Episodes

  • The Best Queen Cells

    The Best Queen Cells
    Apr 21 2025
    Steve Donohoe walks through his method for making the best queen cells he has ever seen. It's the same method as used by Brother Adam, back in the day, and by Mike Palmer, and others.Bluesky Threads Instagram YouTube Facebook
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    15 mins
  • Varroa: Why Treat? by Kirsty Stainton

    Varroa: Why Treat? by Kirsty Stainton
    Apr 13 2025
    A balanced and detailed look at the science surrounding the issue of non-treatment of honey bees, including a comparison between the two main approaches: selective breeding and using survivor stock. Bluesky Threads Instagram YouTube Facebook
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    23 mins
  • Beekeeping Essentials: The Critical Spring Period

    Beekeeping Essentials: The Critical Spring Period
    Mar 25 2025
    From Steve Donohoe's blog post of the same title, this covers all of the important beekeeping things that matter during the springtime. It covers feeding bees early on, then providing space, dealing with colonies of different sizes, equalisation, reversing boxes, difference between drawn comb and foundation, and even a little nod towards early queen rearing.Bluesky Threads Instagram YouTube Facebook
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    15 mins
  • Interview With Jolanta

    Interview With Jolanta
    Mar 10 2025
    Taken from a chapter in Steve Donohoe's book, Interviews With Beekeepers, this covers a conversation between Steve, Jolanta, and Murray McGregor in 2017. Jolanta is the head of the queen rearing unit at Denrosa Apiaries, and she explains how she makes her queens. Denrosa is the largest commercial beekeeping operation in the UK.Bluesky Threads Instagram YouTube Facebook
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    21 mins
  • Beekeeping Essentials: Introducing Queens

    Beekeeping Essentials: Introducing Queens
    Mar 1 2025
    Imogen reads from Steve's blog post, in which sets out his latest learnings and understanding of this sometimes tricky subject. How to introduce a new queen into a colony that has lost it's own.Bluesky Threads Instagram YouTube Facebook
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    18 mins
  • Early Spring 25 Update

    Early Spring 25 Update
    Feb 21 2025
    As we move from winter into spring here in England, Steve Donohoe discusses over-wintering success, feeding colonies, and plans for once the season kicks off.Bluesky Threads Instagram YouTube Facebook
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    9 mins
  • Room For All Types Of Beekeeper

    Room For All Types Of Beekeeper
    Jan 27 2025

    Intro

    00:25 New book by Dorian Pritchard on conservation of native bees

    01:10 Argument for conservation of native bees, legally protected areas should be created

    02:40 Is the black bee really the best bee for all people? I think not, but each to their own.

    04:40 Sue Coby's New World Carniolan project could be a template to follow

    05:00 Examples of human interference in nature to domesticate wild animals into farming livestock. Also BEAGLES!

    07:20 Modern commercial bee farming, selective breeding of honey bee queens

    08:15 Good things about bee farming, pollination increasing crop yields

    09:15 Some negative things about bee farming: miticides, reduced diversity, competition with wild pollinators, spread of pathogens

    11:20 EU policies to assist apiculture and pollinators

    11:50 Selective breeding - objectives and methods, isolated mating, instrumental insemination

    12:55 Natural selection - survivors pass on resilience

    14:10 Advantages of natural selection

    15:00 Downside to natural selection, low honey, unpredictable temperament, short term high losses

    15:55 Conclusion - we can have both

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    18 mins
  • Swarm Prevention Strategies

    Swarm Prevention Strategies
    Jan 15 2025

    Intro

    including reference to Ian Steppler YouTube video just posted on varroa treatments, using Randy Oliver spreadsheet model. https://youtu.be/Z2FLoAq6LDc

    02:20 Recent apiary inspection of nucleus colonies

    03:50 What causes swarming?

    06:40 Impossible to eliminate, but we can influence

    07:10 Genetics, personal experience, Paul Horton's bees, sub-species

    11:25 Queen pheromones, age of queens

    12:35 Brood nest congestion

    15:10 Climate and weather

    16:30 Poor weather in spring 2024 reduced swarming

    18:20 Prevention rather than control of swarming

    20:20 Selective breeding, selective pressure - leaving a single queen cell in a swarmed colony pushes it in the wrong direction, using cells/queens from breeding program is better, using over-wintered queens

    24:55 Re-queening, younger queens are less likely to swarm

    26:20 Gruff Rees YouTube interview "No Weekly Inspections" with David Wainwright - a less intensive style of beekeeping

    28:40 Regular hive inspections 7 to 10 day rotation, checking for eggs, space for bees, space for queen to lay, swarm cells

    30:50 Space for bees, brood, and stores. Staying ahead of the bees. Supering.

    33:15 Frame swapping, making splits or cell builders, space in a Langstroth brood box

    37:20 Reversing boxes, double brood, brood and a half

    40:00 Adding a brood box of foundation overhead, then splitting, combined with oxalic mite treatment

    43:55 Demaree, adding space while keeping the colony together - not a split. Lots of heavy lifting, might be problematic with foundation in the bottom box and the changeable UK weather

    49:00 What works for one person may not work for the next person

    49:40 Checkerboarding, small book on the subject published by Northern Bee Books

    53:45 Summary

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    56 mins