Category Archives: Swarms

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 , , , | 2 Comments

ONBG meeting, July 2020: a Bee Tea at Dee Cottage

Posted on July 20, 2020 by Paul

This was the first ONBG gathering this year as our normal annual cycle of events was interrupted by lockdown. Our last meeting was in October last year! Precautions were taken: access to handwash, masks, social distancing, everyone took their own … Continue reading →

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

Preparing for swarm season

Posted on April 4, 2020 by Paul

Swarms begin around late April in Oxfordshire, first in the warmer southern part and the heat islands of the towns and cities, then a couple of weeks later in the rural parts. In earlier years we’ve written on this blog … Continue reading →

Posted in Swarms | Tagged | Leave a comment

Covid-19: evolution in action

Posted on March 31, 2020 by Paul

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.

Posted in Ecology, Pests, Swarms | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

ONBG meeting, 15th June 2019 – TBHs, Freedom hives and a surprise swarm

Posted on June 16, 2019 by Paul

Fifteen of us met in a beautiful cottage hidden near the middle of Oxford. The plan was to have lunch, inspect Top Bar Hives and see a nearby Freedom Hive, and we managed to meet these targets due to skillful … Continue reading →

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

Swarm stories

Posted on June 2, 2019 by Paul

Here’s some things our group has learned, from over 120 swarm collections over several years: what went right…. and what went wrong! First though – what are swarms? – Within each hive is a queen who lays eggs which become … Continue reading →

Posted in Swarms | 3 Comments