Blog – bees, beekeeping & other sticky subjects
Why hasn’t SHB spread further in Italy?
Small Hive Beetle update – why it may not have spread (yet) and a curious biological survival trick.
Herb farm apiary
Vita’s blogger has leapt at the opportunity to site an apiary in a 400 hectare herb farm.
Mystery of the ‘superbees’ solved
A surprising answer to the mystery of the apparently Varroa-resistant honeybees in a UK apiary.
At the UK National Honey Show
Three things Vita’s Blogger learned today at the UK National Honey Show.
Hilltopping
Hill-topping is a mating strategy used by many insects. Could it apply to honeybees? This is an update on the Bee Craft article on Drone Congregation Areas just published.
Nosema ceranae – emergence & hope
This week Vita begins lab tests in Greece for a new treatment for Nosema ceranae, the second greatest threat to honeybees after Varroa in some countries.
The other Queen Bee at Downton Abbey
There is more than one Queen Bee on the Downton Abbey estate.
Small Hive Beetle returns
This week Small Hive Beetle has been found again in southern Italy. It’s a great disappointment that the action taken last year has not been fully effective.
Wasps beware, ApiShield is here
It’s autumn and here in southern England it’s been quite a year for wasps. ApiShield is providing a very useful tool to stop wasps bothering the bees.
In search of a Drone Congregation Area SatNav
Since the end of June, I’ve been pondering the factors that might describe a Drone Congregation Area (DCA), those mysterious locations where honeybee queens meet up with drones to mate.