Blog – bees, beekeeping & other sticky subjects
Drone Goal?
I bet the village footballers don’t know, but they play underneath a Drone Congregation Area, those secretive places that honeybee queens and drones meet to mate.
Do drones assemble above prehistoric sites?
Could there be a connection between the location of Drone Congregation Areas and prehistoric monuments? Vita’s Blogger has found another above an ancient earthwork.
Video of life in a Drone Congregation Area
Here’s a video of life in a Drone Congregation Area. This was my third outing to find a drone assembly and to my amazement, this third find is the best yet.
Another Drone Congregation Area! Part 3
After the success of finding my first Drone Congregation Area, I thought I’d try my luck again to find one of these secret areas, but where to look?
Drone Congregation Areas – Part 2
Three days after my first apparent discovery of a Drone Congregation Area, a fellow beekeeper and I set out to confirm what I’d seen. And we were impressed!
In search of a mate – Drone Congregation Areas – Part 1
I’ve always been fascinated by the existence of Drone Congregation Areas — those special zones where honeybee Queens and drones go to mate.
Is something stirring?
Having taken a long time to come into lay, the new Queen may not be for the observation hive much longer. The drones have gone, but a coup may be planned …
HopGuard approval process
The process to gain pan-European regulatory approval for Varroa control products and honeybee treatments such as HopGuard is not easy. Yesterday the regulatory team at Vita met to discuss the next stages — residue assessment.
Will she or won’t she? (She did!)
The observation hive has been in action for a few weeks now — and is as mysterious as ever. There’s a queen, a retinue, the motions of going through egg-laying, but no brood or eggs yet … UPDATE: she IS laying.
Hangout on bee diseases
Sebastian Owen has appeared in a Bee Craft Hangout (public video conference call) about bee diseases, specifically Nosema and Chronic Bee Paralysis. The hour-long video packs in lots of useful information. You can watch it here …