fuel, hoping to beat the setting sun. Not so fast, Beekeepster. You … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, or lack thereof, Friends, History, Humour, Reblogs
Tagged Arizona, Ben Franklin, Hutterites, Saskatchewan, Savings Time
5 Comments
Presidential Bees
In the USA – and probably no place else on Earth – today is Presidents Day. When I was a kid, we called it Washington’s Birthday and got the day off from school, though Lincoln’s birthday seemed to be somehow … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, or lack thereof, History, People
Tagged famous beekeepers, Jefferson, Obama, White House
4 Comments
2017: The Year in Bee Review
As 2017 draws to a close, let’s look back at the year’s best beekeeping stories. With lower honey prices in 2017, some beekeepers left the business and colony counts fell a little. Back in 2016, I reported that honey bees … Continue reading
Posted in Apitherapy, Bee Biology, Beekeeping, Culture, or lack thereof, Diseases and Pests, Friends, History, Hive Products, Honey, Honey Plants, Killer Bees, Movies, Outreach, People, Pesticides, Pollination, Queens, Save the Bees, Science
Tagged blogging
6 Comments
The Man Who Discovered that Bees Can Think
You probably know that Karl von Frisch figured out how honey bees use their waggle-dance to communicate. He won the Nobel Prize for that and for other studies of bee behaviour. I think it was well-deserved and his experiments withstood … Continue reading
Posted in Bee Biology, Culture, or lack thereof, History, People, Science
Tagged bee communication, Charles Henry Turner, honey bees, Karl von Frisch
13 Comments
