Author Archives: Paul

Moving hives less than 3 miles

Posted on February 21, 2019

The “3 foot / 3 mile” rule-of-thumb refers to how if you move a hive more than 3 feet, sometimes returning foragers cannot find it. Their internal maps are so precise they get confused, and keep looking where the entrance … Continue reading →

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ONBG Meeting, 1st Dec 2018 – insulation and instrumentation

Posted on December 30, 2018

Eight beeks and some interested neighbours gathered at Gilliane’s house on the edge of Oxford to see her hive upgrades with cork insulation, how she remotely monitors the temperatures inside them, and to swap bee stories. Gilliane has already blogged … Continue reading →

Posted in Meetings, TBH | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Learnings from the Learning from the Bees conference

Posted on November 27, 2018

In my earlier post on the Learning from the Bees conference, I discussed the “who was there and what it was about” aspects. This article covers what I actually learned about bees. I always particularly enjoy lectures and books covering … Continue reading →

Posted in Pests | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Meditations on the Learning from the Bees conference

Posted on November 8, 2018

At the end of August the world’s first major international gathering of natural beekeepers, Learning from the Bees, took place in the Netherlands. The atmosphere had a festival vibe and concentrated on healthy bees and improving the environment, rather than … Continue reading →

Posted in Ecology, Experimentation, Honey bee research, Log hive, Pesticides, Research, Skeps, Sun Hive, TBH, Warré | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

ONBG meeting, 22nd Sept 2018 – hive hacks and natural selection

Posted on September 30, 2018

16 beekeepers clustered at Gareth’s house (warm and dry) and his experimental apiary (damp and chilly) to discuss bees and eat cake. Gareth, who’s kept bees since at least the 1970’s, recounted experiences from the recent Learning for the Bees … Continue reading →

Posted in Apiary visits, Experimentation, Hives, Honey, Honey bee research, Local lore, Meetings, Pests, Stings, Warré | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

ONBG meeting, 22 Aug 2018 – TBH special, wasps, and insulation

Posted on September 7, 2018

10 beeks gathered at Helen’s on a sunny Saturday afternoon for heaps of cake and biscuits (thank you Helen, Jane & Anne!), a bit of bee nattering and a peer at Helen’s hives. The attendees were mostly TBH users, so … Continue reading →

Posted in Inspections, Meetings, ONBG, Pests, TBH | Tagged | Leave a comment

Other uses for drones (hive 3 always was a bit different…)

Posted on August 23, 2018

The wasps probing my hives are being put off by masses of guard bees at the entrances. Watching the way they approach then suddenly veer off, I was struck by this pile of living bees at the entrance to hive … Continue reading →

Posted in Pests | Tagged , , | 3 Comments