Category Archives: Disease prevention

Building comb and a home

Posted on April 6, 2014 by

Last weekend was warm, so Emma and I did a shook-swarm on our two strongest hives, Myrtle and Chilli. We worked as a team, Emma shaking the bees into a fresh brood box with new foundation, then passing me the … Continue reading →

Posted in Colony management, Disease prevention, Uncategorized | Tagged | 16 Comments

Notes from a talk by David Rudland, ‘Bringing bees from winter into spring’

Posted on March 28, 2014 by

On Wednesday evening I went to a London Beekeepers Association (LBKA) talk by David Rudland on the topic of ‘Bringing bees from winter into spring’. David and his wife Celia (who came to the meeting too) are commercial beekeepers in Surrey … Continue reading →

Posted in Colony management, Disease prevention | Tagged , , , | 11 Comments

First peek under the bonnet

Posted on March 16, 2014 by

Yesterday wasn’t predicted to be sunny. And yet it was. The whole apiary was lit up; the daffodils glowed, the bees zoomed. It was the first practical session for this year’s intake of newbee beekeepers doing the Ealing association’s beginners … Continue reading →

Posted in Disease prevention | 21 Comments

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

Posted on February 26, 2014 by

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

Middlesex Beekeepers’ Day – Terry Clare, Queen rearing for the average beekeeper

Posted on February 23, 2014 by

As I like to do each year, 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 … Continue reading →

Posted in Colony management, Disease prevention, Queens | Tagged , , , | 19 Comments

The great Facebook oxalic acid controversy

Posted on December 7, 2013 by

Bee researcher Dr Karin Alton really stirred up a hornet’s nest when she posted about oxalic acid on the London Beekeepers Association Facebook group this week. For those of you unfamiliar with Karin’s work, she is a researcher at the Laboratory … Continue reading →

Posted in Disease prevention | Tagged , | 54 Comments

What’s wrong with our bees?

Posted on September 3, 2013 by

An idyllic scene of sunshine on the apple tree at the Hanwell apiary on Sunday. The bees came to say hello in the super. Further down, they bubbled out from the brood frames. So many thousands of interactions happening. They … Continue reading →

Posted in Disease prevention | 21 Comments