If you’ve been following me for a while, you’ll notice a new layout for the website and possibly a few other changes too. As for most of us, the past 18 months have given me an opportunity to think about how best to use my resources and share my knowledge. Beekeeping has always been about a fascination with insects. I’ve been interested in nature for … Continue reading New Look Wayward Bee
A glorious day, and the daisies have popped up almost overnight! Great to see such a swathe of these: they are not only good pollinator plants but also provide some nice tall cover for mammals. The blackthorn has gone over now, as has much of the hawthorn but this late spring does mean the traditional “June Gap” that beekeepers dread – when the trees finish … Continue reading Themosolar Swarm Update
I went to check on the bees living in their dilapidated hives at the foot of the South Downs, and they are thriving. I have set up a hive nearby which I baited again with lemongrass oil, but I’m not sure that the bees have swarmed – certainly not recently. The owners take a keen interest in these inherited hives and had not heard any … Continue reading Selmeston Bee Check
I have had a couple of swarm calls and a few bumble/solitary bee queries, but nature seems to be rather on hold at the moment. We’ve had strong winds and more wet, cold weather but the bees are foraging well when they do get the chance: lots of pale yellow pollen and at least the flowers have an abundance of nectar with all the rain. … Continue reading Darling Buds of May
Ok, shameless plug here. When Lockdown started way back in March last year, I had to cancel all my courses and workshops, and my usual mentoring visits were suddenly compromised, as in spite of completely justifiable “essential journey to tend to livestock” it was still a journey. In addition to my reluctance to increase my risk, I was already looking at some way of offering … Continue reading It’s been a year!
Bee colonies require a number of elements in their favour to overwinter successfully, and despite the go-to solution of copious feeding, this is only one part of what gives honey bees the gumption to get through the cold damp winter. The colony below has been in this hive for 5-6 years and the combs have not been changed, so I find that the bees will … Continue reading Dismantling a Winter Loss
This is the big, necessary and progressive brother of sustainable beekeeping, and to me, represents a crystallisation of what I have learned through observing both my own bees and other colonies in all manner of hives and situations. So, how can beekeeping *improve* the environment where we run our hives? Agriculture, development, and a myriad other human activities have depleted the landscape on which the … Continue reading Regenerative Beekeeping
Wow – what a difference a day (or two) makes. A few days ago my bees were flying, and I was even able to put together a video post for my patrons as I headed down to the apiary to check the entrances and inspection boards. Bees cluster up together to keep warm in the winter, and it’s important that they aren’t disturbed at this … Continue reading Bees in a Snowy Winter
Oh dear – these are back in the news. Sadly the focus of the argument is producing the same reactive inflammatory discussion between ‘farmers’ and ‘conservationists’ even though both actually want the same: a healthy productive environment where all of us – and by “us” I mean all living things – can live, work, and produce food effectively. The basic story about neonicotinoids is that … Continue reading Neonicotinoids and Honey Bees
I designed this poster a few years ago, as I wanted an aide memoire that was less focussed on traditional beekeeping, and more about honey bees. If we want to keep bees in tune with their natural development and lifecycle, it’s important to have a greater understanding of how bees function and many of the visual resources use beekeepers holding frames, smokers, honey extraction, marked … Continue reading Beekeeping Poster
