Category Archives: Pollination

A rare seed guy

Posted on February 1, 2021 by Ron Miksha

You know how the mention of a name from long ago can bring back memories that you thought had slipped away forever? I had that experience recently. Browsing American Bee Journal, this ad caught my eye. It was from the … Continue reading →

Posted in Ecology, Honey Plants, People, Personal, Pollination | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

Covid: How we got our bees

Posted on July 17, 2020 by Ron Miksha

Some really unusual things have been going on in the bee world since the advent of Covid-19. These include a big setback for beekeepers in my community and the rescue of stranded Canadians in Central America – a rescue performed … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping, Commercial Beekeeping, Pollination | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Apimondia 2019: Thursday (some presentations)

Posted on September 16, 2019 by Ron Miksha

On Thursday at the Montreal Apimondia, I gave a presentation about the average distance bees fly while foraging. The full title was Foraging distances of commercially-deployed bees: a meta-analysis.  When I find some time, I’ll do a voice-over and create … Continue reading →

Posted in Bee Biology, Beekeeping, Commercial Beekeeping, Ecology, Native Bees, Pollination, Science | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Pollinator Week 2019

Posted on June 17, 2019 by Ron Miksha

In the past three or four years, I began to notice that honey bees aren’t the only bees in the world. What a surprise! There are over 20,000 other versions. Some as big as elephants, some as small as pin … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, or lack thereof, Ecology, Outreach, Pollination | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Bears and Bees: Not the story you’re expecting

Posted on August 5, 2018 by Ron Miksha

I live in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. A few weeks ago, a family of pandas moved to our city. They are staying at the zoo. If you live anywhere within a thousand kilometres, drop by and meet the bears. If they … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, or lack thereof, Outreach, Pollination, Save the Bees | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

National Pollinator Week

Posted on June 18, 2018 by Ron Miksha

National Pollinator Week has arrived: June 18-24! Today, I’m re-running part of a blog I posted last week.  It had some ideas on what you might do to celebrate Pollinator Week. Pollinator Partnership tells us, “National Pollinator Week is a … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, or lack thereof, Outreach, Pollination | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Ron on PolliNation!

Posted on May 28, 2018 by Ron Miksha

I’m so excited to share a link to PolliNation, the fantastic podcast about . . . Pollination!  This podcast episode features the show’s host in conversation with me! Dr Andony Melathopoulos, the bee scientist running The PolliNation Podcast, invited me … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping, Culture, or lack thereof, Friends, Outreach, Pollination | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Beekeepers becoming wary of pollination

Posted on May 15, 2018 by Ron Miksha

  Compared to almonds in California, blueberry pollination in British Columbia is small potatoes. But there are some similarities. Commercial beekeepers migrate long distances from cold northern prairies to the mild coast with thousands of colonies. They are paid for … Continue reading →

Posted in Commercial Beekeeping, Pesticides, Pollination | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Rotten: Lawyers, Guns & Honey

Posted on January 6, 2018 by Ron Miksha

I’m invariably cautious – even cynical – about beekeeping movies. But I just saw one that breaks the mold and restores faith in the potential for delivering a great story about the honey industry without lies and exaggeration.  The one-hour … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping, Commercial Beekeeping, Culture, or lack thereof, Movies, Pollination, Save the Bees | Tagged , | 33 Comments

2017: The Year in Bee Review

Posted on December 31, 2017 by Ron Miksha

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 | 6 Comments