Tessera

[New post] The 'June gap' and brood breaks; does the queen stop laying, or are the larvae cannibalised? Plus some brief comments on hayfever and honey, and determining when OSR/canola honey is ready for extraction (it's earlier than you might think). theapiarist.org/the-june-gap... #beekeeping

The 'June gap', brood breaks, and myths

The 'June gap' and brood breaks; does the queen stop laying, or are the larvae cannibalised? Probably both, and more. Plus some brief comments on hayfever and honey, and determining when OSR/canola…

theapiarist.org

[New post] A new study of queen cells shows just how special they (and the genetically-distinct subset of bees that build them) are. What are the implications for beekeeping? theapiarist.org/a-palace-fit... #beekeeping

A palace fit for a queen

There are differences in the chemical and physical properties of wax in queen cells and worker comb. This is attributed to a specific group of young worker bees; the queen cell builders. What lessons…

theapiarist.org

[New post] Hot and cold. Some thoughts on coping with extreme heat, the ideal conditions for queen mating, and predicting the onset of swarming. theapiarist.org/hot-and-cold/ #beekeeping

Hot and cold

The weather has a profound influence on bees and beekeeping; some thoughts on coping with extreme heat, the ideal conditions for queen mating, and predicting the onset of swarming.

theapiarist.org

[New post] All miticides cause side effects. Most are detrimental, but some are more significant than others. Your miticide choice should be informed by your colony management and which side effects are more likely to be detrimental to your bees. theapiarist.org/miti-side-ef... #beekeeping

Miti-side-effects

Miticides kill Varroa. They also have detrimental side effects for the brood, workers, drones, and queen. Some of these side effects are more damaging than others, but many can be avoided (or at…

theapiarist.org

[New post] Calmness in adversity. Opening bad-tempered hives in lousy weather, and a swarming 'queenless' cell raiser. Two examples of the sort of beekeeping challenges that are usually solved if you Keep Calm and Carry On. theapiarist.org/keep-calm-an... #beekeeping

Keep calm and carry on

The vagaries of the weather, compounded by unexpected events, are what make beekeeping so endlessly fascinating … and challenging. Don't get flustered. Just keep calm and carry on and things should…

theapiarist.org

[New post] Why do beekeepers call a proportion of bees that can fly 'non-flying bees' and what has this to do with orientation flights? In passing, I also deal with other generalisations like the “bees live 6 weeks” nonsense. theapiarist.org/orientation-... #beekeeping

Orientation flights and 'non-flying bees'

Bees spend more of their short lives learning about the environment during orientation flights than they spend foraging. Why are these flights so important, when do they start, and are bees that have…

theapiarist.org

[New post] Taranov swarm control. A little-used method that partitions the queen and non-flying bees together very effectively (the opposite of the Pagden method). And some bonus ramblings on the impact of temperature. theapiarist.org/temperatures... #beekeeping

Temperatures and Taranovs

Some observations on the impact of low overnight temperatures on colony development and spring swarming, and the use of Taranov swarm control to partition the flying and 'non-flying' bees to prevent…

theapiarist.org

[New post] Queenright queen rearing using the Ben Harden system. Possibly the best way for beginners to learn how to rear queens. Almost no specialised equipment needed and honey production is uninterrupted. theapiarist.org/how-to-queen... #beekeeping

How to : Queenright queen rearing

Queenright queen rearing using the 'Ben Harden system' is an ideal way to produce queens without the need for huge cell raising colonies, or compromising honey production. A 'little and often'…

theapiarist.org

[New post] Ley lines and bait hives, rare earth magnets and colony health, Tropilaelaps, giant honey bees and formic acid … a medley of interrelated (yes, really!) topics for spring. theapiarist.org/spring-medley/ #beekeeping

Spring medley

Bait hives, ley lines, exotic parasitic mites and formic acid treatments … a spring medley of good and bad beekeeping topics.

theapiarist.org

[New post] Some winter DIY projects that have kept me entertained, and should now be useful. Things for frames, mini-nucs, supers, finding bees, vaporisers, and queens. Some are novel, some are improvements, and some are poor facsimiles. theapiarist.org/heres-someth... #beekeeping

Here's something I made earlier

Winter DIY projects to make my beekeeping this year a little easier. Things for frames, mini-nucs, supers, finding bees, vaporisers, and queens. Some are novel, some are improvements, and some are…

theapiarist.org

[New post] The best method of swarm control? Which method causes the least disruption to the colony, and doesn't result in the premature loss of adult bees or brood? theapiarist.org/good-better-... #beekeeping

Good, better, best … swarm control

What's the best method of swarm control? Some would judge this in terms of equipment needs, or lifting involved, or the number of return visits. However, if you also consider the population of bees…

theapiarist.org

'Insect-friendly' glyphosate — the most widely used herbicide globally — reduces honey bee foraging by 13% but, interestingly, not waggle dance metrics. Interesting, but unfortunately paywalled, but I'll discuss it in a future post on The Apiarist. doi.org/10.1242/jeb.... #beekeeping #notducks

Sublethal glyphosate exposure reduces honey bee foraging and alters the balance of biogenic amines in the brain

Summary: In honey bees, sublethal exposure to the herbicide glyphosate reduces foraging and induces positive correlations in the brain content of octopamine and its precursors tyramine and tyrosine.

doi.org

[New post] Are you swarm-ready? The planning and equipment needed for swarm control, and hiving bivouacked swarms. Plus … data to support increased absconding from swarms re-hived close to where they were bivouacked. theapiarist.org/swarm-ready/ #beekeeping

Swarm-ready?

A pick'n'mix collection of swarm-related information this week. The planning and equipment needed for swarm control, and hiving bivouacked swarms. Some preliminary results on absconding swarms and…

theapiarist.org

[New post] Early hive inspections — and why you shouldn't — some thoughts on variable spring weather and progress in predicting swarming, and how the accuracy of the waggle dance varies depending on who is watching. theapiarist.org/on-the-cusp/ #beekeeping

On the cusp …

Early hive inspections — and why you shouldn't — some thoughts on variable spring weather and progress in predicting swarming, and how the accuracy of the waggle dance varies depending on who is…

theapiarist.org

[New post for sponsors] We know a lot about how colonies select eggs/larvae to rear queens from under the emergency response … they're very good at it. ALL this knowledge is ignored when grafting larvae. Here are a couple of easier ways to do it. theapiarist.org/bigger-queen... #beekeeping

Bigger queens, better queens … and easier queens

Colonies are highly selective when choosing larvae to rear queen. Standard (grafting-based) queen rearing methods are not. In this post I briefly discuss the science of larval selection, and then…

theapiarist.org

[New post for sponsors] Why are winter losses apparently so high this year? In addition to the usual (mites, starvation, falling trees etc.) there's been a lot of rain. Is this the issue, or did the problems start earlier in the year during the drought? theapiarist.org/winter-losse... #beekeeping

Winter losses 25–26

Do wet winters kill bees? Winter losses in '25/'26 appear to be unusually high. Inevitably, the miserable winter rain is blamed. However, I suspect the problem may be due to the earlier drought, a…

theapiarist.org

[New post] Not so much what to buy, as how to choose what to buy, so that it's useful and usable for years … together with a couple of luxuries to make your early foray into beekeeping easier and more enjoyable. theapiarist.org/equipment-fo... #beekeeping

Equipment for beginners — part 2

The financial outlay you need to make when starting beekeeping is less than the commitment the catalogues imply you should make. Buy wisely with compatibility and longevity in mind, but also invest…

theapiarist.org

[New post] Starvation and free-living colonies. Avoiding the former in managed colonies, and finding the latter. There's no time like the present to do both these pre-season things 😄. theapiarist.org/if-you-go-do... #beekeeping

If you go down to the woods today

Colonies can starve in early spring. It takes just a few days of adverse weather for colonies to run out of stores. This week I discuss preventing starvation in managed colonies, together with some…

theapiarist.org

[New post] Beekeeping can be expensive when starting. Avoid being “all the gear, no idea”. Buy the basics, and buy things that will remain usable and useful for decades. Part 1 of 2, with homework for readers 😄 . theapiarist.org/equipment-fo... #beekeeping

Equipment for beginners — part 1

Don't believe everything you read in the catalogues. It's expensive to start beekeeping, so buy little, and buy wisely. The equipment should last — and be usable — for decades, so aim to make your…

theapiarist.org

The Apiarist @social.theapiarist.org.ap.brid.gy · 6mo ago

[New post for sponsors] Where are foulbroods endemic? What choices are there in dealing with swarms originating from these areas, including the options available for euthanising them? Forewarned is forearmed. theapiarist.org/whose-swarm-... #beekeeping

Whose swarm is it anyway? - part 2

Identifying areas with endemic foulbroods, and the adjacent regions at risk from natural spillover through swarming. What choices are there in dealing with swarms originating from infected areas,…

theapiarist.org

Drones tracking workers … neat application of drone technology to accurately map individual flight trajectories of foraging worker honey bees https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(26)00084-9.

[New post for sponsors] The same but different. Varroxal and Api-Bioxal might have the same active ingredient, but they differ in terms of allowed routes and frequency of application, and — most significantly — value for money. theapiarist.org/varroxal-vs-... #beekeeping

Varroxal vs. Api-Bioxal

Just because they contain an identical active ingredient don't assume they are equivalent. There are differences in the approved modes and frequency of administration, dosage, and shelf life … and…

theapiarist.org

[New post] Most swarms carry mites, some carry foulbroods. The mites are easy to deal with, but how can you tell the risks of AFB or EFB? You need to understand how far swarms move, and where foulbroods are endemic. And you need to be vigilant. theapiarist.org/whose-swarm-... #beekeeping

Whose swarm is it anyway? - part 1

Swarms may carry pests and pathogens. Mites are easily managed, but the notifiable foulbrood diseases are not. It is important to consider the risks, based upon swarm behaviour and the known…

theapiarist.org

[New post] Do we consider the consequences for the colony of the manipulations we impose? Every split, artificial swarm or nuc made involves a restoration of the balanced worker population … some maniulations may be 'better' for the colony than others. theapiarist.org/temporal-pol... #beekeeping

Temporal polyethism

The age-related division of labour. Critical to colony survival and performance, disrupted every time you perform a split, but amazingly flexible that most splits (eventually?) are successful. What…

theapiarist.org