The late E.F.Woods was the inventor of the Apidictor. “Sound engineers are familiar with a phenomenon known as the ‘cocktail party effect’. This is the ability of the human brain, in a room full of chattering people, to pick out and concentrate on one conversation, not necessarily the loudest. Eddie was blessed with this ability [...]
Archive for the ‘Beekeeping’ Category
Bee Vibrations: The Apidictor
Posted in Bee Law, Bee Present, Bee-ology, Beekeeping, Beetwixt & Beetween on January 2, 2010 | 1 Comment »
Bee Vibrations: Vanishing Bees and Mobile Phone Masts
Posted in Bee Present, Bee-ology, Beekeeping, Beetwixt & Beetween on January 2, 2010 | 6 Comments »
It is a mystery that has had scientists stumped. But now experts in Scotland believe they have discovered why bees have been abandoning their hives and vanishing. Scientists at the Roslin-based firm Global Bioenergetics think disturbance to bees from mobile phones, radio signals, wi-fi and microwaves is disrupting them with devastating results. They think increased [...]
Bee Vibrations
Posted in Bee Law, Bee Lore, Bee Present, Bee-ology, Beekeeping, Beetwixt & Beetween on January 2, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Whenever I visit my hives I come away feeling much calmer. Non-beekeepers are often amazed when I say this. They assume that I would become more stressed with the “threat of the sting”. But the inverse is true. After my seasonal dosage of stings which occur naturally when beekeeping, any stings after them become little [...]
Bees Buzz at Midnight on Christmas Eve
Posted in Bee Lore, Bee Present, Beekeeping, Beetwixt & Beetween on December 24, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
There is an old tale from Scotland and the North of England that the bees buzz at midnight on Christmas Eve. They have been doing it for centuries, apparently! I visited my hives today – but all was quiet! Then again, I did not visit them at midnight! There was lots of snow, though! A [...]
UK warned as plague of bee-eating hornets spreads north in France
Posted in Bee Present, Beekeeping on September 28, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
For five years they have wreaked havoc in the fields of south-western France, scaring locals with their venomous stings and ravaging the bee population to feed their rapacious appetites. Now, according to French beekeepers, Asian predatory hornets have been sighted in Paris for the first time, raising the prospect of a nationwide invasion which entomologists [...]
Bee Social
Posted in Bee Lore, Bee Present, Bee-ology, Beekeeping, Beetwixt & Beetween on September 3, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
From Friday 4 September 2009 to Sunday 6 September 2009 from 12noon – close, there is a”Bee Social” going on as part of the Pestival weekend on the Southbank in London – to celebrate with the bees as the summer draws to an end. For one weekend only, Pestival is going to transform The Front [...]
Circadian Clocks and the Bee’s Daily Diary
Posted in Bee Law, Bee Present, Bee-ology, Beekeeping, Beetwixt & Beetween on August 25, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Flowers of a given species all produce nectar at about the same time each day, as this increases the chances of cross-pollination. The trick works because pollinators, which in most cases means the honeybee, concentrate foraging on a particular species into a narrow time-window. In effect the honeybee has a daily diary that can include [...]
Two Years On!
Posted in Bee Law, Bee Lore, Bee Present, Bee-ology, Beekeeping, Beetwixt & Beetween, Bylaugh on August 20, 2009 | 2 Comments »
Two years ago last month this blog started. I continue to be amazed at how many people visit the site. This year has also been quite extraordinary – having caught about 8 swarms of bees. We now have a total of nine colonies. Quite an increase from single old Faith at the start of 2008! [...]
New Designs for Bee Hives (2)
Posted in Bee Present, Bee-ology, Beekeeping on August 10, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Here is another interesting design – which has the same frame size for both the brood chamber AND the supers – the Rose Hive OSB (one-size box). As well as having the same sized boxes for brood chamber and super, it also has no queen excluder! The other advantage is that the roof and floors [...]
New Designs for Bee Hives (1)
Posted in Bee Present, Beekeeping on August 10, 2009 | 1 Comment »
A friend of mine has just sent me an interesting link for a new type of hive. It is based on the Dartington long hive – but is made of plastic. Seems a good idea for beginner beekeepers or urban beekeepers (see below) – though I have not tried the system and cannot comment on [...]
