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/
- Late season tasks in the apiary; mites, brood, contrary bees building brace comb and the characteristic signs of a hive in terminal decline.
- How will climate change impact bees and beekeeping? Flooded apiaries and poor queen mating might be the least of our problems. Don't think it won't happen … it already is.
- How is fake or adulterated honey identified? How do the fraudsters escape detection, and what novel methods might allow adulterated honey to be identified in the future?
- Local honey, local bees and local associations are all beneficial, but what do beekeepers mean by 'local'?
- Where is the writing about the highs and lows of beekeeping, the emotion, the satisfaction and the disappointments?
- Undertakers and hygienic bees are important contributors to social immunity and the health of your colonies. What do they do, and how do they do it?
- The availability of pollen boosts spring and delays winter bee brood rearing. How can you take advantage of this, and how do you prepare and deliver additional pollen?
- Beekeeping cold turkey, writer's block and some autumn thoughts on what determines when brood rearing stops and the winter bees take over?
- How can the waggle dance be used to infer important details – like forage or nest site availability – about the environment our bees occupy?
- The 'not beekeeping' season is protracted in temperate latitudes, but there are still a lot of bee-related things to do.