The Honey Gatherers

An amazing collection of honeybee photographs by Eric Tourneret. The Honey Gatherers

Posted by on Nov 20, 2012 in Bees | Comments Off

Honeybees in the United States Exhibit a Resistance to Antibiotics

Scientists believe that, in the United States, the decades-long practice of treating honeybees with tetracycline has led to their resistance of the antibiotic. Yet more evidence to support more natural approaches to beekeeping. More here: Honeybees harbor anti-resistance genes

Posted by on Oct 30, 2012 in Bees | Comments Off

Good Neighbors

Urban beekeeping is sometimes a touchy subject. Mary Catherine O’Connor touches on some of the issues: As urban populations grow in lockstep with interest in urban agriculture, conflicts over where and whether hives should be kept may continue to escalate. “Historically, beekeepers want to stay under the radar,” says Peteros. “But being in the urban agriculture movement, we felt that having bees visible in an urban environment is also an important form of passive education. Even in dense urban places like San Francisco … if we are going to be successful in helping people grow their own food, we need pollinators.” More here: Keeping the peace between beekeepers and their urban...

Posted by on Aug 20, 2012 in Bees | Comments Off

The Second Spring

  In beekeeping circles it is said that if you want to know the answer to something, ask a second year beekeeper – they think they know everything. I don’t know what second year beekeepers these people are talking to.  I am in the the middle of my second year with the bees I can confidently say that I know a whole lot less about this creature than when I started. I have no answers. I am not even sure of the questions, to be honest. This year has been both exciting and terrifying in a standing-on-the-very-edge-of-a-precipice-overhanging-a-dark-and-bottomless-void kind of a way. I have made a lot of mistakes and have subsequently accessed a much deeper level of understanding my relationship with the honeybee and, on a much greater scale, the world...

Posted by on Jul 2, 2012 in Bees | Comments Off

A mild winter, a new queen.

It’s been an extremely mild winter here in San Francisco. Most days, the bees have been out foraging for whatever is available to them this time of year. I’ve seen pollen coming in every time I’ve checked on my hives. Knowing that the colony at the restaurant was quite strong this past fall I’ve made several brief inspections over the winter months. Last Wednesday, with the help of a friend, I made a more comprehensive inspection. The outermost frames were filled with honey and covered with bees. As we went further in we found both worker and drone brood surrounded by a beautiful arc of rainbow colored pollen. And then, there it was… a queen cell. All winter I’ve been mentally preparing for this moment. I have had some nucleus...

Posted by on Feb 21, 2012 in Bees | Comments Off

Decoding the Waggle Dance

An excellent video explaining honeybee communication:

Posted by on Feb 1, 2012 in Bees | 1 comment