- 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
Sunday 19th July 3-5PM, Oxford
Twitter: @OxNatBees
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Recent Blog Posts
- Winter survival surveys show ‘treatment-free’ works August 5, 2020
- ONBG meeting, July 2020: a Bee Tea at Dee Cottage July 20, 2020
- Book Review – Interviews with Beekeepers by Steve Donohoe July 1, 2020
- Look up during lockdown May 1, 2020
- Preparing for swarm season April 4, 2020
- Covid-19: evolution in action March 31, 2020
- A new hive design: the Drayton hive February 27, 2020
- Victorian Twitterstorms February 4, 2020
- Top Bar Hives, warts and all January 4, 2020
- ONBG meeting, October 2019: Hive envy! November 9, 2019
- Convergent theories September 17, 2019
- Learning from the Bees, Berlin – bees au naturel! September 11, 2019
- ONBG+ meeting, August 2019: insulation, cavity size, Golden Hives August 19, 2019
- ONBG meeting, July 2019 – what makes a good hive? July 25, 2019
- At the village fete June 30, 2019
- Learning from the Bees Conference, Berlin June 24, 2019
- ONBG meeting, 15th June 2019 – TBHs, Freedom hives and a surprise swarm June 16, 2019
- Swarm stories June 2, 2019
- Grow, shake or drum? Transferring bees between hive types April 26, 2019
- ONBG meeting, 6th April 2019 – TBHs April 12, 2019
Tag Archives: Varroa
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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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
ONBG meeting, 16th Nov 2017 – insulation, honey and mites
On a winter’s evening a dozen folk gathered at the Victoria Arms in Oxford to discuss, you guessed it, bees and beekeeping. Jack had brought along the heat-vision FLIR camera he used to photograph his hives’ heat profile in a … Continue reading
New research on natural selection and honey bee health
An interesting paper by heavyweight apiology researchers Professor Peter Neumann and Dr Tjeerd Blacquière is being published in the mainstream, peer reviewed research journal Evolutionary Applications. The paper recommends major changes to beekeeping practises in order to address various health … Continue reading
Posted in Experimentation, Honey bee research, Pests, Publications, Research
Tagged bee health, natural selection, Research, Varroa
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DWV research – bee samples required
Deformed Wing Virus (DWV), while around for many years, has become a significant problem for honey bees following the rise of varroa mites which facilitate the transferrral of the more virulent form of this pathogen. Several research projects have been … Continue reading
Making a shook swarm
Although natural beeks employ a low intervention approach, there can come times when some direct intervention may be appropriate. I do not use miticides, rather allowing the colonies to utilise natural selection to find those that have the right behaviours … Continue reading
ONBG meeting, 19th March 2016
11 people met at Alison’s in Cumnor to discuss plans for the new beekeeping season, eat biscuits, examine her Top Bar Hive and discuss winter survival, including mouseguards, feeding and varroa. We started by discussing feeding. This is the time … Continue reading
