Blog – bees, beekeeping & other sticky subjects
Ulster beekeeping conference
A few days after St Patrick’s Day, Vita attended the very successful Ulster Beekeepers Association Annual Conference in the town of Antrim where 350 bee folk had gathered to hear talks and visit trade stands.
How do bees react to a solar eclipse?
On Friday 20 March 2015, there was a solar eclipse over parts of Africa and Western Europe. But how do bees react to the phenomenon? Previous studies give some clues.
Spring buzz at Stoneleigh
Vita’s stand was very busy at Stoneleigh on Saturday when British beekeepers had their first taste of spring at the now annual Bee Tradex expo. Hot topics were the Asian hornet and the Small Hive Beetle.
Snap up a bargain at Bee Tradex
Pick up a bargain by buying the Apishield hornet trap at Bee Tradex exhibition in the UK on 7 March 2015. There will be a limited supply of traps available, so reserve yours now and avoid p&p charges!
Sebastian’s London marathon for Uganda
Sebastian Owen of Vita is enduring all sorts of British winter weather to train for the London Marathon in April. He is raising funds for projects in one of the world’s poorest countries.
Why treatment testing is so… testing
Beekeepers often wonder why some honeybee colonies have much higher levels of Varroa infestation than others in the same apiary. No two colonies are ever the same.
A wintery tale of two colonies
Contrasting debris drop of two colonies in two neighbouring apiaries in England after six days in January. There is one obvious difference, but close inspection reveals a more ominous difference.
Honey Money
Luxembourg has issued a €5 coin commemorating the European honeybee as part of a Fauna and Flora in Luxembourg series. But you will have to pay more than 12 five-Euro coins to acquire one!
And then there were none – tales from the observation hive
The dwindling queenless colony of bees in the observation hive make a break for it either during a downpour or a heavy frost and seemingly in the pitch dark!
Year 2 of life in a honeybee fishbowl
Strange happenings in Turlough’s observation hive this year. Several queens failed to return to the hive mated, one pretended it had, but the bees entertained nonetheless.