Synopsis: The details they don’t tell you on a ’Start beekeeping’ course are almost as important as the things they do teach. By definition these courses tend to be ‘fact heavy’. They omit some of the less tangible, and sometimes less pleasant, aspects of our hobby. These are mine, but all experienced beekeepers will have […]
This post was originally titled Drama queens. Apposite … it’s mostly about queens. However, the term drama queen refers to someone who overreacts to a minor setback … which is almost the complete opposite of what I’m intending to discuss. Instead, this post is about the – sometimes unseen – little dramas in the apiary. Things […]
It was the Welsh Beekeepers’ Convention last weekend . This is a convention I’ve previously enjoyed attending. I remember strolling through the daffodil-filled Builth Wells Showground in lovely spring sunshine to visit the trade show. And I remember staggering back to the car, laden with items that were: too inexpensive (not cheap … there’s a difference 😉 […]
… your bees are entering it about now. I had hoped to start this post with a pretty picture of a row of colourful hives topped with a foot or more of snow. It would have been an easy picture to take … we’ve certainly got the snow. It would have been an easy picture […]
Accidents happen. Sometimes they are due to stupidity, sometimes to forgetfulness, or sometimes they are just the result of plain dumb luck. They’re also often caused or at least exacerbated by ‘local’ factors – like a rainstorm or a cancelled train preventing timely inspections. Or a countrywide lockdown necessitated by a global viral pandemic. With […]
The swarm season this year has been atypical. At least here in the coolish, dampish, East coast of Scotland. I hived my first swarm of the year on the last day of April and – as I write this – my most recent one in the middle of July. The intervening period has been pretty quiet […]
A little over a month ago I opened a recently-united hive to be faced with this … That’s a ‘bit of a stooshie’ as they might say in Glasgow . Somewhere in the middle of that brawling mass of workers is a queen. She’s unmarked and not clipped. This was a surprise as the queen I […]
It’s late August and the end of my least successful beekeeping year ever. That sounds very negative, so perhaps it should be qualified. It’s the end of my least successful beekeeping year in terms of honey production. However, in terms of the satisfaction I’ve got from my beekeeping, it’s been a pretty good year. Let’s […]
Over the course of the first full season using the bee shed the access to the hives – for the bees, not the beekeeper – has been simplified and improved. The current versions appear to work well and provide the necessary security and ease of use – for the beekeeper, not the bees 😉 General principles The bee […]
Was it good for you? … No, not really. I recently posted the weather forecast for the week beginning the 15th of August. I was pleased that the forecast was for near-perfect queen mating conditions – sunny, warm and calm – as I had three colonies which should have contained virgin queens that were due to […]