Websites, Blogs and on-line Newsletters

Almost all of the websites we include below have practical information on-line. Several also have periodic newsletters or blogs which you can sign up for and receive by email.

• Ontario Beekeepers’ Association. The OBA website is an important resource for all Ontario beekeepers. It has information for new beekeepers including a “Getting Started” section; fact sheets from the OBA’s Tech Transfer group with info on honeybee pests and how to manage them; links to suppliers of bees and beekeeping equipment; and more. The website has a regular news section and announces upcoming events and meetings of interest to Ontario beekeepers. The OBA also hosts two conferences a year and posts many of the presentations on their website. https://www.ontariobee.com/

• Honey Bee Suite: The Science of Bees. Rusty Burlew, a Master Beekeeper in Washington State, posts regular blogs on a broad range of beekeeping topics, based on “peer-reviewed science, logical thinking, experimentation, discussion, and experience”. Her website includes a useful section for “Beeginners”, including advice for hive management throughout the beekeeping season, hive inspection, feeding bees, swarming, robbing, diseases and pests, diagnosing dead-outs and many more topics. She provides a searchable index to easily find topics of interest. https://www.honeybeesuite.com/

• Scientific Beekeeping: Beekeeping through the Eyes of a Biologist. Randy Oliver is a commercial beekeeper and citizen scientist in California, who conducts and reports on ongoing, practical experiments in beekeeping, providing “evidence-based and scientifically-verified explanations of the biological processes occurring in the hive, as well as the effects of various management options.” Randy is particularly well-known for his practical study of methods to control Varroa mites in beehives. http://scientificbeekeeping.com/

• Beverly Bees. Anita Deeley is an organic beekeeper, biologist and former state bee inspector in Massachusetts. Her website contains useful information for beginner beekeepers on assembling all the components for a beehive and making a candyboard to help bees survive in winter. https://www.beverlybees.com/beekeeping/

· Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs – Apiculture. This website has an overview of beekeeping regulations for the province, including regs for packaging and labelling honey. OMAFRA has also made available a variety of info sheets about identifying and managing honeybee pests, essential reading for beekeepers. http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/food/inspection/bees/apicultu.html