The popular press has created a mythical picture of honey bee decline, at least in North America. Sadly, many people are confused by all the misinformation. Some non-beekeepers imagine that if thirty percent of all colonies are lost each year, then honey bees will soon become extinct. For example, if you start with 3 million […] Read more
Yes, this is a rant. I’ve been putting if off because it made me so angry I had to distance myself in order to write coherently. My daughter’s two-year-old recently came home from daycare and announced, “Bees will hurt you.” Not only that, she began stomping on any insect she saw, particularly ants. My daughter […] Read more
Journalists continue to bug me. Just after I published “A journalist’s bumble,” I noticed several stories about bees using plastic debris to build their nests. The news articles were based on a research paper by J. Scott MacIvor and Andrew E. Moore which appeared in the December issue of the scientific journal Ecosphere. The researchers […] Read more
I was called on the carpet last week by a beekeeper who insists that bees can turn sugar syrup into honey. Maybe the letter is a hoax. Maybe the writer is a troll just trying to stir up controversy. On the other hand—and this is much scarier—maybe he is serious: Ughh! I really enjoy reading […] Read more
It was day seven without a septic pump. I’ve lived on the same rural property for 20 years, and things happen. Walking around with a shovel is nothing particularly out of the ordinary. If it’s not the septic pump, it’s the house pump. If it’s not the house pump, it’s the well pump. And when […] Read more
The following comment came yesterday in response to the post, “How to use a slatted rack.” I’ve decided to answer the allegations one by one. Your comments about slatted racks is inaccurate. First the original designer was a man in Hawaii by the name of Bovard back in the 1960s, hence Bovard Racks was the […] Read more
Recently, someone asked if I had read the article in Bee Culture (November 2011, Volume 139, Issue 11, p. 63) about removing the center of the brood nest to make room for the cluster and, if so, did I have an opinion. Truth is, I had missed this little gem or I would have written […] Read more