Urban beekeeping in British Columbia
It has been long overdue, that review of Mark Winston’s book Bee Time. I started in the gloriously long summer before the honey harvest was over and read it while sitting in a beach chair at a remote Okanagan Lake cabin when I could savour the flavour of his writing without distraction. The review stalled during the […]
When we first started out beekeeping with two hives, we didn’t need anything to feed other than a bucket, some sugar and a couple of in-frame feeders. These, of course, were for those necessary periods in the fall, winter and early spring when forage isn’t around. If you had told me that we would eventually […]
I am sure that I have seen this before, this long, winding fall of sun and warmth, where even the leaves on the maples and horse chestnuts remain unreasonably green. But somehow, this fall seems different, far beyond the Indian Summer we sometimes get. The smatterings of rain we’ve had in recent weeks have been […]
Last week, as we were getting ready to treat our colonies for varroa, Amanda discovered one that had Deformed Wing Virus. It is a particularly heartbreaking disease to find, since the predominant physical issue is that the bees have either shrivelled wings or no wings at all. Watching a wingless bee crawl around on the […]
Michael Bush, the Nebraska beekeeper and author of such useful books as “The Practical Beekeeper” and “Beekeeping Naturally” will be in Vancouver next month. Regularly sought for his knowledge and simple ways of dealing with honey bees, Bush has also made something of a business of reproducing out-of-print publications from early beekeepers, such as Francis […]
As a beekeeper, the end of summer and the harkening fall remind me of the approaching B.C. Honey Producers Association fall convention September 25-27 at the Delta Airport Inn in Richmond. I watch the calendar with particular interest and count the days to the start of the three-day event. As associations go, the BCHPA is […]
When we first got into beekeeping a few years ago, someone warned me that as we grew in size I would wonder where all the time went. They told us that our first year, that heady moment when we brought home our first two nucleus colonies and watched in awe as they grew and began […]
I always look forward to the annual B.C. Honey Producers’ Association convention for two reasons. The first, but not most important one is that it comes towards the end of a season of heavy lifting. The approach of the AGM and its popular education day are signs that the frenetic summertime workload of looking after […]
Canada’s ban on honey bee imports is folly, says B.C.’s biggest beekeeper
Our new resources page for beekeepers
Lessons from our first blueberry pollination contract
Blackberry honey harvest in Metro Vancouver washes out
Bee Time: Mark Winston’s book opens our eyes to the plight of the bees.
Build a sugar syrup pump for feeding the bees
Our beautiful sunny, warm – and utimately deadly – fall weather
On Deformed Wing Virus, feeding & treating with formic acid
Michael Bush, the Practical Beekeeper, to give seminar in Vancouver Oct. 18
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