BeeHero

If I knew what this article was about, I would summarize it: https://uk.news.yahoo.com/beehero-smartens-hives-pollination-4m-173317428.html 

BeeHero intends to use the Internet of Things to replace beekeepers, all for a measly $4m

Albanian beekeepers

Well, who'd have thought it? The lockdowns imposed in response to the SARS-CoV2-19 virus apparently means a bumper harvest for Albanian beekeepers. 

Did the same apply during the reign of the People's Socialist Republic of Albania (prop. E Hoxha)? 

(Rex Features)

Lego Hive

This you must see: https://uk.news.yahoo.com/un-bee-lievable-beekeeper-builds-133957230.html

Ruairi O'Leocháin of Athlone's Wildlife Apiaries in Co Westmeath decided to build the Lego beehive for "a bit of craic"

 

Queen Bee Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall

Well, I never knew!

The Duchess of Cornwall is new President of Bees for Development

World Bee Day, 20th May 2020

We are delighted to announce that we have the support of Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall as President of Bees for Development.

Her Royal Highness explains why she is so keen to supports our work in a short video message, especially recorded for World Bee Day 2020. In it, she explains how she has a personal reason for supporting us. She keeps bees herself, producing honey which she sells to support the charities she is linked to. This year, all proceeds will be donated to Bees for Development.

LinkedIn bees

Oracle is supporting bees. Check out the LinkedIn post and the source story:

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/ines-grandi-374232_a-bee-inspired-story-smart-data-lessons-activity-6668795019861868544-qlfc

https://www.oracle.com/corporate/blog/world-bee-day-052020.html

Four thousand hives

Nice piece here: https://www.countryliving.com/uk/wildlife/countryside/a32568839/bees-thriving-lockdown/

The only bit that really struck home was "the family-run bee farm currently has 4,000 hives"

Holy Smokers!

At a rapid ten minutes per hive, inspections take nearly 700 hours a week!

The article is illustrated with pictures of bumblebees (pictured: Bombus lucorum)

Walking home

Cape bees and asexual reproduction

To follow up my earlier post https://mellifera.blogspot.com/ some more news on Cape bees (Apis mellifera capensis).

In the photo, the Q has the 64 marker disk; right next to her is a 'super worker' bee.

What makes it unique is that the female worker bees are able to lay eggs that develop into other female bees. These eggs are not fertilised by a male (worker bees are unable to mate), so this is a form of asexual reproduction, known as ‘thelytoky’. The Cape bees are essentially creating a clone.

Cape bees only develop this ability once the colony’s queen bee dies. By producing female bees, they can give birth to the colony’s new queen, ensuring that the colony survives. In other honey bee subspecies, the worker bees only produce male bees (drones), which have to fly off in search of a queen bee in another colony.

https://www.sciencefocus.com/nature/virgin-birth-gene-identified-in-honeybees/

Questions for beekeepers

Questions for beekeepers This page will have new questions added regularly. The questions are for beekeepers and will help provide feedback on topics and issues for those involved in beekeeping. Bookmark the page and return every month!  May 2020 - Wax moth question - Useful links  NBU Wax moth page which includes links to  Further information about the biology and identification features of all stages of wax moth can be found on the COLOSS website. Wax moth leaflet- Pdf. https://ift.tt/2yc6Bme

from British Beekeepers Association https://ift.tt/3dQfwJ3
via gqrds

Bright yellow pollen

Help our bees by Carol Lane

I am a BBKA member who specialises in urban beekeeping and work to raise awareness of the importance of bees to our ecosystem and to help create more bee friendly areas.

from British Beekeepers Association https://ift.tt/2Wx3XAP
via gqrds

The Joy of Pests

Nice piece here. Check out the joy on Shane Jones' fizzog: https://www.basingstokegazette.co.uk/news/18446981.pest-controller-warns-hornet-wasp-season-started-really-early-basingstoke/

Rewilding for bees and bugs

A well-meaning article in The Grauniad: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2020/may/12/more-birds-and-bees-please-12-easy-expert-ways-to-rewild-your-garden 

 ‘The traditional English cottage garden is an absolute haven for insects,’ says Mark Fellowes of the University of Reading. Photograph: Borchee/Getty Images/iStockphoto

Honeyed nonsense

From 'Speciality Food Magazine:' 

The Covid-19 pandemic has made consumers keen to boost immunity. High quality honey has antibacterial, prebiotic and antioxidant properties and beekeepers and suppliers report higher than usual demand.

https://www.specialityfoodmagazine.com/news/trend-watch-honey

Pretty in Pink

A friend claims he has a camouflage-pattern beesuit, but I've never seen him in it. I, too, have a cam-pattern beesuit, but I can't find it. (These are the jokes, folks.)

https://natashageary.com/

RHS Plants for Pollinators

Came across the Royal Horticultural Society's 'Plants for Pollinators', here: https://www.rhs.org.uk/science/conservation-biodiversity/wildlife/plants-for-pollinators

Cape bees and asexual reproduction

Amazing piece of research reported here: https://phys.org/news/2020-05-gene-honey-bees-virgin-birth.html

The interesting/worrying section reads: "Every year in South Africa, 10,000 colonies of commercial beehives die because of the social parasite behaviour in Cape honey bees."  

What prevents Cape bees arriving in the UK?

Masses of parasitic eggs laid by parasites in a dying colony. Credit: Professor Benjamin Oldroyd/Univeristy of Sydney

More information: Current Biology (2020). DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2020.04.033

Bermondsey Street Bees

Seen this for the first time: https://www.bermondseystreetbees.co.uk/  They boast a 'honey sommelier,' which is a bit up its own Aristotle for me. 

Murder hornets

'Murder hornets' in Washington state threaten bees and whip up media swarm

This story refers (I think) to the invasion in the US of Asian Giant Hornet, Vespa mandarinia, in the same way that we face the woes caused by the Asian Hornet, Vespa velutina nigrithorax

https://clicklancashire.com/2020/05/04/murder-hornets-in-washington-state-threaten-bees-and-whip.html

Eye Bee M

For many years IBM has used the Eye-Bee-M rebus: 

Here's the latest combo: 

In this context I have absolutely no idea what "Bee Wall" is intended to communicate.

Who is this?

Bees & Refugees

The project was the idea of 35 year-old Shepherd's Bush resident Ali Alzein, who fled his home and life in Damascus, Syria. He arrived in the UK in 2012 but found it hard to adjust. https://www.spacehive.com/local-honey

https://www.shepherdsbushw12.com/

East Surrey Bees

Two very nice-looking nucs added to the stash today, from East Surrey Bees
http://www.eastsurreybees.co.uk/

Swarm, or cast?

Too high to reach, unfortunately, and no access from the roof

Tang It!

Called out to collect a swarm today, the bees pushed off moments before I arrived. Maybe tanging would have helped. My preferred method is cussing.

https://digital.nls.uk/moir/tanging.html

Five bee colonies die after hives trashed and honey stolen in Flintshire

More bee-rustling: http://www.deeside.com/police-appeal-for-information-after-beehives-trashed-and-honey-stolen-in-flintshire/

'Tis the season to be wary...

Bees contribute more to British economy than Royal Family

You read it here last (story from 2015!):
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/wildlife/11679210/Bees-contribute-more-to-British-economy-than-Royal-Family.html

Honey for Hospitals!

Friday 17 April 2020 Dr Alasdair Driver is acting Chair of East Devon Beekeepers Association ( EDBKA ). He says just before the lockdown for corona virus he needed hospital treatment. "Just before the world entered into global disarray, I had to undergo some minor treatment at the Royal Devon & Exeter hospital, where I received the most amazingly excellent care. So, it occurred to me that with the added pressures and stress the staff there are now under, a small gesture from a grateful member of the beekeeping world may be of use." This then blossomed into a bigger idea of the branch to offer a larger amount of honey for the staff to enjoy. "So, with the backing of the EDBKA committee to raid the apiary supplies, I asked the hospital if a donation of honey for the staff would be useful .....back came a resounding YES!"  Dr Driver and his wife ordered special labels and spent Easter Monday morning jarring up and labelling over 130 jars of honey for the staff.  ...

from British Beekeepers Association https://ift.tt/34GRkpl
via gqrds

Swarmshaker

Neat way to grab a swarm... https://twitter.com/i/status/1249581328963682309

Lockdown cripples migratory beekeepers

Beekeepers in India have found themselves banned from travel during the coronavirus lockdown:

https://kashmirreader.com/2020/04/14/lockdown-cripples-migratory-beekeepers/

Average winter losses

Our beekeeping association reports average winter colony losses of 33%.

Beehives destroyed in suspected arson attack

Infuriating news: https://www.itv.com/news/westcountry/2020-04-08/police-appeal-after-pensioners-beehives-destroyed-in-suspected-arson-attack/

Stanton Fitzwarren by Highworth, near Swindon

Starvation in a land of plenty

Another colony lost to starvation. In this case, they had eaten all the winter fondant and a fair bit of the fondant placed on the hive in January - about 1 kg in total - but it was too far from the cluster.

I heard of a near-by apiary where 7/8 of the colonies have starved this winter.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20442957-starvation-in-a-land-of-plenty

Temporary Office Closure March 2020

Office Temporary Closure  The BBKA is closing the office for 3 weeks due to the Covid-19 Pandemic. During this time no orders from the shop will be processed.  The phone lines will still be answered but please bear with the staff during this time as there may be delays. The phone lines are being redirected but only one call can be taken at a time. It will be easier for staff if you send an email to bbka@bbka.org.uk or direct to the team member if you know their email address. Advice for beekeepers tending hives during Covid-19 Pandemic  Swarm Collection curing Covid-19 Pandemic  If you are enquiring about Swarms please see our swarm page If you have a beekeeping question please join the BBKA Forum If you have made an order from the shop after 24/3/2020 it will not be processed until staff return to the office. If you have a question about Asian hornets please see our AHAT map page If your question relates to be added as an AH...

from British Beekeepers Association https://ift.tt/3dwKVRJ
via gqrds

Very annoying

At times like this you regret having docile bees, and dream of a feisty colony chasing the vandals high and low...

Dead clever

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/03/how-undertaker-bees-recognize-dead-comrades

Cash crop - and it's not the honey

According to this piece, migratory beekeeping can earn up to $200,000. Crikey.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/to-bee-or-not-to-bee-the-great-dilemma-zrlztxwl5

Beekeepers can make $200,000 in a few weeks by sending hives across the country, says Matias Viel of pollination start-up Beeflow Photo: Gabriela Hasbun, https://www.gabrielahasbun.com/ 

Midlife crisis

What if all the wasps disappeared?

Slightly annoying presentation style, but fun all the same.

Hive Records Using Bricks!?

Vandalism

Well, it happens. Annoying, to say the least.

https://www.shropshirestar.com/news/crime/2020/03/11/telford-beekeepers-plea-after-hives-are-vandalised/

The Nineteenth Tee

Spotted at the Royal Wimbledon Golf Club. Very nicely kept hives, and all busy on a mild March morning.

Starvation

On a warm day I checked my colonies, Jericho beekeeping style, and saw that there were no flying bees from one colony.

Closer inspection showed that they had starved. There were plenty of stores, but probably out of reach during the cold snaps. Like Stewart's video, the colony had fondant, which they had earlier been eating.

Found a relevant video from Norfolk Honey.

Kangaroo Island Bees

The bush fires in Australia have devastated Kangaroo Island, apparently one of the few places where pure strains of Ligurian bees flourish.

This fella is trying to rebuild his business - https://gogetfunding.com/bee-keeper-needs-funds-after-bush-fires-in-kangaroo-island-south-australia/

Upper entrance, anyone?

This is the first I have heard of this. Reading between the lines, it may be the last, too:  https://www.honeybeesuite.com/the-upstairs-downstairs-intrance-better-hive-access/

The Honey Bee Suite blog is *excellent*

See also https://www.honeybeesuite.com/a-gentle-warning-about-upper-entrances/

How bees argue

Great article here, http://www.overcomingbias.com/2020/01/how-bees-argue.html

I particularly like the overcomingbias.com statement:

"This is a blog on why we believe and do what we do, why we pretend otherwise, how we might do better, and what our descendants might do, if they don't all die."

Note: We, and our descendants, are all going to die, but you get what they mean.

Personalized number plates - in Georgia

Well, what about this? January 7 edition of Bee Culture

Controlling varroa

The Bad Beekeeping Blog has a nice summary of some academic articles on controlling varroa. Read them here: https://badbeekeepingblog.com/2020/02/15/a-guide-to-controlling-varroa/

Scott Bauer, USDA

Extra Bee Health Course

Due to the high demand for places on the Bee Health Courses that the BBKA are running in March, we have arranged an additional date - Sunday 29th March 2020 at the National Beekeeping Centre, Stoneleigh Park, Kenilworth.  For more details and to book a place, please go to the shop on the BBKA website. https://ift.tt/2HBI7DO This email has been sent to all Area Association eR2 Managers, would you please share this information with your branches and members? -ends- 

from British Beekeepers Association https://ift.tt/32bXah5
via gqrds

St Valentine's Day

Biscuiteers!

Beekeeping wisdom

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-51401315

Trustees 2020

Trustees The BBKA was founded in 1874 and originally brought together some 26 county beekeeping associations, not to replicate their work, but to be in a stronger position to represent their interests at government level and to facilitate a nationwide educational structure supported by a common examination process. Currently we run as an umbrella to our 74 Associations. Each Association has one elected member who votes on all things beekeeping in the UK, at our Annual Delegate Meeting (ADM), at the beginning of every year.  Appointed at the ADM are the President and 12 Trustees, who collectively comprise the Executive Committee (EC) that is the governing body of the BBKA. Delegates may adopt propositions at the Annual Delegate Meeting that provide policy direction to the EC. We are now a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO)  This page lists the trustees for 2020.  This page also includes an email address for each trustee as well as information about w...

from British Beekeepers Association https://ift.tt/31uxpIu
via gqrds

Know your bees

Nice book with excellent illustrations.
https://smile.amazon.co.uk/s?k=Know+Your+Bees&i=stripbooks&ref=nb_sb_noss_2

Wisbech bees killed by 'morons' in hive attack

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-51313829

Honeyland

Bargains at the Spring Convention

The Spring Convention Trade Show is a wonderful place to shop for beekeeping bargains. Many of the bee companies offer special discounts for Spring Convention purchases which means you save lots of money on your equipment. It's a wonderful opportunity to have the chance to look at new equipment too, and to meet the lovely staff from these shops who package up your orders.  If you're new to beekeeping then it is an opportunity to look at bee hives and make decisions about what sort you'd like to work with.  If you pre-order from suppliers you can meet them at their pick up points to collect your orders.  You will need a wristband to enter the trade show, you can buy this at the reception on arrival.  Trade Show (Saturday) Only Wristband is JUST £5 On-The-Day - no advance purchase needed The Trade Show Only Wristband does not give access to lectures, workshops or seminars. It does give you access to  ‘Speakers Corner’ wher...

from British Beekeepers Association https://ift.tt/2GxRaoM
via gqrds

Iran Ranks Among Top Honey Producers in the World - and check out the Bee Venom

Iran produces more than 80,000 tons of honey every year, Agricultural Ministry officials said during a ceremony held to unveil achievements in the beekeeping industry recently.

CEO of Beekeeping Industry Expansion Support Fund Behzad Bankipour said that over the past five years, Iran’s beekeeping industry shifted its focus from producing only one main product, namely honey, to producing other bee secretions such as royal jelly and bee venom, Fars News Agency reported. 

According to Morteza Rezaei, deputy agriculture minister for livestock affairs, said each gram of bee venom is exported at around $80. [my emboldening]

https://financialtribune.com/articles/domestic-economy/101904/iran-ranks-among-top-honey-producers-in-the-world

Number of beekeeping farms double in 2019 - in Azerbaijan

https://www.azernews.az/nation/161047.html

How Neonicotinoids Can Kill Bees

From the Xerces Society, free download

https://www.xerces.org/publications/scientific-reports/how-neonicotinoids-can-kill-bees

Blue Monday vs Beekeepers' Mental Health

One of the big advantages of beekeeping is that it diverts me entirely from cares of the day.

Confronted with yet another bee-behaviour situation that I don't know how to manage, I have no remaining head-space to wallow in the ludicrous piffle of Blue Monday, for example.

Right now, I'm thinking only one thing: will the bees survive the winter?

Always more to learn

Now here's a thing. In Adrian and Claire Waring's book "Get Started In Beekeeping," they mention as a throwaway comment that over-spinning frames can lead to honey laced with fine bubbles.

Dang.

How much does a jar of honey cost?

If you're p-honey, a 340g jar sells for £9.00 (£26.47/kg, or £12.00 for a one-pound jar).

The web site www.p-honey was not available when I visited. I found an article in the local press.

https://www.thorntonheathchronicle.co.uk/the-key-to-good-honey-happy-bees/

Hallucenogenic Honey!

Hallucenogenic Honey!

Every day I am more totes amaze than yesters: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jan/16/creating-a-buzz-turkish-beekeepers-risk-life-and-limb-to-make-mad-honey

 Kutluata makes traditional hives of lindenwood in his workshop above the village of Yaylacılar.
Photograph: Gökçe Saraçoğlu

Get started in beekeeping

For such a modest title, this book is full of gold:

Suitable both for those just considering the prospect and those who are already fascinated beekeepers, this guide to setting up, maintaining and maximising bees in the back garden is an indispensable and readable bible of information and practical advice.

It covers everything from bee behaviour to what to do with honey, and balances all the background context on bee biology with the day-to-day and seasonal practicalities of running hives in any location, in the country or the city, and for colonies of all sizes.

Supporting resources include a 'bee calendar', troubleshooting section, illustrations, photos, a glossary and details of courses and organizations, in an essential guide for anyone who is fascinated by the ancient ways of the apiarist.

Thiacloprid ban

https://www-dailysabah-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.dailysabah.com/europe/2020/01/14/eu-commission-bans-bayer-pesticide-harmful-to-bees-humans/

Congratulations to all those who passed their Basic Assessment in Beekeeping in 2019!

We hope you all have an excellent year beekeeping in 2020 - well done on a fantastic achievement. Basic_Results_for_2019.pdf

from British Beekeepers Association https://ift.tt/30nJCy4
via gqrds

Scientific Beekeeping Newsletter: Please Confirm Subscription

Scientific Beekeeping Newsletter Please Confirm Subscription For questions about this list, please contact:  randy@randyoliver.com

The bee is declared the most important living being on the planet. Except me, obvs.

https://science-andinfo.blogspot.com/2019/07/the-bee-is-declared-most-important.html?m=1

Save Our Bees, says Prima

From Prima June 2019. (Finger on the pulse as always...)

Strewth!

Well worth reading:
https://www.beeculture.com/catch-the-buzz-aussie-fires-destroy-bees/

Like sending bees to war

Fascinating article: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jan/07/honeybees-deaths-almonds-hives-aoe

Dennis Arp stands for a portrait outside Rye, Arizona.
Photograph: Caitlin O’Hara/The Guardian

Dennis is also US winner of Dirtiest Beesuit 2019

Foxed by Sophie Allport

I think I may have all of Sophie Allport's bee-related merchandise (https://www.sophieallport.com/collections/bees).

I'm thinking of keeping foxes instead.