The Swarmy Lincolnite

Nice collection of swarmy pics here: https://thelincolnite.co.uk/2019/05/bee-swarms-invade-lincoln-streets/

Pics from https://thelincolnite.co.uk/

I, Beebot

How about this: Can AI help stop bee extinction? (To save you reading the article, the short answer is 'Yes.')

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/other/can-ai-help-stop-bee-extinction/ar-AAAYaqD?srcref=rss

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/i-robot

Egg, larva, pupa

I found this very nice chart at http://hwbka.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Bee-LifeCycle-Chart.pdf

And there's some nice blog stuff, too: https://hwbka.org.uk/just-as-you-feared-wasps-are-menacing-because-they-are-smarter-than-bees/

London Bee Corridor & the Brent Council Waggle Dance

The "London Bee Corridor" sounds too good to be true; it's certainly a snappy name. To point the bees the right way, I wonder if the Brent Councillors will indulge in a collective waggle-dance... They could sell tickets.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-48187846
and
https://www.brent.gov.uk/council-news/press-releases/pr6968/ 

Councillor Krupa Sheth (LB Brent) says the "bee corridor" will be ready by the summer

Before you start keeping bees

After keeping (and losing and killing and catching and nurturing) bees for nearly 15 years, I thought I'd have a crack at the BBKA Basic Assessment.

Pic from https://www.thespruce.com/beginners-guide-to-beekeeping-3016857 
The clue's in the name

"Bees defy the laws of physics..."

Of course, there are no laws of physics. Nature does what nature does, and we describe what nature does with "laws." But nature does not follow laws, and we don't actually know why nature does what it does. It just does. So there.

Here's a picture of Richard Feynman, lest we forget.

Picture from https://www.sciencenews.org/blog/context/top-10-richard-feynman-quotations

Linked In, Cox's Honey, and a tinge of piffle

As a good-for-nothing ne'er-do-well, I searched 'beekeeping' on Linked In...

https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/1245683612/

Turns out that https://coxshoney.com/ is looking for help, in Idaho (where the spuds come from, I believe). There's a tinge of piffle on the Cox's Honey site, e.g. "Bees defy the laws of physics..." but I'll let that pass.

Beekeeping tours in Crete

A fellow WBKA member on hols in Crete spotted this:

If I charged €20 for an apiary tour, I'd be quids in. (Does that even make sense?)

Check out the QR code on the leaflet, too. 

Bees, Cleese and Atkinson

John Cleese went to the same school as me. So there.

https://youtu.be/OGFz9gt0-Fc

World Bee Day event

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Embassy of Slovenia is in partnership with Conway Hall and Bee Midtown hosting an event in celebration of World Bee Day 2019: WORLD BEE DAY COMES TO LONDON Tuesday 21 May 2019 from 6:30 pm until 8:30 pm Conway Hall, 25 Red Lion Square, London WC1R 4RL At 7pm there will be a welcoming address by the Slovenian Ambassador, Tadej Rupel, the Chief Executive of Conway Hall, Dr. Jim Walsh and a representative from Bee Midtown. Admission is free, but tickets must be booked in advance HERE

Royal Babies; I'm waiting for the call

Pic from http://www.atlanticspeakerbureau.com/nicholas-witchell/speaker

Beekeepers look after thousands of Royal Babies on a daily basis. I'm waiting for the call from Nick Witchell...

UN 'extinction report' predicts 1m species at risk

UN report here: https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2019/05/nature-decline-unprecedented-report/

At the time of writing, we humans are one of around 8.7 million species on earth, which implies that more than 10% of species are threatened with extinction.

Looked at another way, 100% of species are threatened with extinction (that's how natural selection works).

In just the recent thousands of years, humans have achieved wonderful things - learned to speak, write, build pyramids, reach the moon and broadcast "The Only Way Is Essex."

At what cost?

Pic from https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-48169783

Saving bees with sugar.... errmmm, really?

Pic from https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-48093351

I don't really buy this story. Saving bees one at a time will be a looooong job..

Saving bees with sugar: Connecting with nature or 'a last resort'?

Bees in a bird box

A friend came across these bumbles...

Another outstanding video from Richard Noel: swarms

As spotted by a WBKA member. You can see Richard Noel's YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClFlG4yfKhR2-w9VN_r8M3w

I won't do that

Where do people find the time for this kind of thing? (And thank goodness they do!)

Reports of my death are greatly exaggerated

Pic from https://www.biography.com/writer/mark-twain

First opportunity today to check the colonies. Local temp was around 16C, and the bees were flying from all except one hive, which looked like bad news...

However, it turned out that the colonies were weaker than I guessed,and the non-flying hive particularly small. No queen cells found.

Fingers crossed for a warm May.

Guerilla Gardening

Last week I planted three Ceanothus in the track next to the apiary. Not strictly my bit of land, but ...

Pic from https://www.plantsgaloreonline.co.uk/plants/large-trellis-climbing-plants/ceanothus-thyrsiflorus-concha-trellis-climber-20-ltr-californian-lilac.html

Jericho Beekeeping

As usual, time only for Jericho Beekeeping this evening. All the colonies are going well and have enough space - but I didn't have time for a full inspection, so they could be riddled with queen cells and about to swarm.

Canadian researchers warn of 'cascading impacts' as bumblebee species decline

By the look of the photo, spearing insects with pins can't be helping too much, either...

See original story here: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/bumblebees-decline-pollinators-1.5106260

Roger Burns & swarm capture

Masses of swarms being collected by WBKA members, which prompted me to search for swarm stories. Here's one from 2016 in the Daily Telegraph.

Roger Burns, of Pembrokeshire Beekeepers, said: "I got about 15 or 20 stings for my trouble. I then left the cardboard box on the roof while we waited for the last few hundred bees to leave the boot but then a gust of wind blew it off and the queen may have fled back to the boot again."

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/05/24/swarm-of-bees-follow-grandmothers-car-for-over-24-hours-attempti/?WT.mc_id=tmg_share_em

Beginners, apparently

Run away!

Spotted by another WBKA beekeeper: look closely at top right, and you can see a monk legging it from the bees. I sympathise (with the running, not the monkery).

Merton Abbey

Honey harvest

I wondered a little about his method of cleaning up the supers...

Beekeeping with the Flow Hive in the Netherlands at Radio Kootwijk.

Four bees found living in woman's eye

Ugh! 

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/bees-eyes-woman-taiwan-tears-hospital-a8862761.html

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/apr/10/doctors-discover-four-live-bees-feeding-on-tears-inside-womans-eye

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-47876130

Queen cells, at this time of year? Oh Yes!

Sent in by a WBKA member:

So much for spring....

It's 10C in London, and a good bit colder in SW England. Here's a shot from https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-47799408

BWARS and Vespa velutina

Found this site - the Bee, Wasp and Ant Recording Society, with a scrap of info about Vespa velutina:  http://www.bwars.com/Vespa_velutina

Download the information sheet here: http://www.bwars.com/sites/www.bwars.com/files/info_sheets/Vespa_velutina_information_sheet.pdf

David & Jane Richards Family Foundation - and bees

I happen to (very slightly) know David Richards, he's the CEO of WANdisco
www.wandisco.com

First Asian Hornet of 2019 - BBKA news

https://www.bbka.org.uk/news/first-asian-hornet-of-2019

Pollinator action plan

Showing my hignorance, I'd never previously come across this: https://friendsoftheearth.uk/bees/ask-your-council-introduce-pollinator-action-plan

Ask your council to introduce a pollinator action plan

You can also buy a slightly daffy 'festive Bee Saver kit'!

Help bees this Christmas with Friends of the Earth’s festive Bee Saver Kit

Pollen a-plenty... in the wrong place!

An Association member sent this extraordinary pic of pollen on the ground at the front of the hive. Diagnosis (from an experienced beekeeper) is that the small hive entrance set by the beekeeper during winter is causing hurly-burly congestion now spring has arrived, and pollen is spilling from the bees' baskets.

I'm sorry, I'll read that again

Bees: Many British pollinating insects in decline, study shows

As reported by the BBC, the study (which you can find here) says:

The "losers" include solitary bees, which live in burrows in the ground, and upland bees, living on mountains and moorlands. Among the "winners" are 22 of the most important crop pollinators.

So a perfectly good headline would also be:

Numbers of important pollinating insects on the rise, study shows

In other words, "I think you'll find it's a bit more complicated than that." {Dr Ben Goldacre}
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-47698294

Plan Bee - Naturism, anyone?

Despite the bizarre use of English in the headline (is it asking us to safeguard our valuable Nature while the rest of it can go to heck?), this seems like a good cause:

Petitions

UK Government and Parliament

PetitionBe fair to Bees, Plan Bee –Help farmers safeguard our valuable Nature!

Young people from Northern Ireland are asking government to support devolved institutions by having a UK wide strategy to provide funding to support farmers delivering valuable ecosystem services, such as providing wildflowers for pollinators.

More details

Sign this petition

 © Crown copyright

Need-to-know from Friends of the Earth

An amusingly inaccurately named page from Friends of the Earth:

20 facts you need to know about bees

A fair number the 20 are not facts. Actually, I'm not sure *any* of the 20 are facts. What a pity; some perfectly good messages and motivations being confused by pseudoscience and new-age gibberish.

https://friendsoftheearth.uk/bees/20-facts-you-need-know-about-bees

Nuke 'em

Very satisfying weekend’s work, preparing three nuc boxes – home-made from spare chipboard etc. Considering you can buy a perfectly good nuc for about £25 including delivery, I think I’m working at below the National Minimum Wage.

Found this on eBay at £24.99... OK, no space for a feeder etc, but cheapskates can't be choosers.

How swarming drones will change warfare

OK, in the context of a beekeeping blog, the headline makes no sense. Here's the bit that caught my non-compound eye:

Flinging a barrage at a defence system is one thing, but that could be done with a sack of rocks. The key to the swarm is that it's smart enough to coordinate its own behaviour.

It's not only the military that's interested in this problem. Dr Justin Werfel is a senior research scientist at Harvard's Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering.

"In a natural swarm of birds or bees, all individuals are doing their own thing. Each one has its own brain, knows what it can see for itself," he says. "You don't have an explicit hive mind. The queen bee is not giving instructions to everyone.

"The challenge is how you build the individuals so that the collective does what you want."

Swarmy reading for you: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-47555588

Neal's Yard, again

https://www.nealsyardremedies.com/bee-lovely-timeline.html

Neal's Yard, part deux

https://www.nealsyardremedies.com/bee-lovely-timeline.html

Neal's Yard bee-friendly campaign

https://www.nealsyardremedies.com/bee-lovely-timeline.html

The real reason honeybees are all dying out

Private Eye 1491 - 8 - 21 March

There's a moos in the hoos

I was sent this by WhatsApp!

Educational bees

A client's company is sponsoring a beehive. Which is nice.

http://www.wisewoodprimary.co.uk/news/detail/beehives-in-school/

From unseasonal warmth to hail

Flow Hive, again

Here's a yah-boo article about the Flow Hive. If you ignore the New-Age piffle about communing with bees, the author (Maryam Henein) makes a reasonable case agin the Flow Hive.

https://www.honeycolony.com/article/against-flow-hive/

Will the Flow Hive survive first contact with The Enemy?

As a natural skeptic, I can't help thinking that the Flow Hive (an object of great beauty) will not survive first contact with The Enemy. In my case, everything looks wonderful and neat at the start of the season, and by the end the whole shebang, including me, is covered in honey, wax and propolis...

Vespa velutina

And this is the header link: http://frelonasiatique.mnhn.fr/

Vespa velutina

This arrived in my inbox, http://frelonasiatique.mnhn.fr/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2015/09/Progression_Invasion_Vespa_velutina-Q_Rome_MNHN.gif

It's a great - worrying - graphic. I like the optimistic areas 'in check,' even if they vanish so quickly.

BBC - If the insects go, then we go

Catchy headline, for sure. Or how about, "If the trees go, then we go," or "If the seas boil off into space, then we go."

In other news, the Pope is Catholic.

BBC - The mystery behind Ethiopia's 'father of bees'

Queen survival - see Chris Slade's Bee Blog

A bit late in the day (OK, two months after his original post), some enlightening stats from Chris Slade: https://chrissladesbeeblog.wordpress.com/2018/12/22/queen-survival/

Chris' records show that his queens are in his care for an average of 2.28 years (two years three months). As he points out, the actual lifetimes will be longer, because some queens will be swarm arrivals and some will push off in a swarm and may live on for another few years.

https://chrissladesbeeblog.wordpress.com/

Early pollen and loving it - Richard Noel video

Nice video here: https://youtu.be/98Ww3nKUmm4

Bee record cards: Little Giant Beehive Log

Normally I use standard BBKA record-keeping cards... and then spotted this on Amazon:

The Little Giant beehive log will help you keep track of your hives in all weather conditions! Featuring Rite In The Rain patented water-shedding paper, these notebooks are useable even in the heaviest of rains or the hottest of days. Record and measure all of your hives' most important details. 100 pages.

• Helps you keep track of your hives in all weather conditions
• Features patented Rite in the Rain water-shedding paper
• Useable even in the heaviest of rains or most humid of days
• Record and measure all of your hives' most important details
• 100 preprinted pages

https://www.miller-mfg.com/beekeeping-supplies.html

Beekeeping laws in Germany

Now, you'd like to believe this:

Believe it or not, the German Civil Code has a specific statute that is to be applied in the event that two or more swarms flee their hives at approximately the same time and, while properly being pursued by their respective owners in order to preserve their ownership rights, merge to form one larger swarm. Should that happen—and I’d very much like to know if it ever has—the owners split the bees:

If bee swarms of more than one owner that have moved out merge, the owners who have pursued their swarms become co-owners of the total swarm captured; the shares are determined according to the number of swarms pursued.

So, let’s say five swarms are on the move, followed by four bee­keepers flailing around with bee nets (obviously I know nothing about beekeeping). Beekeepers A and B are each pursuing one swarm. C is pursuing two different swarms that tried to flee his place at the same time, while D was just driving by and has never owned a bee in his life.

He just finished beekeeping school, or something. Meanwhile, Bee­keeper E is sitting at home not pursuing his swarm, which is one of the five. If all five swarms merge and the resulting überSchwärm is captured, what happens?

What happens is that some German lawyers are about to make a bunch of money, that’s what happens.

German Civil Code § 963 (“Merging of bee swarms”).

Copied from https://boingboing.net/2014/02/28/german-beekeeping-laws-are-wei.html, which itself is an excerpt from "The Emergency Sasquatch Ordinance," https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1627222693/downandoutint-20

Hive Years & Millennials

In an idle moment, I calculated my age in Hive Years: about 35. Some friends with 20+ hives must be well into their hundreds, and maybe into their first millennium. Odd to think of an 80-year-old as a Millennial.

In case you're wondering, keeping one colony for one year = 1 Hive Year.

Hive radio

Sadly (a) not about bees and (b) not on air.

https://hiveradiouk.wordpress.com/about-us/

There, that was worth reading, wasn't it?

Found a nice bunch of stats on this blog, https://adventuresinbeeland.com/2019/01/14/how-many-honey-bees-are-there-a-2019-update/ , using data from www.fao.org/faostat/

See visual below; the blog article is worth a read, too.

Observation hive

Came across this truly delightful video

That's gonna sting a bit...

More on the World's Biggest Bee, aka Megachile pluto (Wallace's giant bee). Does it sting?

Fool's Spring

This came in via WhatsApp. Local temp yesterday was around 18C, about 10C higher than the average.

World's biggest bee found alive

By Helen Briggs, BBC News, Science and Environment  

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-47311186

Summary: it's effing enormous.

Robbing on an industrial scale

Passing through Moûtiers in France, I spotted this collection of around 50 hives, basking in February sunshine. Thousands of bees were flying, but I'm fairly sure there was no forage available - prompting robbing on an industrial scale. You can *just* see the bees in this photo.

Mathematical bees?

From New Scientist

Runny or set honey? Or both?

Let the StrainAway take the strain!

Did I post this already?

Back to school

Speaking to Year One at Wimbledon High School - a tough crowd!

Starvation

The mild weather followed by cold snap has got me worried. Last week the bees were out flying. With precious little forage available, I presume they were eating through the stores. This week it is too cold to inspect. All the colonies have fondant on the top bars of the brood frames, but in my experience they are reluctant to take it down...

Here's a picture of Mr Creosote.

Aldi vs Kellogg's

Let's face it, honey is popular

St Haralampi, patron saint of beekeeping

Religion, despite being a dangerous infection of the human mind, does occasionally come up with some crackingly good nonsense: St Haralampi, patron saint of beekeeping.