Professor David Evans is a virologist studying the biology of single stranded positive sense RNA viruses, including poliovirus, hepatitis C virus and deformed wing virus of honeybees. He has a fascinating, practical beekeeping blog, https://www.theapiarist.org/
- Queen marking makes the queen easier to find, simplifies colony management and involves 'transferable skills' that will benefit other aspects of your beekeeping. Don't be apprehensive, give it a go … you won't regret it.
- A recent Canadian study confirms that local bees survive better overwinter, but also shows the striking relationship between the brood pattern and colony productivity.
- Stings should be the exception, not the rule, when inspecting colonies. Are your bees are aggressive and, if so, why? How to handle them to minimise aggression, and make inspections enjoyable, not a battle for survival. And no, aggressive colonies are not more productive.
- The curse of laying workers and why they're rarely seen in queenright colonies, the survival of eggs after grafting and the (ongoing) attempts to produce bigger, better queens. Biology and beekeeping, what's not to like?
- Queens in a hive, swarms arriving and yet more queens. Some strange supersedure events with a possible explanation, and grafted larvae, pluripotency and the eventual size of the queen. Something for everyone, except Genesis fans.
- Pollen and nectar availability defines the best locations to site hives, but also identifies areas where beekeeping should be limited to avoid damaging competition with native pollinators. Scientists in New Zealand have recently completed this type of landscape-scale resource mapping.
- Apiaries provide the stage for the little dramas of beekeeping. Sometimes tragedy, sometimes comedy, but always memorable. What features are needed, and what should be avoided, in a good apiary?
- Observations on scout bee activity and waggle dance accuracy, multiple swarms in a bait hive and preliminary results rearing 'bigger, better, queens' using oversized 3D printed queen cell cups.
- Miticides are not inexpensive, until you compare them to the cost of replacement bees and lost honey production. Not treating is both false economy and tempting fate but, with coordination and advance planning, savings can be made.
- Brood breaks created by queen caging allow miticides to be applied to broodless colonies. Could high mite/virus levels mid-season help select for resistance or tolerance mechanisms, without detrimental effects on colonies?
Swarm Season is here!