Category Archives: ONBG

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

Posted on September 30, 2018 by

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 by

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

A Honeybee Heart Has Five Openings

Posted on August 3, 2018 by

A Honeybee Heart has Five Openings is a book by Helen Jukes, a member of our group while she lived in Oxford. Autobiographical in nature, it describes a period when she was generally rootless and dissatisfied with how her life … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Members | 4 Comments

ONBG meeting, 20th May 2018 – TBHs and tall tales

Posted on May 30, 2018 by

An anarchic group of beekeepers met on a very sunny day at Shadiya’s farm near Oxford to celebrate International Bee Day with a picnic and a peek at her Top Bar Hives. We began by discussing winter losses, which were … Continue reading →

Posted in Apiary visits, Ecology, Garden plants, Meetings, ONBG, Swarms, TBH | Tagged | Leave a comment

ONBG meeting, 21 April 2018: swarms, and learning from mistakes

Posted on April 25, 2018 by

Lured by chocolate brownies, ten of us gathered at Brian and Faith’s house  in Summertown to prepare for the impending swarm season, view their hives, and meet like minded enthusiasts. Below, are our checklist for swarm catching, descriptions of Brian’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Meetings, Swarms, Warré | Tagged , | Leave a comment

ONBG meeting, 10th March 2018 – overwintering, pests, crime and apps

Posted on March 29, 2018 by

Our first meeting of the year was at the Marsh Harrier pub in Oxford: 16 people dropped by to chat. Discussion ranged over how our hives had fared over winter; floor debris advice for newbees; problems with badgers; Small Hive … Continue reading →

Posted in Meetings, Pesticides, Pests, Swarms | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments