What this site is about
Firstly, I give permission for use of all material on this website for educational purposes so long as it is attributed to ScientificBeekeeping.com.
This is not a “How You Should Keep Bees” site; rather, I’m a proponent of “Whatever Works for You” beekeeping. I’m a “data over dogma” guy, and I implore my readers to correct me on any information at this website that is out of date or not supported by evidence.
“It’s what you know for sure that keeps you from learning.”
And I’m all about learning. I’d like to make it perfectly clear that I do not consider myself to be the final arbiter on any matter! In investigating many of these controversial subjects, my brain feels like a GPS unit, repeatedly saying, “Recalculating” and sometimes even “Turn around when possible.” This is why I take care to hold no positions, and appreciate being intelligently challenged on any point. If something comes to my attention that makes me rethink or correct anything I’ve written, I am more than happy to rebut myself on these pages.
I’ve visited beekeepers in many countries, and realize that there are as many ways to keep bees as there are beekeepers. The bees don’t care whether you are a commercial or hobby beekeeper, nor whether your personal preference is Langstroth, Warre, top-bar, small cell, foundationless, “natural” or conventional beekeeping–the same biology applies to all. My goal is to provide any and all beekeepers with a resource of readable and straightforward information on how to practice good bee husbandry, and to exercise environmental and community responsibility.
This site is more or less a record of my learning process as I apply my formal training as a biologist to the practice of running my ever-evolving commercial beekeeping operation in California. I have no interest in offering advice (there are plenty of beekeepers more than eager to do that). Rather, what I do offer is evidence-based and scientifically-verified explanations of the biological processes occurring in the hive, as well as the effects of various management options. I then leave it to each beekeeper to use that information in order to make their own better-informed practical management decisions.
In this “post-truth, information overload era” novice beekeepers can be overwhelmed by an internet and popular press chock full of conflicting strong opinions and questionable advice. If you are a beginning beekeeper looking for basic information, or an experienced beekeeper looking for a summary of mite treatment options, I suggest that you go directly to Basic Beekeeping. Otherwise, I suggest that you click on the blue categories to the right of each page to see which articles are available, or go to Articles By Publication Date, or use the Search function at the top of each page to look for topics.
My Background
I started keeping bees as a hobbyist around 1966, and then went on to get university degrees in biological sciences, specializing in entomology. In 1980 I began to build a migratory beekeeping operation in California, and currently run around 1000-1500 hives with my two sons, from which we make our livings (update: Eric and Ian are in the process of taking over the operation–allowing me more time for research).
In 1993, the varroa mite arrived in California, and after it wiped out my operation for the second time in 1999, I decided to “hit the books” and use my scientific background to learn to fight back. I started writing for the American Bee Journal in 2006, and have submitted articles nearly every month since then (see “Articles by Publication Date”).
My writing for the Journal brought me requests to speak at beekeeping conventions, which has also allowed me the chance to visit beekeepers from all over North America and several other continents. I read most every scientific study relating to beekeeping, and regularly correspond with beekeepers and researchers worldwide.
What I try to do in my articles and blogs is to scour scientific papers for practical beekeeping applications, and to sort through the advice, opinion, and conjecture found in the bee magazines and on the Web, taking no positions other than to provide accurate information to Joe Beekeeper, following the suggestion in 1922 by New Zealand beekeeping author Isaac Hopkins:
That scientific accuracy, as opposed to rule of thumb, or guess-work methods, is much needed in commercial production to attain the success we should aim for, will be acceded by all intelligent beekeepers. There are many, however who do not realise this, or at all events, do not sufficiently appreciate the principle in their practice, but are content muddle along in a slipshod fashion to their great loss. From THE BEE WORLD February 1922
I regularly update the articles on this site as new information becomes available, and solicit constructive criticism or comments. Perhaps the best venue for such discussion is at the Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology. Be sure to subscribe to updates, and I’ll email you monthly when I add content to the site https://scientificbeekeeping.com/scientific-beekeeping-newsletter/
Please Donate Here
It is the appreciative feedback that I receive from beekeepers (and researchers) worldwide is what keeps me going (thank you). If you find this website to be of value, please support it (and my independent research projects) with your donations. You can donate via Paypal below. Notice: I will, for tax purposes, treat your donation as a “gift” — given with “detached and disinterested generosity” out of “affection, respect, admiration, charity or like impulses.”
Or Personal checks can be mailed directly to me at:
Randy Oliver
14744 Meadow Dr.
Grass Valley, CA 95945
Be sure to specify whether the check is a “Gift” or whether you are going to claim it as a deductible “Expense.”
Thank you!
