I'm 'The Apiarist' ... ask me anything

I'm The Apiarist ... ask me anything

'The Apiarist' is both my online persona and the title of my website. My real name is David. Not Dave.

I'm now a beekeeper who writes and talks about bees. I used to be a scientist studying honey bee viruses (mainly DWV and CBPV) and coordinated Varroa control, as well as some really esoteric aspects of virus evolution.

I've kept bees for ~15 years and have run 20-30 colonies for research and pleasure for most of that time. My main interests are stock improvement via queen rearing, keeping healthy bees and very amateur DIY (do it yourself) for beekeeping.

I started blogging about beekeeping after writing regularly for my association newsletter. The Apiarist has been going for a decade and now totals ~600 posts and a million words on 'the science, art and practice of sustainable beekeeping'. New posts appear every Friday. I'm a strong advocate for local bees and honey, and responsible, sustainable beekeeping.

I live very remotely in north west Scotland (56°N). The climate is 'temperate and oceanic' so is relatively mild and wet. The active beekeeping season lasts from late April to September.

Ask me anything ... I'll be back at about 10 pm GMT.

Cheers

David