Author Archives: Emily Scott

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About Emily Scott

I am a UK beekeeper who has recently moved from London to windswept, wet Cornwall. I first started keeping bees in the Ealing Beekeepers Association’s local apiary in 2008, when I created this blog as a record for myself of my various beekeeping related disasters and - hopefully! - future successes.

Stamp cover competition – free limited edition print (for UK readers only)

Posted on September 13, 2015 by Emily Scott

*Competition now closed* I have a prize to give away! I have been contacted by fdcovers, a stamp collectibles company who have released some art work for the new Royal Mail Bees of Britain stamps issued in August 2015. The six … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 30 Comments

The path to honey

Posted on July 26, 2015 by Emily Scott

The path to honey is a long and arduous one. Arguably it starts in September after you’ve extracted your summer honey. Then the beekeeper can treat for varroa and prepare the colony for winter. As the cold nights draw in mouse-guards go on, insulation … Continue reading →

Posted in Honey | 55 Comments

Book review – Do beekeeping/The secret to happy honeybees by Orren Fox (2015)

Posted on July 26, 2015 by Emily Scott

The Do Book Company publish books designed to help you learn something new and motivate you to do it. Other books in their series include ‘Do Sourdough’, ‘Do improvise’ and ‘Do grow’. They gave me this book to review – … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged | 12 Comments

The beauty of bees

Posted on July 12, 2015 by Emily Scott

This weekend I have been thinking about how lucky I am to have access to the inner world of honey bees. I must have seen inside hundreds of different hives by now, but I never get bored of watching the … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 26 Comments

Case of the disappearing queen: mystery solved

Posted on July 5, 2015 by Emily Scott

It is always satisfying to solve a mystery. Even when you turn out to be the culprit. You may recall me mentioning that Queen Andromeda has been missing in action since I combined her colony with Queen Cassiopeia’s on 6th … Continue reading →

Posted in Honey, Queens | 24 Comments

A post for bee and poppy lovers

Posted on June 21, 2015 by Emily Scott

As I mentioned in a previous post, I’ve joined the London Beekeepers Association (LBKA) mentoring scheme this year. Today I was joined at the Perivale apiary by one of my mentees, Chris. He is doing well and spotted lots of eggs as … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 33 Comments

Summer visitors to the apiary

Posted on June 8, 2015 by Emily Scott

We had some fascinating visitors to the apiary on Saturday. A dad and his little boy, who we lent a mini-sized bee suit. The little boy had sandals on, so he borrowed his dad’s socks. It was sweet to see an enormous … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 29 Comments

What’s flowering now: late May

Posted on May 25, 2015 by Emily Scott

It’s been a while since I’ve done a post about what’s flowering now. Today at the London Wetland Centre I found plenty of flowers, so it seemed like a good time. Most people who go to the Centre come away with … Continue reading →

Posted in Foraging | Tagged , | 31 Comments

How warm is your bra and are you afraid of ants?

Posted on May 24, 2015 by Emily Scott

“How warm is your bra?” said John Chapple to Clare as she arrived at the Ealing apiary yesterday. This seemed like a slightly nosy question to ask a lady and I wondered if the torrential rain had left John concerned that … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged | 24 Comments

The queen who went in the wrong place

Posted on May 16, 2015 by Emily Scott

Today I found a mystery awaiting me at the allotment. Ever seen this many bees under a hive? Just hanging out? And bees with pollen disappearing within their midst? Usually you might get maybe a couple of bees wandering around under the … Continue reading →

Posted in Queens | Tagged | 33 Comments