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.

A week after shook-swarming

Posted on March 26, 2011 by Emily Scott

Had a quick peek in the hive today, a week after shook-swarming them. I had been a bit worried before I lifted the crown board up because lots of them had managed to drown themselves in the sugar syrup yet … Continue reading →

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A successful shook swarming

Posted on March 20, 2011 by Emily Scott

Yesterday I shook-swarmed my hive at the apiary, with the help of Alan Gibbs, one of the very experienced beekeepers down there. It’s a spring clean for the bees, removing all their old comb with larvae cocoons/faeces, varroa and possibly … Continue reading →

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6th Honeybee behaviour revision post: honey bee foraging

Posted on March 17, 2011 by Emily Scott

This might be my last revision post for my BBKA Module 6 Honeybee Behaviour exam on Saturday! And I’ve only got half way through the syllabus. Section 6.7: the behaviour of the foraging bee and its work methods in the field including … Continue reading →

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5th Honeybee behaviour revision post: bee communication

Posted on March 15, 2011 by Emily Scott

Another revision post for my BBKA Module 6 Honeybee Behaviour exam on Saturday. Section 6.5: the methods of communication used by the honeybee including food sharing (trophallaxis), dancing, scenting and vibration; Of all the ways human beings communicate, probably the only one … Continue reading →

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4th Honeybee behaviour revision post: social organisation of the colony

Posted on March 14, 2011 by Emily Scott

Another revision post for my BBKA Module 6 Honeybee Behaviour exam on Saturday. Section 6.5: the social organisation of the honeybee colony including worker policing Honeybee colonies rely on large numbers of more or less sterile individuals working together to raise young … Continue reading →

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More revision & shook-swarm notes

Posted on March 13, 2011 by Emily Scott

One of the Ealing beekeepers, Andy Pedley, kindly gave me a lift to a BBKA module exam revision session held in Harrow yesterday – the exam is next week, eek! The lady running it, Jo Telfer, was really nice and … Continue reading →

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Fondant munchers

Posted on March 5, 2011 by Emily Scott

Mixed emotions at the apiary today. Happiness because my bees are doing well, sadness because we looked at more dead hives today. Bear in mind that the last lot of fondant I put on took two months for my bees … Continue reading →

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Honeybee & Bumblebee talk notes

Posted on February 27, 2011 by Emily Scott

On Saturday I helped out with the food at a seminar held by the Ealing & Harrow beekeeping associations. Baklava went down very well with the beekeepers, even though I cheated and used Cornish honey rather than Greek. Here’s a few … Continue reading →

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3rd Honeybee behaviour revision posts: the queen’s egg laying behaviour & seasonal variations in the size of a colony

Posted on February 20, 2011 by Emily Scott

On with the revision posts for my BBKA Module 6 Honeybee Behaviour exam. I’m trying to work my way through the 21 sections on the syllabus, but the exam date is March 19th, so I’d better start doing more than one … Continue reading →

Posted in Bee behaviour, Bee biology, Exams, Queens | Tagged , | 7 Comments

Dead bee inspecting, shook-swarming and bees in Oman

Posted on February 12, 2011 by Emily Scott

Last week it was cold and wet and no bees were to be seen. Today was surprisingly warm, and taking a look at the floods of bees zooming into hives around the apiary I decided to put my bee suit … Continue reading →

Posted in Colony management, Disease prevention | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments