Winter and summer bees
Winter and summer bees differ significantly in how long they live; 4-10 weeks (usually 6) for summer bees and up to 7 months for winter bees *. What I didn’t know is that this is predestined from their time as… (READ MORE)
Varroa Mites
http://articles.extension.org:80/pages/71149/varroa-mites Varroa mites (Varroa destructor) are the foremost pest of western honey bee colonies. They inhabit nearly every honey bee colony in most of the world, transmit deadly viruses, shorten bee lifespan, limit productivity, and cause severe economic damage every… (READ MORE)
National honey show videos
This year I attended the National Honey show. I readily attend the lectures, except when I can’t because the room gets too full. As I missed 2 and one was cancelled I was determined not to miss Mr Goulson’s lecture… (READ MORE)
Supercedure and too many supers
For the first time I have 2 queens running side by side in one of my hives. I was looking through my hive the other day and saw the queen and was quite happy that she was doing well, this… (READ MORE)
Using pollen patties
Regarding pollen patties, I made a discovery. I had been putting them on with some cuts in the paper to allow access, over the crown board hole. Some loved them, others ignored them pretty much completely. Then I put some… (READ MORE)
Making bees wax polish
I have this 1lb block of bees wax (or is that beeswax?) and it is pink / red tinged with propolis so I decided not to use it for lip balm like last time. Now last year, on a whim… (READ MORE)
Using a quilt while feeding with a candy board
An interesting piece on winter feeding just with fondant, and a moisture quilt to ensure it doesn’t dry out; which also retains moisture from wintering bees. I quite like the model of using the moisture for a purpose rather than… (READ MORE)
More on biological Varroa control
So, as I haver been telling everyone who will listen, I am planning to trial biological control of varroa on my bees this coming year. ‘Hypoaspis miles’, also known as ‘Stratiolaelaps scimitus’, are a mite found in leaf litter naturally…. (READ MORE)
Some light reading
I have purchased two Snelgrove books, “Queen Rearing” and “The introduction of queen bees”. I am expecting them to be anything but light reading; but also to be very inspiring, instructive and useful.
Winter Antics
Well it has been a while since I posted, highlighted by me wiping out my site but managing to get most of it back by the wonders of google cache. So what have I been up to in the bee… (READ MORE)