- ONBG (OxNatBees) is an informal mutual support network for beginners and experienced beeks who aspire to practise bee-centric, low intervention, and chemical-free beekeeping in Oxfordshire. To join the group and share ideas, questions, information and experiences, please use this site's Contact Us form.
Next ONBG Meeting
Saturday 1st October 12:30-4:30PM, Steeple Aston
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Twitter: @OxNatBees
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Recent Blog Posts
- ONBG meeting, March 2023 – new year, new lessons March 9, 2023
- Winter projects November 23, 2022
- ONBG Meeting, October 2022 – 10th anniversary gathering October 9, 2022
- ONBG meeting, June 2022 – Unlearning beekeeping June 27, 2022
- ONBG meeting, May 2022 – A Swarmy Bee Tea at Dee May 25, 2022
- The Sideboard Bees May 11, 2022
- ONBG meeting April 2022 – swarm prep May 5, 2022
- Trends in beekeeping March 6, 2022
- A visit from … December 19, 2021
- Blenheim bees – news article and response November 9, 2021
- ONBG meeting, 1st August 2021 – out-apiaries and TBHs August 7, 2021
- ONBG meeting, July 2021 – Blenheim wild bees July 23, 2021
- Bees at the fete July 11, 2021
- ONBG meeting June 2021 – another Bee Tea at Dee! June 12, 2021
- Drayton beehive on display May 12, 2021
- Lockdown winter projects February 27, 2021
- Book review: Treatment Free Beekeeping, by David Heaf February 9, 2021
- Horizontal hive types January 17, 2021
- Bees Without Borders: conference report November 23, 2020
- Winter is coming November 7, 2020
Category Archives: Pests
Winter projects
This blogsite has been a little quiet recently because contributors have been beavering away on various projects bearing fruit elsewhere. Andrew has written a book! Beekeeping Simplified with the Drayton Hive is available from Northern Bee Books The Drayton Hive … Continue reading
Posted in Newspaper articles, Pests, Publications
Tagged Books, Drayton, Drayton Hive, vets
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Bees Without Borders: conference report
What: 6 lectures, mainly on wild / unmanaged bees, by European researchers titled Bees Without Borders – I attended by Zoom and the recordings have been released here. Some of the lectures were very technical. When: 21st November 2020 Who: … Continue reading
Posted in Ecology, Honey bee research, Pests, Research, Trends in Beekeeping
Tagged amm, Black bee, Wild bees
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Winter survival surveys show ‘treatment-free’ works
Each May OxNatBees surveys our members for information on winter losses. This graph shows losses year by year, compared with other surveys. The stand-out point is that our losses for untreated hives populated by local bees (blue “ONBG” line) are … Continue reading
Posted in Members, ONBG, Pests, Research
Tagged Beeinformed, overwintering, Survey, Winter
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Covid-19: evolution in action
I can’t help wondering if the lockdown will make people reassess high-intervention beekeeping. This lockdown is going to exert heavy selection pressure for colonies that can fend for themselves.
Convergent theories
A potential problem with a natural beekeeping group is: members never talk to conventional beekeepers. So 14 of us visited a large (80 hive) commercial apiary… with a twist. It’s run by the Swindon Honeybee Conservation Group, headed by Ron … Continue reading
Posted in Apiary visits, Experimentation, Honey bee research, ONBG, Pests, Research
Tagged breeding, hygienic bees, Ron Hoskins, Swindon, Varroa
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Training new beeks
In early February, we held a couple of afternoon training sessions for new beekeepers, to give them an outline of what’s involved in keeping bees in the UK. We started with basic biology, and how this drives their very alien … Continue reading
Learnings from the Learning from the Bees conference
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
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