06 March 2025

Branden Aroyan

Why do I think "stoner" when I see this photo? Anyway, it turns out that (a) Branden does all the beekeeping and (b) Her Indoors doesn't like honey.







02 March 2025

The Bee Listener

Came across a great blog by Ann Chilcott https://www.beelistener.co.uk/

Highly recommended!


Ann Chilcott, Scottish Expert Beekeeper


13 February 2025

Grey Bees, by Andrey Kurkov

Finished reading Grey Bees by Andrey Kurkov. Not sure if I enjoyed it, exactly...



11 February 2025

Anti-varroa treatment timing

Fascinating article on the timing of treatments used to kill varroa: https://www.earth.com/news/major-cause-of-honeybee-mortality-can-be-easily-reduced/ 



27 January 2025

The fight to save the native Welsh honeybee

In an article headed "The fight to save the native Welsh honeybee," it struck me that there probably isn't a native Welsh bee:

1) 'Wales' is a political construct created by people, not bees

2) Great Britain might have had an identifiable strain of bees, the British Black Bee

3) A rule of thumb is that species within a genus cannot successfully interbreed, but all A mellifera can interbreed successfully

So being a Linnaean curmudgeon, I don't think there is a native Welsh honeybee.

https://nation.cymru/feature/the-fight-to-save-the-native-welsh-honeybee/

Photo by Carwyn Graves


21 January 2025

Beekeeper devastated after 300,000 drowned during 'horrific' New Year's Day flooding

Sad story: https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/beekeeper-devastated-after-300-000-drowned-during-horrific-new-year-s-day-flooding/ar-AA1xtwQG



14 January 2025

Fencing veil or pepperpot?

One of the greatest questions facing humanity: fencing veil or pepperpot?



Pic from the Wisborough Green Beekeepers' Association, www.wgbka.org.uk