Category Archives: Science

Apimondia 2019 starts next week!

Posted on September 4, 2019 by Ron Miksha

Apimondia is the bi-annual international bee festival. Two years ago, it was hosted by Turkey; two years from now, it will be in Russia. This year? Montreal, Quebec, Canada. There are a lot of reasons to visit Montreal. The Notre-Dame … Continue reading →

Posted in Science | Tagged , | 7 Comments

You thought bees were vegetarians?

Posted on August 25, 2019 by Ron Miksha

Well, looks like another sacred truth has been shattered. Bees eat beefy little microbes as part of their regular diet. Never again will I stand in front of a class of new beekeepers and implore them to marvel at the … Continue reading →

Posted in Bee Biology, Diseases and Pests, Ecology, Pesticides, Save the Bees, Science | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Bees in Space

Posted on July 21, 2019 by Ron Miksha

Fifty years ago, I was a kid, glued to the TV, fascinated by man’s first frolic on the moon. Grainy black and white images from the moon filled our grainy black and white television. It was a signal from the … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Queens, Science, Strange, Odd Stuff | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

At least one of these bees is a laying worker

Posted on June 3, 2019 by Ron Miksha

At least one of the bees in the picture above is a laying worker. Can you spot her?  I can’t. But if you read this post to the end, you will have the answer – and a really nice bonus, … Continue reading →

Posted in Bee Biology, Beekeeping, Diseases and Pests, Queens, Science | Tagged , , , , , | 8 Comments

Bees learn to drive tiny cars

Posted on April 10, 2019 by Ron Miksha

I wouldn’t believe this if I had seen it with my own eyes! Sam Droege, bee scientist extraordinaire, has a USGS Flickr website populated with great bee photographs. Last week, somewhere around April first, Sam posted the results of some … Continue reading →

Posted in Humour, Native Bees, Science, Strange, Odd Stuff | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Turner’s (belated) Birthday

Posted on February 4, 2019 by Ron Miksha

I can’t believe that I missed reminding you yesterday that it was Charles Turner’s birthday. Here’s the story of the man who figured out that honey bees can think. 🐝 🐝 🐝 🐝 You probably know that Karl von Frisch … Continue reading →

Posted in Bee Biology, Books, Culture, or lack thereof, History, People, Science | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Dr Warwick Kerr, the “Man Who Created Killer Bees”, has died

Posted on September 15, 2018 by Ron Miksha

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 , , , , | 37 Comments

A Bee ID Expert

Posted on August 4, 2018 by Ron Miksha

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 , , , | 3 Comments

Prolonging the sweet taste

Posted on July 23, 2018 by Ron Miksha

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 →

Posted in Bee Biology, Science | Tagged , , | 10 Comments

Package Bee Population

Posted on June 3, 2018 by Ron Miksha

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 , , , | 10 Comments