What's new?

23^rd September

Resolved a problem encountered by some readers attempting to subscribe to The Apiarist using iPhones. 35% of readers access the site using iPhones.

19^th September

Being cruel to be kind

Sugar shake or dusting is promoted as a good way to dislodge mites for counting or Varroa control. However, recent evidence suggests it reduces the survival of exposed bees, which raises some interesting ethical questions.

The ApiaristDavid (The Apiarist)

12^th September

Apivar advice

Used properly, Apivar is an excellent miticide. How and why do you position and reposition the strips in the hive? How long do you treat for, and how do you detect and avoid resistance? Don’t expect the answers to be in the instructions on the packet.

The ApiaristDavid (The Apiarist)

5^th September

Occam’s Razor and beekeeping

Most beekeeping puzzles can be solved with some careful thought, good hive records, and a basic understanding of honey bee biology. If the solution makes lots of assumptions, it’s probably wrong.

The ApiaristDavid (The Apiarist)

29^th August

Bittersweet memories

Enjoy the sights, sounds and smells from the last of your beekeeping this season. There’s still much to do, but it’s going to be a long time until you can work with the bees again, so make time to store away some memories for the long winter ahead.

The ApiaristDavid (The Apiarist)

24^th August

A bad honey guide?

Do honeyguides punish honey hunters who do not reward them after previous successful hunts? Historical anecdote might suggest this, but recent studies indicate the explanation is a little more prosaic.

The ApiaristDavid (The Apiarist)

22^nd August 2025

3D printing for beekeeping - part 1

Using 3D printing you can inexpensively produce items for your bees and beekeeping that are useful, and either unavailable elsewhere or costly. Here is an introduction to the technology, and a guide to some things you can make.

The ApiaristDavid (The Apiarist)

11^th August 2025

Some minor changes to the privacy policy to reflect the new analytics integrated into the website software. No tracking, no cookies, and nothing to be concerned about.

10^th August 2025

The content delivery network (bunny.net) is now re-routing all UK readers via Amsterdam or Dublin to avoid the 'signed in but unable to access anything' problems that have occurred intermittently for some users. I apologise for the 10-millisecond additional delay in page loading that this causes 😉.

8^th August 2025

Preparing for winter

Winter preparations should start during late-summer colony checks. With thorough preparation, the right colonies, low levels of pathogens and ample stores, losses should be very low, giving you — and the bees — a flying start the following spring.

The ApiaristDavid (The Apiarist)

4^th August 2025

My hosting company (MagicPages) upgraded the site software to Ghost 6. There's all sort of neat things for site owners, but the big public-facing change is the introduction of ActivityPub social media integration. WTF? This means that new posts and comments/discussion about those posts (as well as unrelated comments) can now appear on any ActivityPub-aware social media (like Mastodon, Threads etc.) if you follow @social@theapiarist.org. Bluesky users need to follow @social.theapiarist.org.ap.brid.gy as that platform isn't truly ActivityPub aware, but can be tricked into thinking it is.

2^nd August 2025

The What's New page appeared … it seemed like a good idea at the time 😉.

1^st August 2025

Did they not read Seeley?

Provisional observations on a free-living colony, the timing of the onset of swarming, and comments on the validity of a recent Citizen Science survey of free-living bees.

The ApiaristDavid (The Apiarist)