Category Archives: Bee biology

Royal Jelly – a story by Roald Dahl

Posted on December 5, 2015 by Emily Scott

If you’ve ever read Roald Dahl’s short stories for adults, you’ll know they’re very different in tone to his more famous children’s books. My mum had both his Kiss Kiss and Switch Bitch collections and I re-read them quite a few times … Continue reading →

Posted in Bee biology | Tagged | 35 Comments

Summer bee / winter bee picture

Posted on March 19, 2015 by Emily Scott

Below is a drawing I did showing the difference between a winter and a summer bee’s abdomen. The colours are for fun and to show the different parts more distinctly, obviously the bee is not really pink, blue and yellow inside! … Continue reading →

Posted in Bee biology | 41 Comments

Drawing the curtains for winter

Posted on November 16, 2014 by Emily Scott

Last weekend I took my Module 2 exam, Honey bee products and forage. I think it went well! Until the last five minutes, anyway. I had been wondering how I’d managed to finish on time and why I wasn’t frantically … Continue reading →

Posted in Bee biology, Exams | Tagged | 13 Comments

Middlesex Beekeepers’ Day Part 2: David Aston, Plants and honeybees

Posted on February 26, 2014 by Emily Scott

A follow-up post to ‘Middlesex Beekeepers’ Day – Terry Clare, Queen rearing for the average beekeeper‘. Below are my notes from Dr David Aston’s talk. David is President of the British Beekeepers Association (BBKA), a Master Beekeeper and holder of … Continue reading →

Posted in Bee biology, Disease prevention | Tagged , , | 26 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

Friends of the Earth ‘Bees in Danger’ awareness meeting, 21st November 2012: Part 2

Posted on November 23, 2012 by Emily Scott

A follow-on post from yesterday’s, on a Friends of the Earth ‘Bees in danger’ meeting I went to on Wednesday night. Our second talk of the evening was from Rob Mitton, an MSc student from Royal Holloway College, who explained … Continue reading →

Posted in Bee biology | Tagged , | 18 Comments

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 →

Posted in Bee behaviour, Bee biology, Exams | Tagged , | 5 Comments

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

2nd Honeybee behaviour revision post: honey bee mating

Posted on February 6, 2011 by Emily Scott

Revision post for this week: section 6.2 of the BBKA’s Module 6 syllabus – the mating behaviour of the honey bee queen and drone including an account of the pheromones involved and the concept of drone congregational areas Virgin queens … Continue reading →

Posted in Bee biology, Exams, Queens | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

1st Honeybee behaviour revision post: bee jobs

Posted on January 28, 2011 by Emily Scott

This is a revision post for the BBKA Module 6 Honeybee Behaviour exam. I’m trying to work my way through the syllabus, one section at a time. Starting at the beginning: 6.1 The candidate shall be able to give a … Continue reading →

Posted in Bee behaviour, Bee biology, Exams | Tagged , | 2 Comments