Well the world didn’t end – something that would have seriously have upset me having just paid millions for the varroa strips, but if our bees keep disappearing, it may well do so. CCD continues to occupy the minds of scientists all over the world and the solution to it all seems as [...]
An aid to swarm prevention?
Does anyone remember the Wood’s Apidictor of 60s fame. If not we take a look at it after this fascinating new piece of information and research from Nottingham Trent university which describes an ‘Accelerometer to Detect Honey Bee Swarming’
Swarming is bad news for beekeepers particularly during the [...]
Did you ever wonder just how do honeybees control their flight speed to avoid obstacles?
This piece of research shows that now we know the answer. It’s all to do with ‘perceived optic flow’ and its application for human use could be important.
Unlike humans, bees have a dorsal visual field that [...]
Scientists seeking to understand the origin of the human mind may want to look to honeybees—not ancestral apes—for at least some of the answers, according to a University of Colorado Boulder (USA) archaeologist.
Research Associate John Hoffecker said there is abundant fossil and archaeological evidence for the evolution of the human mind, including its [...]
A study of honeybee nutrition may assist us in our understanding of the causes of CCD and this study highlights some of the research being done in this area.
The study, which appears in the journal PLoS ONE, comes amid international concern over the existence of honey bee Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) — a [...]
Good intentions from the EU but is it really doing enough to halt species loss?
Extinction rates 100 to 1000 times the natural rate…
Pollination worth 15 billion euros ($22 billion) per year to the EU…
$2-6 trillion in business opportunities could be realised should the private sector invest in preserving biodiversity…
Overfishing leads [...]
This document is a question and answer session on the EU policy on diversification. As beekeepers – or even just as citizens, it affects us all and if they can get it right we will all benefit. Ed. Q&A on the Communication an EU biodiversity strategy to 2020
1. Why does biodiversity loss [...]
Most of us know about the clinically proven benefits of manuka honey from New Zealand but now it seems that Manuka honey could not only be an efficient way to clear chronically infected wounds but could also help reverse bacterial resistance to antibiotics, according to new research presented at the Society for General Microbiology’s [...]
Here again we include an interesting article by John Yates which is particularly appropriate for the time of year. Knowing how your colonies develop is an important management tool and although not all colonies are the same, the overall pattern is always maintained. ED. COLONY DEVELOPMENT DURING THE ACTIVE SEASON
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I recently received a request from a reader to repeat some of the articles written by John Yates from previous years Apis UK. This is the first of his articles and I believe it will be of great interest to the many new beekeepers and ApisUK readers.
Ed.
OBSERVATION HIVES
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Allergies? Pollen can also appear outside flowering season.
Researchers from the University of Extremadura (Spain) have shown that the pollen levels of certain plants, such as grasses and cupressaceae, can appear before or after the peak moment of flowering. This phenomenon is caused by the “re-suspension” of pollen, and its dispersal over large distances, [...]
Beekeepers should know all that they can about diseases and problems in the hive and what to do about them. Here is some good advice from John Evelyn, the English Diarist and man of affairs who lived from 1620 to 1706. His words are taken from the Elysium Britannicum, an unfinished discourse [...]
This one is really worth the wait. An actual Honey Pie!!
Bint as-Sahan Honey Pie: The ingredients make two pies:
In Yemen, on special occasions and if you are rich, bint as-sahn is always served as a first course; at other times it is eaten during the [...]
Whilst we slowly contrive to destroy our planet this quote from the well known Antonine Roman Emperor, battle commander, philosopher and stoic – Marcus Aurelius seems very apt.
“I travel the roads of Nature until the hour when I shall lie down and be at rest; yielding back my last breath into the air [...]
