Blog – bees, beekeeping & other sticky subjects
Drone congegation area revisited
Five years ago, Vita’s blogger visited Greenham Common, at one-time a 3km by 0.5km disused airfield and now a nature reserve. At each end and in the middle of the Common, drones almost instantly appeared at the lure. What happened yesterday?
Only one end of the Common appeared to be active. And the drones took a little longer to appear. Was this because it was a week or two earlier in the season and not some many drones were about?
Watch what happens when the lure is lowered into a bush. Nearly all of the drones appear to lose interest and when the lure is hoisted again, a large number seem to have flown off elsewhere.
The never-ending puzzle of DCAs.
Look at me, I’m dancing!
The observation hive of Vita’s Blogger wants to release a swarm but the weather is inclement. A dancing bee (she has pollen in the baskets on her legs) can’t get any attention in the brood chamber, where the bees are focused on swarming, so she moves to the less swarm-obsessed super where they pay more attention.
Help Canadian vet students eager to extend their honey bee knowledge
Beekeeping Canadian style
Veterinary students at the University of Calgary in Canada have caught the bee bug and, through their own initiative, set up a Honeybee Health Club to learn more about an animal for which they have new responsibilities. As students they are short of cash and so are seeking modest funds to help equip a teaching apiary on campus.
Vita Bee Health is already helping and any funds the students can gather are being matched by a generous anonymous donor. The club’s GoFundMe page has so far raised Can$1,660 and they are keen to boost this quickly so that the teaching apiary can open this season.
May Thursday free bee seminars
Vita Bee Health is a sponsor of three free webinars coming up at 8pm (BST) on three Thursdays in May:
5 May European foulbrood Chris Palgrave
13 May Biosecurity and apiculture Nicolas Vida Naquet
20 May The genetics of the Irish honey bee Jack Hassett
Full details and how to register (free and essential) for these webinars orgamnised by the British Bee Veterinary Association (BBVA) here: full details and free registration details
A tale of two colonies – spot the difference
Two colonies, four metres apart at 2.30pm on 30 March 2021 in Hampshire UK. Can you deduce what is happening inside? Answer below.
The first colony is queenright. It has ten sides of brood and is progressing well gathering lots of pollen — vital for the young larvae within.
The second colony is queenless. It has no brood, is gathering hardly any pollen and even has a drone — possibly left over from last year. It is doomed and may well know it.