Tag Archives: Alberta
When Bees Finally Get a Bathroom Break
March is a confusing month here in Calgary. Three weeks of it belongs to winter. Snow sits around in gray crusty patches that melt, refreeze, and melt again. Nights are cold enough to freeze the ground solid. But when I … Continue reading
Posted in Beekeeping, Podcasts, Tools and Gadgets
Tagged Alberta, beekeeping, wintering
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An Apiary in a Box
The image above is from the BeeCube website. Inside that box is an entire apiary. It can be loaded on the back of a truck and hauled off to a new location – wintering spot, spring build-up, pollination, summer honey … Continue reading
Dead Bees in the Snow!
Lots of worrying going on this week, especially after the heavy snow that fell across much of North America. New beekeepers (and some of us old ones) worry when we see ‘lots’ of bees in the snow during winter. The … Continue reading
Podcast: Chief Crowchild and the Bees
Season 2 Episode 1: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – Chief Crowchild and the Bees Chief Lee Crowchild of Tsuut’ina Nation is a member of a family designated as the Keepers of the Bees. He tells us of childhood summers … Continue reading
Posted in Beekeeping, Culture, or lack thereof, Friends, Outreach, People, Podcasts
Tagged Alberta, Chief Crowchid, honey bees, Tsuut'ina
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Podcast: Honey Harvest Time
Season 1 Episode 9: About Bees, Culture & Curiosity Podcast – Honey Harvest Time After a few minutes pondering how some carpenter ants in Florida choose the profession of surgeon (sawing off sick comrades wounded legs), Bidzina and Ron settle into … Continue reading
Posted in Beekeeping, Commercial Beekeeping, Hive Products, Honey, Podcasts, Tools and Gadgets
Tagged Alberta, beekeeping, bees, honey, honey bees, honeybees, Saskatchewan
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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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April 7: Day in the bees
April 7. Our backyard hives are collecting real pollen! Last week, I showed you some fake pollen coming into the colonies. Nothing beats the real stuff. Although desperate honey bees will carry worthless sawdust as a pollen supplement, nothing inspires … Continue reading
Posted in Bee Biology, Beekeeping, Ecology, Native Bees, Personal
Tagged Alberta, Calgary, honey bees, pollen, pollen substitutes, urban beekeeping
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Early Pollen?
A couple of days ago, on March 22, we had sunlight and heat. Honey bees were gathering pollen. I don’t remember such a rush of pre-season pollen in this area. It’s a lot earlier than expected. I figured their goodies … Continue reading
Posted in Bee Biology, Honey Plants
Tagged Alberta, Calgary, feeding bees, honey bees, pollen, urban beekeeping
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Bees in the Snow
New beekeepers (and some of us old ones) worry when we see ‘lots’ of bees in the snow during winter. The black dots (above) are frozen stiffs – bees that left their hive and didn’t make it back. To me, … Continue reading
September Bears
Our part of the world (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) has been home to black bears and grizzlies for about ten-thousand years. In recent days, they’ve mostly resided in the zoo and probably as household pets in a few basements – though … Continue reading
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