Category Archives: Native Bees
Too Hot for Bees? Arizona Heat, Drought, and Rescuing Bees
How hot is too hot for a honey bee? That question doesn’t mean much sitting here in Calgary on a mild (20°C) summer day. It becomes important to my niece, keeping bees in southern Arizona where the thermometer was pushing … Continue reading
Where Have All the Bugs Gone?
A few weeks ago, I drove from Calgary to Banff and back again. It was a beautiful summer day. The mountains were spectacular, the wildflowers were in bloom, and the bumble bees were busy. When I returned home, however, something … Continue reading
The 3-in-1 Bee Tree: Linden, Lime, and Basswood
Basswood is nice, if you don’t mind hanging around with a tree accused of murdering millions of bees. Falsely accused. For over a hundred years, people have found dead bumble bees under basswood trees. Starved? Poisoned? Do you remember the … Continue reading
Posted in Beekeeping, Books, Comb Honey, Ecology, Honey, Honey Plants, Native Bees, Save the Bees
Tagged basswood tree, bee trees, beekeeping, bumble bees, Comb Honey, honey, honey bees, Honey Plants, lime tree, linden blossom tea, linden tree, pollinators, Tilia
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Bees on the Rocks
Combs clinging to rock ledges and human foragers climbing to harvest part of the sticky sweet honey gathered by wild bees on the edge of the Himalayas conjures up images of a way of life few of us will ever … Continue reading
Posted in Beekeeping, Ecology, Honey, Honey Plants, Native Bees, Save the Bees, Travels
Tagged beekeeping, Himalayas, honey bees, mad honey, Nepal
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Dandelion: The Bee Plant That Doesn’t Need Bees
Some things I didn’t know about dandelions until today: Dandelions don’t need bees. Or any other pollinators – not even wind or gravity to move their pollen. Each dandelion flower is made up of a hundred florets, each an individual … Continue reading
Posted in Beekeeping, Ecology, Honey, Honey Plants, Native Bees, Save the Bees
Tagged beekeeping, dandelions, honey bees
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Podcast: from Beyonce to bee forage and beyond
Season 1 Episode 5: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – Some Bee Buzz In today’s podcast episode, we jump from moving bees between Alberta and British Columbia to examining a recent paper about the ecology of disappearing bee species. … Continue reading
Posted in Bee Biology, Culture, or lack thereof, Ecology, Native Bees, Personal, Podcasts, Strange, Odd Stuff
Tagged Alberta, beekeeping, Calgary, honey bees, Native Bees, urban beekeeping
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Bees and frequencies
Hi, Everyone! Chief Lee Crowchild and I have been asked to present at the Calgary Science Centre for an upcoming Indigenous Science Night. Attendance will be up to about 1700 people and the event is just a few weeks away, … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, or lack thereof, Friends, Native Bees, Science
Tagged Bee science, bees, Calgary, Native Bees, nature, pollinators, Science Centre, Tsuut'ina
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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
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Support the Students
I don’t usually ask readers to help (even with good causes), but you will feel great about this one. The University of Calgary, where I am looking at the interaction between honey bees and native bees, has a smart group … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Ecology, Native Bees, Outreach, Save the Bees
Tagged bees, Calgary, University of Calgary
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Bad Beekeeping Blog 