Category Archives: Uncategorized

Book review: A Sting in the Tale by Dave Goulson (2013)

Posted on July 16, 2013 by Emily Scott

I bought this new book by Dave Goulson, founder of the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, after hearing him speak at the ‘Future without bees‘ talk at the Southbank Centre. And it’s brilliant: entertaining, an insight into a life spent investigating nature … Continue reading →

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Life in beeland, as of July 2013

Posted on July 7, 2013 by Emily Scott

The story so far… Emma and I started the year with one hive, headed up by Queen Myrtle. We then bought one colony, were very kindly given another, and split the colony we bought into three as swarm control in … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 38 Comments

BL Talk science 26th June 2013 – Pollinators and pesticides: is there a plan bee?

Posted on July 2, 2013 by Emily Scott

Last week I went to a British Library evening event on pollinators and pesticides, which took a look at whether pesticides are the real culprit for the decline in bee numbers. The event only cost £5 and it included free wine … Continue reading →

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Flat Stanley visits London

Posted on June 30, 2013 by Emily Scott

Over the past few weeks I have had a very special visitor. He goes by the name of Flat Stanley. As suggested by his name, he’s a slightly unusual visitor, in that he’s not just slim but 2D. This might … Continue reading →

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Queen introduction – the easy way?

Posted on June 18, 2013 by Emily Scott

Earlier this year I attended a talk at Kew Gardens by Professor Ratnieks, Professor of Apiculture at the University of Surrey (blog post – Bee foraging on garden plants: Sussex University research). This got me interested in his work, and while … Continue reading →

Posted in Queens, Uncategorized | 20 Comments

What’s flowering now: early June

Posted on June 13, 2013 by Emily Scott

A while ago now, on a Sunday evening, 2nd June to be precise, I went for a lovely evening walk in my local park. I had been imprisoned in a hot car all day, from Sheffield to London, watching the … Continue reading →

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Springing into action

Posted on May 12, 2013 by Emily Scott

The arrival of some slightly warmer weather and occasional sunshine is the cue for the wild flowers of Ealing apiary to shoot upwards. Here you can see a swarm catcher dangling amidst a sea of white and green. The bees … Continue reading →

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What’s flowering now: early May

Posted on May 6, 2013 by Emily Scott

Each summer I like to go round the park near my house in Hanwell, West London (Elthorne park) and try to get photos of the flowers that are out, to see what the bees have to feed on. Elthorne park has … Continue reading →

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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 →

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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 →

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