Tag Archives: Florida

Ulee Jackson has died

Posted on August 16, 2019 by Ron Miksha

Peter Fonda died today. Most accolades will mention his starring role in 1969’s Easy Rider. I won’t. Instead, I’ll talk about his performance in Ulee’s Gold. That movie gave Fonda his only Oscar nomination (he lost to his friend Jack … Continue reading →

Posted in Commercial Beekeeping, Culture, or lack thereof, History, Movies, People | Tagged , , | 8 Comments

Smokers, beware: Stuff I’ve Smoked

Posted on June 29, 2018 by Ron Miksha

Yesterday, I started a discussion about whether beekeepers should use a smoker. (Smoke or no smoke?)  I think you should use one, but you’ve got to be smart about it. I’ll write more about smart smoking tomorrow, in a piece … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping, Books, Tools and Gadgets | Tagged , , , , , | 17 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

Bee’s Eye View

Posted on May 27, 2017 by Ron Miksha

Looking down from a light aircraft gives insights you just can’t match on the ground. At 6,000 feet, you appreciate how close flowers are along a beeline from hive to field. Beeing in the air is useful for a beekeeper … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping, Friends, History, People, Strange, Odd Stuff | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

The Clumsy Beekeeper

Posted on November 2, 2016 by Ron Miksha

When I was much younger, my brother and I visited a world-renowned bee breeder who produced thousands of queens every spring. I don’t remember much about that trip to the north-Florida panhandle where every town had some elegant white clapboard … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping, Queens | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Canada’s Hive Beetles

Posted on March 11, 2016 by Ron Miksha

A couple of nights ago, Alberta’s chief apiculturist spoke at our local (Calgary) bee club meeting. Close to 150 people turned out to hear Dr Medhat Nasr give us a recap on the status of Alberta beekeeping and the status … Continue reading →

Posted in Beekeeping, Diseases and Pests | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Plight of the Bumblebees

Posted on July 10, 2015 by Ron Miksha

Forty years ago, near Florida’s Ocala National Forest, I took the photos seen in today’s blog. This is a bumblebee nest, accidentally uncovered and exposed on the forest floor, in the winter of 1974 in central Florida. You can see … Continue reading →

Posted in Bee Biology, Climate, Ecology, Save the Bees | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Here Comes the Sun

Posted on January 3, 2015 by Ron Miksha

If you are in the far north, your bees are not quite at mid-point in their winter marathon. But days are getting longer. It is amazing how bees – and flowering plants – recognize even a few minutes of extra … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate, Queens | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Happy Dusty Anniversary

Posted on August 3, 2014 by Ron Miksha

You know what they say about new technology – someone always finds a way to put it to nasty use. Combine airplanes and chemicals, and what could possibly go wrong? Let’s fly back to 1921 and visit a grove of … Continue reading →

Posted in Diseases and Pests, Ecology, History, Pesticides | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Same Planet?

Posted on May 4, 2014 by Ron Miksha

Living in cold Canada, it’s easy to forget some people have it hot. Especially right after we’ve had a big snowstorm – half a metre (over a foot) of white wet stuff in the past couple of days. So I … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate | Tagged , , | Leave a comment