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.

First inspection of the year

Posted on May 5, 2013 by Emily Scott

One of the unexpected consequences of taking up beekeeping – and only being able to visit the bees on a weekend – has been developing an obsession with the weather. During the summer months I jump on the BBC website … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 29 Comments

Beekeeping in a hail storm

Posted on April 28, 2013 by Emily Scott

Yesterday I did a session for a few Ealing beginners at the apiary. Clare, the Ealing association Chairman, had asked me to demonstrate lighting smokers and inspecting. But it wasn’t inspecting weather, so we could only really do the smoker bit. … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 35 Comments

Dull roots with spring rain

Posted on April 14, 2013 by Emily Scott

An apiary on a soggy day is a place of frustration for a beekeeper. You can stand surrounded by hives and not see a single bee. The bees remain in retreat, and there is no beekeeping to be done. We … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 34 Comments

Spring, is that you?

Posted on April 6, 2013 by Emily Scott

For weeks it has been painful to leave the house. I have spent many hours standing hunched at bus stops, the wind whipping mercilessly at my hair. My hands have even started cracking under the cold, with little cuts appearing … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 44 Comments

10th Honey bee pests, diseases and poisoning revision post: Braula coeca: the ‘bee louse’

Posted on March 17, 2013 by Emily Scott

The BBKA’s Module 3 syllabus says ‘The Candidate shall be able to give: …an outline account of the life cycle of Braula coeca, its effect on the colony and a description of the differences between adult Braula and Varroa”. This … Continue reading →

Posted in Disease prevention, Exams | Tagged | 29 Comments

A few titbits

Posted on March 7, 2013 by Emily Scott

I forgot to post a photo I took from Karin Alton’s talk – of her wearing a human-sized varroa mite she had made, in proportion to the size the mite is on a bee. Imagine carrying one of these around sucking the … Continue reading →

Posted in Exams | 18 Comments

Bee Keepers’ Day – Research on honeybee health and wellbeing

Posted on March 4, 2013 by Emily Scott

My second blog post on the Federation of Middlesex Beekeepers’ Associations annual ‘Bee Keepers’ Day‘, held last Saturday. Below are my notes from the second speaker, Dr Karin Alton. Karin is an entomologist from Sussex University, working with Professor Ratnieks at the … Continue reading →

Posted in Disease prevention | Tagged , , | 24 Comments

Bee Keepers’ Day – Apis through the looking glass

Posted on February 24, 2013 by Emily Scott

Yesterday I went to the Federation of Middlesex Beekeepers’ Associations annual ‘Bee Keepers’ Day‘. Each year the Middlesex associations (Ealing, Enfield, Harrow, North London, Pinner & Ruislip) take it in turn to host a day of beekeeping talks; this year … Continue reading →

Posted in Bee biology, Honey | 31 Comments

“Bee foraging on garden plants: Sussex University research” – a talk by Professor Francis Ratnieks

Posted on February 18, 2013 by Emily Scott

Yesterday evening I went to a talk on “Bee foraging on garden plants: Sussex University research” by Professor Francis Ratnieks at the Jodrell Lecture Theatre, Kew Gardens. Francis is the Professor of Apiculture (Evolution, Behaviour and Environment) at the University of Surrey – the … Continue reading →

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What’s flowering now: mid February

Posted on February 17, 2013 by Emily Scott

Last week we had another brief flurry of snow, and it was back to huddling with my coat on in the office. But then this weekend brought sunshine, and it was wonderful to see the bees pinging back and forth … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | 39 Comments