Writing
Blogs
All my beekeeping blogs, newest first. Click a title to read the full article.
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What Hive Sensors and Scales Told Us: Weather and Forage in 2026
A warm, dry year with two good nectar flows and a long late-summer dearth, told through the hive scales, brood sensors and the weather record from my three apiaries.
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Correction
A correction to my Queen Trapping blog about the effect of oxalic acid on open brood.
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Supporting Pollinators on the South Coast of England, Season by Season
What you can do to help bees and other pollinators through the year on the south coast, with plants to grow in every season.
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Turning Beginners into Members
How Fareham & District BKA turns beginners into active members: a warm welcome, a teaching apiary, mentoring and good communication.
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A Bee Maid’s Tale Part II
It’s me again and I have to tell you I’ve been a bit sad lately. We’re saying goodbye to the summer shift who have worked their tarsomeres off feeding the…
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Climate Change May Be Putting Honey Bee Colonies at Greater Risk of Winter Failure
Introduction In summer, worker bees typically live for about six weeks. In winter, however, they need to survive for six months or more. A colony therefore depends on producing enough…
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Bigger Eggs, Bigger Queens? How the Queen Chooses Her Successor
One question that has often been in my mind when rearing new queens is whether the eggs or young larvae selected by the bees are better than the ones selected…
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A Bee-Maid’s Tale
There’s been a lot of discussion in scientific circles about whether animals are sentient beings. Most recently, The New York Declaration of 2024 states; ….. there is strong scientific support…
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Chronic Bee Paralysis Virus (CBPV) – Field Case and Current Evidence
This article combines a field case study with a summary of current evidence on Chronic Bee Paralysis Virus. It begins with the signs observed in one Hampshire colony, then reviews…
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Varroa – The Number One Cause of Winter Losses
Varroa infestation, and the effects of the viruses transmitted, are the main causes of winter losses and must be treated at the right times of the year: get the timing…
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Winter Preparation 2026
“In the world of the honey bee there are only 2 seasons, winter and preparing for winter” Anon Introduction The honey bee colony builds up to its maximum foraging force…
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Swarm Collection Good Practice Guide
Introduction The NBU stresses that swarms of unknown origin can carry disease or pests. Swarms should be treated as potentially infected until proven otherwise. Newly collected swarms should be kept…
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Winter Is Upon Us
Winter is upon us, and we have tucked up our colonies for the colder weather. Here on this corner of the south coast we enjoy a little microclimate, sheltered by…
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Introduction to Queen Rearing
The session was held in my home/queen rearing apiary, where all the equipment is on hand, instead of the teaching apiary. This is to be the last opportunity to rear…
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NDB Course 2025
BLOG – NDB COURSE 2025 The Examination Board for the National Diploma in Beekeeping was established in 1954 to meet the need for a beekeeping qualification above the level of…
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Summer 2025
We’re into July already and the summer flow is full on with Bramble and Lime in bloom. The warm, sunny weather has helped to stimulate nectar production, and plants or…
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Dealing with an Aggressive Colony
In early May one of the colonies in my teaching apiary started to display excessive defensive behaviour, following and stinging people for about 100 metres from the hive. I practice…
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Queen Trapping
Correction, 8 November 2026: the statement about oxalic acid and open brood has been clarified. See Correction. Queen trapping is a technique used to induce a brood break in a…
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Snowflakes Not Survivors: Do We Mollycoddle Our Bees Too Much?
The first bees evolved around 60 million years ago. Since then, they have survived massively destructive events, including meteorites hitting the earth with mass extinction of species such as the…
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Shook Swarm
Association Colony The colony that was kindly donated by David Marsden, a former FDBKA member, has completed its quarantine. It has been treated with Oxalic Acid for phoretic varroa and…
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Winter & Spring Losses
Many beekeepers suffer colony losses in winter and early spring and wonder what happened. Most losses are avoidable so let’s have a look at some of the common reasons why…
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The Apiary in January
The days are getting longer and lighter, birdsong is in the air, there’s a growing sense of the earth awakening, reenergised after a long sleep. The winter bees in the…
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Winter Preparation
Introduction The honey bee colony builds up to its maximum foraging force in July for the summer flow when they must accumulate enough food stores to last for the next…
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Apiary Training Day – 7 July 2024
The day was divided into two sessions, one for beginners and beekeepers with less than 2 years’ experience and the second for improvers and those preparing for the BBKA Basic…
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Queen Introduction – The One-Hour Method
It’s the time of year when beekeepers are buying in new queens and are faced with the uncertainty of whether or not the queen will be accepted in her new…
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First Spring Inspection
General Every intervention by the beekeeper is disruptive and stressful for the bees and the hive should only be opened if there’s a good reason for doing so. It is…
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Asian Hornet Trapping
HAPPY NEW YEAR! GENERAL The subject of trapping is surrounded by controversy, mainly concerning its effectiveness and its impact on other species and can risk pulling beekeepers in different directions.…
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Spring Trapping of Asian Hornet Queens
Introduction The purpose of spring trapping is to catch and kill queens which have newly emerged from hibernation at a time when they are most vulnerable. The theory is that…
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Drone Laying Queen
One of the queens I raised this year has turned out to be a drone layer. Signs of Drone Laying Queen How does it happen and how do we know…
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Be Prepared for Swarming
The swarming season has been particularly intense this year due to a long, cool spring followed by a sudden spell of warm weather. Although the worst seems to be over…
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Chronic Bee Paralysis Virus (CBPV)
There have been two cases of this virus among FDBKA members’ colonies so far this spring/summer, including one of mine. It may be present in low levels in colonies that…
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European Foulbrood (EFB) – It Can Happen to Anyone
This weekend I was due to go on a Queen Rearing Course at the Devon honey farm of Ken and Dan Basterfield, two of Britain’s most renowned beekeepers. Unfortunately for…
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Swarm Prevention or Control – Demaree Method
If you don’t want to increase the number of colonies in your apiary or you’re short of space, this very simple method is the one for you. Remember the principle…
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Pollen Patties – To Feed or Not to Feed
There is a lot of controversy about the feeding of pollen in spring. We all want to do the best for our bees, including making sure that, having survived the…
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Winter Treatment for Varroa
Happy New Year WINTER TREATMENT FOR VARROA Mid-winter is a good time to treat our colonies for varroa as part of an Integrated Pest Management System (IPM). For most of…
