Tag Archives: Drones

Open mating and genetics – Drones

Posted on January 14, 2017 by

Conventional beekeepers aiming to maximise honey production suppress swarms, replace queens with ones from breeders, and cull drones as a “waste of resources”. This post covers some of the less discussed, subtle implications of drone genetics; and advantages of queens … Continue reading →

Posted in Honey bee research, Research, Swarms | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

ONBG meeting – and a Christmas quiz!

Posted on December 14, 2016 by

On a freezing November night, ten folk gathered in the Victoria Arms in Oxford to review 2016’s beekeeping and discuss our plans for the coming year. Paul unveiled a surprise test… er, quiz…

Posted in Meetings, ONBG | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Wisdom from an old beekeeper – especially on varroa

Posted on June 7, 2015 by

I recently had the pleasure of meeting Ron Hoskins, who has been keeping bees since 1943 (over 70 years!). He has been on the BBKA executive committee, trained lots of new beekeepers, and is well known, firstly, for his conservation … Continue reading →

Posted in Pesticides, Research | Tagged , , , , | 8 Comments

Natural drone culling

Posted on May 21, 2015 by

Bees are clean creatures, and the bodies of those that die in the hive are removed by “undertaker bees”. I noticed a worker struggling to fly off while carrying a white pupa away the other day. Then there was a … Continue reading →

Posted in Ecology | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Bees and Biosecurity: Simple measures to control infections and keeping the bees happy.

Posted on November 15, 2012 by

Trees and Bees, the obvious top bar link. I have been promising to write something up for the blog for a few weeks now. What with the recent furore over Ash Die Back and other tree diseases its been one … Continue reading →

Posted in Apiary visits, Books, Ecology, Hives, Honey, Inspections, Meetings, ONBG, Products, Research, Swarms, TBH, Wax | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Meeting on 10 November 2012

Posted on November 12, 2012 by

Today ten beekeepers gathered here in Headington for coffee and tea and biscuits. We introduced ourselves and our beekeeping experience, as Peter at least was new to the group, and then we had a very instructive talk by Gareth on … Continue reading →

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Drones out! and No more syrup!

Posted on October 7, 2012 by

I have been obediently following advice and feeding my bees as they really needed a lot of stores – everything was very lightweight in August when I last checked them. Every day a 750ml jar of thick syrup was emptied … Continue reading →

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