The Apiarist

If you go down to the woods today Colonies can starve in early spring. It takes just a few days of adverse weather for colonies to run out of stores. This week I discuss preventing starvation in managed colonies, together with some…

[New post] Starvation and free-living colonies. Avoiding the former in managed colonies, and finding the latter. There's no time like the present to do both these pre-season things 😄.
theapiarist.org/if-you-go-do...
#beekeeping

Equipment for beginners — part 1 Don't believe everything you read in the catalogues. It's expensive to start beekeeping, so buy little, and buy wisely. The equipment should last — and be usable — for decades, so aim to make your…

[New post] Beekeeping can be expensive when starting. Avoid being “all the gear, no idea”. Buy the basics, and buy things that will remain usable and useful for decades. Part 1 of 2, with homework for readers 😄 .
theapiarist.org/equipment-fo...
#beekeeping

Whose swarm is it anyway? - part 2 Identifying areas with endemic foulbroods, and the adjacent regions at risk from natural spillover through swarming. What choices are there in dealing with swarms originating from infected areas,…

[New post for sponsors] Where are foulbroods endemic? What choices are there in dealing with swarms originating from these areas, including the options available for euthanising them? Forewarned is forearmed.
theapiarist.org/whose-swarm-...
#beekeeping

Drones tracking workers … neat application of drone technology to accurately map individual flight trajectories of foraging worker honey bees https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(26)00084-9.

Varroxal vs. Api-Bioxal Just because they contain an identical active ingredient don't assume they are equivalent. There are differences in the approved modes and frequency of administration, dosage, and shelf life … and…

[New post for sponsors] The same but different. Varroxal and Api-Bioxal might have the same active ingredient, but they differ in terms of allowed routes and frequency of application, and — most significantly — value for money.
theapiarist.org/varroxal-vs-...
#beekeeping

Whose swarm is it anyway? - part 1 Swarms may carry pests and pathogens. Mites are easily managed, but the notifiable foulbrood diseases are not. It is important to consider the risks, based upon swarm behaviour and the known…

[New post] Most swarms carry mites, some carry foulbroods. The mites are easy to deal with, but how can you tell the risks of AFB or EFB? You need to understand how far swarms move, and where foulbroods are endemic. And you need to be vigilant.
theapiarist.org/whose-swarm-...
#beekeeping

Temporal polyethism The age-related division of labour. Critical to colony survival and performance, disrupted every time you perform a split, but amazingly flexible that most splits (eventually?) are successful. What…

[New post] Do we consider the consequences for the colony of the manipulations we impose? Every split, artificial swarm or nuc made involves a restoration of the balanced worker population … some maniulations may be 'better' for the colony than others.
theapiarist.org/temporal-pol...
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How to : The Demaree method The Demaree method offers the tempting prospect of maximising your honey production and preventing swarming. Achieving both these things needs appropriate conditions, a strong colony, timely colony…

[New post] No swarming and huge honey yields? Well, perhaps 😉. The Demaree method offers this, but needs attention to make it work properly. A 'How to' guide, listing what to do … and what not to do.
theapiarist.org/how-to-the-d...
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Hangry bees Colony temperament is determined by their genetics, the amount you disturb them, and the environment. You must select the first of these when rearing queens. To do that well you need to minimise the…

[New post] Tin hats on! How does a pollen dearth produce hangry bees? Is it different from a nectar shortage, and why is it important to recognise these environmental determinants of colony temperament?
theapiarist.org/hangry-bees/
#beekeeping

Bigger eggs, better bees? Recent studies show that queens can lay larger eggs under certain environmental conditions. This provides a fascinating insight into honey bee biology, and provides new opportunities to rear bigger,…

[New post] Environmental conditions influence the size of the worker eggs that the queen lays. There may be ways to exploit these observations to — relatively simply — produce larger, and so better, queens.
theapiarist.org/bigger-eggs-...
#beekeeping

The stuff riddled with wax moth pupae, or that's had brood reared in it, yes.

Be prepared I'm prepared for a bumper honey crop in 2026. It might not happen, but my supers are ready 'just in case'. Thoughts on tidying and storing your precious drawn comb, inexpensive protection from wax…

[New post] Make use of these short winter days by doing the preparation for the humongous nectar flows this season … or at least tidy your supers and inexpensively protect them from wax moth damage. And some musings on predicting when swarming will start.
theapiarist.org/be-prepared/
# beekeeping

Better pollen sub patties Recent research suggests that there may be better protein components than brewer's yeast and soybean flour for use in pollen sub patties.

[New Year, New post for sponsors 😄] Some pollen substitutes work better than others, and research suggests that some work (almost) as well as natural pollen. Time to get the mixing bowl and spatula out for the season ahead … Happy New Year.
theapiarist.org/better-polle...
#beekeeping

Spare a thought for … Peace on earth, and goodwill to all men … and women. Particularly those that have to put up with a partner who keeps bees.

[New post] Christmas is a time to think about those less fortunate … such as the long-suffering partners of beekeepers.
theapiarist.org/spare-a-thou...
#beekeeping

The Apiarist in 2025 What's hot, and what's not?

[New post] What's hot, and what's not? Top posts of the year, a passing reference to AI 'slop' and distinguishing between bots and beings.
theapiarist.org/the-apiarist...
#beekeeping

2025 in retrospect Time for the annual review of the season; the good, the bad, and the ugly … plus a sprinkling of science on 'enforced supersedure'. In summary … mostly good, a little bad, and only the yellow legged…

[New post] Time for the annual review of the season; the good, the bad, and the ugly … plus a sprinkling of science on 'enforced supersedure'. In summary … mostly good, a little bad, and only the yellow legged hornets were really 'ugly'.
theapiarist.org/2025-in-retr...
#beekeeping

A section of a frame from aa bee hive filled with sealed brood, showing a parallelogram-shaped area of cleared cells after removal of dead pupae by worker bees, a test for hygienic behaviour in honey bees.

Interesting paper on a small but mathematically significant increase in hygienic behaviour in bees treated with FormicPro. Hygienic behaviour scored with the pin-prick assay, so is this relevant to those interested in uncapping/recapping?
www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/16...
#beekeeping

Supersedure, clean water and mimicry How does the colony determine the queen should be superseded, and the implications this has for practical beekeeping? Plus the water preferences of honey bees, and some bumblebee-mimicking hoverflies.

[New post] Supersedure explained, and the implications for practical beekeeping. Plus the bees' preference for dirty water, or not, and some cool bumblebee-mimicking hoverflies.
theapiarist.org/supersedure-...
#beekeeping

Varroxal and more midseason miticides — part 2 An introduction to Varroxal, the new/old miticide available in the UK, and discussions on how it and FormicPro can be used control mites midseason. These provide the opportunity to avoid hard…

[New post] Varroxal and some ways it (or FormicPro) could be used midseason for mite control.
theapiarist.org/varroxal-and...
#beekeeping

AI-enhanced marker-assisted selection concept for the multifunctional honey bee (Hymenoptera: Apidea) protein Vitellogenin (Vg) Abstract. Managed honey bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Apis mellifera L.) have experienced unsustainably high rates of annual loss driven by several interactin

Hmmm … they're proposing breeding healthier bees by selecting a single gene. That sounds even less likely than selecting native Amm by wing morphometry alone. Vitellogenin is important, but I think they've yet to demonstrate fitness gains from my reading of the paper academic.oup.com/jee/article/...

Motivational trade-offs as evidence for sentience in bees: a critique

Wondering if insects feel pain? Here's our critique of work that looked at this in bees. We were unconvinced of the evidence, and built a model to think through these issues.

Their response is published alongside and we'll have a response to that out soon.

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

3D printing for beekeeping — part 2 3D printing saved my hives during Waspageddon, improved my honey sales, and was lots of fun when queen rearing. If you were tempted by part 1 in this series, then here are the background details —…

[New post] Hive entrances, honey sales and queen cups … three things that can have been created or improved by 3D printing. Learn from my mistakes, don't repeat them. Save money, and have some productive fun until the weather improves.
theapiarist.org/3d-printing-...
#beekeeping #bambu #3dprinting

Two rights make a wrong. Individually, honey and chocolate are great … but chocolate-flavoured honey?
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acssuschemeng.5c04842

Unlike many other honey bee 'vaccines' this one is not GMO so perhaps more likely to get licensed and/or get approved faster and/or be more acceptable to beekeepers. Encouraging 😄

Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be late! (White Rabbit) By Athayde Tonhasca As the sun rises over the coastal plains of northeastern Brazil, the daytime creatures slowly come out of their slumber to resume the daily tasks necessary for their survival. B…

Another interesting post from Scottish Pollinators on a solitary Brazilian bee competing with a weevil for pollen from a plant that only flowers for a few hours a day. It's a tough life.
scottishpollinators.wordpress.com/2025/11/17/o...

I've ordered some and it has been shipped. My understanding was that 'regulated poisons' could only be sold by registered pharmacists, to those holding EPP licences … though perhaps beekeepers count as professionals or businesses. Strange, but nevertheless welcome 😄

Words matter … an interesting study of the words used to describe managed (e.g. commercial, backyard) and non-managed (e.g. wild, feral, native, endemic) bees, some of which are loaded terms with significant positive or negative connotations. These words have changed over the last few decades […]

Varroxal VMD-approved oxalic acid dihydrate powder varroa treatment.

Looks promising. The magic words in the bumph are 'no excipients' (meaning no inert crud or glucose 😄). £65 for 200 g here (andermattgarden.co.uk/products/var...). Don't understand how this can be sold over the counter considering poisons legislation.

Ventilation, insulation, condensation 'Matchsticks under the crownboard' … often recommended, rarely (coherently) justified, and contradicting colony behaviour. This and other topics related to winter insulation, condensation, and…

[New post] Matchsticks? And lashings of polystyrene? Why is there so much contradictory advice (that even contradicts what the bees are telling us) about overwintering honey bees?
theapiarist.org/ventilation-...
#beekeeping

Midseason miticide musings - part 1 Strategies to exploit midseason partial or complete brood breaks to control mites without needing to also treat in late summer. These may offer advantages to those keen to abandon 'hard' chemicals,…

[New post for sponsors] Thoughts on exploiting midseason brood breaks (partial or complete) to control mites, so avoiding the need for a late summer treatment. Opportunities for those after late season nectars (heather, balsam) and/or wanting to avoid hard chemicals.
theapiarist.org/midseason-mi...