Author Archives: Paul

ONBG meeting, June 2022 – Unlearning beekeeping

Posted on June 27, 2022 by Paul

25 folk gathered at Gareth’s rural apiary to listen and learn from his 50 years’ experience and experimentation. We were honoured to be joined by Filipe Salbany (of Blenheim Woods fame) with a different set of 50 years’ experience, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Apiary visits, Ecology, Hives, Log hive, Meetings, ONBG, Skeps, Sun Hive, Swarms, TBH, Warré | Tagged | 2 Comments

ONBG meeting, May 2022 – A Swarmy Bee Tea at Dee

Posted on May 25, 2022 by Paul

Jane’s fabulous apiary at Dee Cottage isn’t just the prettiest cottage garden in Oxford, it also features several really unusual hives: an alveary, cathedral hive, freedom hive and also a couple of more standard TBHs. The agenda was to inspect … Continue reading →

Posted in Apiary visits, Hives, Inspections, Meetings, ONBG, Swarms, TBH | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

The Sideboard Bees

Posted on May 11, 2022 by Paul

~ By our Norfolk correspondent, Jan ~ Many of you know that I volunteered to be a swarm collector a few seasons ago: I’m not fearful of the bees and thought if I could help save some – before a … Continue reading →

Posted in Hives, Members | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

ONBG meeting April 2022 – swarm prep

Posted on May 5, 2022 by Paul

18 bee-folk gathered at Paul’s out-apiary to discuss catching and hiving swarms, inspect TBHs and picnic and gabble about bees. Other topics were winter losses, the 2023 Learning from the Bees conference and mushrooms.

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Trends in beekeeping

Posted on March 6, 2022 by Paul

This post discusses politics, how beekeeping / research is evolving, free living bees, and some interesting online resources. A common theme is apparent – beekeeping is increasingly swinging its attention to why local and wild bees are healthier. 

Posted in Ecology | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Blenheim bees – news article and response

Posted on November 9, 2021 by Paul

As the local natural beekeeping group, we’ve got to know and respect Filipe. The recent article in The Guardian about his findings at Blenheim has led to some heated debate in the Twittersphere. In the following article, Guy Thompson addresses … Continue reading →

Posted in Ecology, Honey bee research, Local lore, Newspaper articles, Trends in Beekeeping | Tagged , , , , , | 9 Comments

ONBG meeting, 1st August 2021 – out-apiaries and TBHs

Posted on August 7, 2021 by Paul

20 of us picnicked at an out-apiary in rural Oxfordshire, to network, observe horizontal Top Bar Hive inspections and discuss the practicalities of out-apiaries. This out-apiary is sited in a corner of a small estate, whose owners are very committed … Continue reading →

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