Category Archives: Disease prevention

Hunny time

Posted on August 7, 2011 by Emily Scott

Yesterday was all about the honey. After three years of trying, I finally have some! On Friday Emma put a Porter bee escape on our super, which allows the bees to go down but not up so we can come … Continue reading →

Posted in Colony management, Disease prevention, Honey, Queens | Tagged , , | 16 Comments

August varroa treatment

Posted on July 27, 2011 by Emily Scott

Have had a useful reminder e-mail from Andy Pedley at the Ealing Beekeepers Association, as me and Emma inspected early on Saturday and missed the usual 2pm meeting up… “The date for starting the Apiguard treatment this year is Saturday … Continue reading →

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Bee Health Day 2: varroa control workshop

Posted on May 22, 2011 by Emily Scott

This is a follow up post to this one on the Bee Health Day I went to held at Roots & Shoots (a wildlife garden and base for the London Beekeepers’ Association), which is an annual event run by our government bee inspectors. Below are … Continue reading →

Posted in Disease prevention | Tagged | 6 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 →

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New varroa treatment

Posted on December 23, 2010 by Emily Scott

The Guardian reported yesterday on some promising sounding new research into a way to make the varroa mite self-destruct. The treatment involves introducing harmless genetic material which encourages the mites’ own immune response to prevent their genes from expressing natural … Continue reading →

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Giving acid to bees

Posted on December 11, 2010 by Emily Scott

Oxalic acid time at the apiary today. Oxalic acid is a naturally occurring acid that’s one of the beekeeper’s best weapons against the evil varroa mite – it burns their feet and they drop off the bees! We do this … Continue reading →

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14/11/10

Posted on November 14, 2010 by Emily Scott

Finally put my mouseguard on: Now only bees or creatures the size of bees can get in. Hopefully a little mouse hasn’t crept in there already. Had a look at my varroa board, which I last checked two weeks ago. … Continue reading →

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Starting beekeeping – a practical checklist

Posted on October 10, 2010 by Emily Scott

Yesterday I went to a Ealing beekeepers association session. We were working through a ‘Starting Beekeeping – Practical Checklist’ produced by the BBKA following requests by beekeepers teaching beginners. There are eight sections to the checklist: Background, Manipulation, Basic disease, … Continue reading →

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Preparing honey bee colonies for winter & anti-varroa bees

Posted on September 29, 2010 by Emily Scott

I found out about these two links from Andy Pedley’s Ealing and District Beekeepers email newsletter, which I always enjoy reading… Fera’s National Bee Unit have put together a leaflet on preparing your colony for winter. Essential reading. I always … Continue reading →

Posted in Colony management, Disease prevention | Tagged , | 4 Comments