Category Archives: Science
Dr Warwick Kerr, the “Man Who Created Killer Bees”, has died
It is with regret that we report that the humanitarian, geneticist, and scientist, Professor Warwick Kerr, passed away this morning, September 15, 2018. He was six days past his 96th birthday. Dr Kerr, a Brazilian bee scientist, had one of … Continue reading
Posted in Bee Biology, Culture, or lack thereof, Genetics, People, Queens, Science
Tagged Africanized honey bees, AHB, Brazil, Melipona, Warwick Kerr
17 Comments
A Bee ID Expert
How well do you know bees? Not just honey bees, but all the other ones – masons, carpenters, diggers, sweat, cutters, bumblers, and the other many thousands of species. If you are like most of us, not so well. There’s … Continue reading
Posted in Bee Biology, Outreach, Save the Bees, Science
Tagged Andony Melathopoulos, native bees, podcast, Sam Droege
3 Comments
Prolonging the sweet taste
Most nectar-supping insects land on a flower, take a bit of nectar, then fly off. But bees are different. They hang around the flower, sometimes gorging for ten seconds or more, if there’s enough nectar. Why the difference? Scientists think … Continue reading
Package Bee Population
Yesterday, I wrote about bee populations in a hive that starts as a package. The original bees slowly die while the number of new bees, arising from eggs laid by the package’s queen, rapidly increases. In yesterday’s example, the immigrant … Continue reading
Posted in Beekeeping, Queens, Science
Tagged Florida, package bees, queenless hives, Saskatchewan
9 Comments
Oh dear, a virus ‘jumps’ from plants to bees
The bane of the bee is varroa. We warn new beekeepers that varroa will kill their bees faster than they can say “varroosis“ five times. Varroa kills. Thirty years ago, the mites weren’t as bad as they are now. In … Continue reading
Posted in Bee Biology, Diseases and Pests, Ecology, Science
Tagged bee viruses, tobacco, varroa mites
3 Comments
Why your honey gets hard
One thing that puzzles a lot of new (and used) beekeepers is the way that some honey granulates while other honey doesn’t. There are a number of things that affect crystallization rate, including ‘seed’ floating in the honey (dust, previous … Continue reading
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
Wax Worms Biggly in the News
The folks who write my favourite business magazine, Economist, have a freebie on their website. They are giving away a 50-page book, Ten Things We Learned in 2017. You’ll like the second story in their feature: “How plastic-eating caterpillars could … Continue reading
Posted in Bee Biology, Diseases and Pests, Ecology, Science, Strange, Odd Stuff
Tagged Economist, environment, wax worms
3 Comments
Why are Hives Damp in the Winter?
Last time, I wrote about my over-wintering misadventures with wet hives. In many parts of the world (I’m looking at you, England.), the biggest winterkill comes from moisture, not disease or starvation. During the winter, water may collect under the … Continue reading
Posted in Bee Biology, Beekeeping, Science, Tools and Gadgets
Tagged Adony Melathopoulos, hive equipment, wintering bees
7 Comments
