Category Archives: Honey Plants

Elderberry Honey

Posted on July 16, 2016 by Ron Miksha

Yesterday I wrote about a lovely honey farm called Arlo’s which is near Kelowna, British Columbia. The farm produces a variety of noms (specializing in garlic) but there is a large well-kept apiary, too. I asked beekeeper Helen if she … Continue reading →

Posted in Honey, Honey Plants | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Sweet Sweet Clover (part 2)

Posted on June 1, 2016 by Ron Miksha

Yesterday, I couldn’t say enough good things about sweet clover. The magic honey plant is just starting to bloom here in southern Alberta. In a few weeks, it will yield so much nectar that bees will plug supers with fine … Continue reading →

Posted in Ecology, Honey Plants, Save the Bees | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments

Sweet Sweet Clover (part 1)

Posted on May 31, 2016 by Ron Miksha

Every June there is a wash of yellow along the edge of almost every highway and trail in North America. The yellow is from sweet clover that grows and blooms all across the continent. It’s wild and it has been … Continue reading →

Posted in Ecology, Honey Plants | Tagged , | 20 Comments

Rhodo Poison?

Posted on April 19, 2016 by Ron Miksha

The rhododendron is a beautiful plant, but it’s rumoured to intentionally maim and kill honey bees.  My mother had a favourite rhododendron bush in the yard by our house in the Appalachian foothills. Now that I am older and presumably … Continue reading →

Posted in Bee Biology, Ecology, Honey Plants, Pollination | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Location, Location, Vocation

Posted on March 14, 2016 by Ron Miksha

My last two blog posts (Alberta is Beekeeping and Canada’s Hive Beetles) were unseemly braggadocious pitches. I wrote about how great beekeeping is on Canada’s western  prairies. Alberta, Canada, has not had CCD, but instead has increasing numbers of kept … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping, Commercial Beekeeping, Honey, Honey Plants | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Pollinator Friendly Gardening

Posted on March 5, 2016 by Ron Miksha

Pollinator Friendly Gardening: Gardening for Bees, Butterflies, and Other Pollinators, by Rhonda Fleming Hayes, is a new book for the gardener who wants to help pollinators. With all the news about loss of habitat, warming climate, and pesticides, most wild … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Ecology, Honey Plants, Pollination, Save the Bees | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Almonds, Water, and Bees

Posted on February 26, 2016 by Ron Miksha

February is almond pollination month in California. A couple of nights ago, the CBC aired a story about almonds, water, and bees. They try to cover everyone involved – the consumer who loves the heart-friendly food, the almond grower who … Continue reading →

Posted in Bee Yards, Beekeeping, Commercial Beekeeping, Ecology, Honey Plants, Pollination | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Ozone and the Bees

Posted on January 27, 2016 by Ron Miksha

Sitting in traffic, smelling everyone else’s exhaust (you know yours doesn’t stink), you begin to worry about the bees out there. They smell the fumes, too.  But if you look closely, you won’t see them gasping or coughing. That’s only … Continue reading →

Posted in Bee Biology, Ecology, Honey Plants | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Bees on a Caffeine Buzz

Posted on October 23, 2015 by Ron Miksha

     Video:  Dr Couvillon shows that caffeine tricks honeybees into working harder. It seems bees may suffer from the same drowsy morning moods and weary fatigued afternoons as their human cousins. And it may be similarly cured with a … Continue reading →

Posted in Bee Biology, Ecology, Honey Plants, Pollination | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Thistle Bumblebees

Posted on August 21, 2015 by Ron Miksha

Although I have mentioned many times that honey bees are not going extinct (there are actually more kept hives of honey bees today than 10 years ago), I am concerned about wild and native species of bees. Loss of habitat, … Continue reading →

Posted in Ecology, Honey Plants, Save the Bees | Tagged , | 2 Comments