Category Archives: Strange, Odd Stuff

Coconut Monkeys

Posted on July 30, 2019 by Ron Miksha

Some years ago, I had a job that I didn’t like. The money was good, but the work was bad. I was stuck in “Coconut Monkey” syndrome. Farmers in south India are sometimes plagued by monkeys stealing their crops. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, or lack thereof, Ecology, Strange, Odd Stuff | Tagged | 4 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

Have you ever seen a queen like this?

Posted on June 27, 2019 by Ron Miksha

A friend of mine, Jessie, who works the bees at Chinook Honey near Calgary, spotted this unusual queen. Jessie took the pictures on this page. As you can see, the queen has very little colour. What might cause this apparent … Continue reading →

Posted in Genetics, Queens, Strange, Odd Stuff | Tagged , | 14 Comments

Do you know the queen colours?

Posted on June 11, 2019 by Ron Miksha

If you mark your queens, you should follow the international queen-colour code: White in 2016 and 2021, Yellow in 2017 and 2022, etc. This system has been around for decades because it’s uniform, consistent, and lets a beekeeper know the … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping, Queens, Strange, Odd Stuff | Tagged | 4 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 , , | 4 Comments

Comb on demand

Posted on April 9, 2019 by Ron Miksha

Here’s something that I never thought anyone would manufacture. It’s fully-drawn comb, just the way bees would make it, if bees were machines. I’m impressed with the technology, but I’m not sure how marketable these manufactured combs will be. Perhaps … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping, Hives and Combs, Strange, Odd Stuff, Tools and Gadgets | Tagged | 12 Comments

Comb honey euphoria?

Posted on April 7, 2019 by Ron Miksha

Three million people have watched this 12-minute video of a person eating honey comb and fried chicken. Every nuance of the first stage of digestion is clearly visible and audible. Microphones focus on noisy chewing and slurping sounds. Why would … Continue reading →

Posted in Comb Honey, Culture, or lack thereof, Strange, Odd Stuff | Tagged , | 8 Comments

Polar Vortex Insurance: Extended to Beekeepers!

Posted on April 1, 2019 by Ron Miksha

Our local Auto Club (Alberta Motor Association) is offering Polar Vortex Insurance. This is a great new feature (for members only) – if the temperature stays at -25C, or colder, for any 14 consecutive days, each paid-up member gets to … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate, Humour, Save the Bees, Strange, Odd Stuff | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Bitten by the cold

Posted on February 17, 2019 by Ron Miksha

Alberta beekeepers had smooth sailing through January. It was so mild in southern Alberta that one beekeeper wrote to ask if bees could be swarming. Swarming to the toilet, yes. Literally swarming with queen in tow, no. But the activity … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping, Strange, Odd Stuff | Tagged , | 24 Comments

The Death of Sylvia Plath

Posted on February 11, 2019 by Ron Miksha

Instead of a birthday anniversary, it’s a memorial for the poet Sylvia Plath. She was 30 when she made her final suicide attempt. Did she want it to succeed? Some of her biographers say no. But her preparations were elaborate … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, or lack thereof, People, Strange, Odd Stuff | Tagged , | 12 Comments