How much does a jar of honey cost?

A cool £28/kg, or £13.08 for 1 lb

Weather swings, again

With Paris, France, sweltering in 40+C, the apiary in Wimbledon has finally made it to the low twenties.

And in other news...

Weather swings

The temp has lurched from 14C to 24C in just a couple of days, and the bees are bringing on queen cells like no tomorrow. I'm guessing that the wet weather preceding means that the flowers' nectaries are full, and the bees are going crazy. Here's that Pagden again:

Image from the very informative http://killowen.com/swarmcontrol.html

Bee Simulator

Rather obviously, I am one of the last people to discover the Bee Simulator game.

The name reminds me of Fee Waybill's remark about simulated Indian beaver fur: "They don't have beavers in India, so they have to simulate them."

Maybe that's it: I'm simulating being a beekeeper.

Rather you than me: Indian woman covers her face with hundreds of bees to raise conservation awareness

I realize I am a scaredy-cat, but you won't catch me doing this. Well, not deliberately.

If only my frames came out neatly labelled like this...

If I knew who made the photo, I'd give the credit!

Stings & Puns

I found this excellent piece on bee stings: http://basicbeekeeping.blogspot.com/2008/01/lesson-21-bee-stings.html, written by David & Sheri Burns of Long Lane Honey Bee Farms, Illinois.

And besides, there's a winning pun on the website:

Ex Machina & swarm control

I quite like this robo-beekeeper video, from Gary Hammond : https://youtu.be/BCReKLV6CB4

Gary's pretty handy with a guitar, too.

An Inspector Calls

Following a case of EFB at a near-by apiary, the Regional Bee Inspector called. He used a lateral flow device, very similar to a pregnancy test thingy, to check.... and the answer, thank goodness, was negative.

From https://www.filmbankmedia.com/films/archive/details/657-an-inspector-calls

Chambourcy Nouvelle, la Louvre et les abeilles!

Chambourcy Nouvelle! Une membre de WBKA avez spotted les abeilles á la Louvre!

https://fr.nuxe.com/protection-abeilles-nuxe-louvre

Urban beekeeping boom is harming native bees, entomologists say

Far more importantly, the Canadian councillor who worries is called Francesco Miele - or "Frank the Honey" to his beekeeping mates...

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/beekeeping-montreal-motion-native-species-1.5166091

Urban beekeeping is increasingly popular in Montreal, but the city's opposition party wants to control the practice in order to make room for native bee species. (John Minchillo/Associated Press)

One Thousand and One Uses for a Hive Tool

I wonder where "patio grouting" falls on the list?

Innovation courtesy my first (and so far only) wife

Go From Incompetent To Super Effective

The title of this podcast caught my eye: Go From Incompetent To Super Effective, based on Peter Drucker's 1967 book The Effective Executive

https://www.podbean.com/eu/pb-8wjrm-b1b4cf

The heart of advertising is promise, large promise.
Claiming to be 'The Definitive Guide" is quite something, let alone the assertion that he, or anyone,
knows which are the "right" things... 

That's enough swarm photos. Ed.

How beautifully convenient....

Queenery

Here's a nice diagram (if it's yours, please let me know and I will gladly add the credit)

Coutts Skyline Garden

Coutts' Executive Chef Peter Fiori was kind enough to show wife & self around the Skyline Garden. Peter has transformed the bank's roof into a productive, ingenious and bee-friendly paradise.

There's a hive up there too (but I didn't see that, in my proud tradition of incompetence.)

Photo by Marianne Majerus. I was so bowled over by Peter and his garden I forgot to take pics!

I love stories like this: "Shoppers run from huge swarm of bees outside The Range in Plymouth"

Video and hysterical over-reporting here: 

https://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/news/plymouth-news/live-swarm-bees-range-plymouth-2931449

Video by Zoe Mathison

The Apiarist

Here's a nice blog: https://theapiarist.org/

The blog format doesn't do the content any favours; it would be better as a book.

Remember books? (Hyperlinks are great, but give me an Index any day.™)

Sir Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of hyperlinks, who
(a) is not the author of "The Apiarist" and
(b) looks like the brother I don't have.

Astrobees

OK, not really bees, but fun, all the same.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/48381951