Surrey Beekeepers Association

09/04/2026

Yeah! Something!

A groundbreaking study examining the relationship between beekeeping and longevity has revealed that apiarists (beekeepers) may possess a distinct biological advantage that allows them to age more slowly than the general population. Published in the journal PMC, the research focused on telomeres—the protective caps at the ends of chromosomes that serve as a crucial indicator of cellular aging. Scientists discovered that beekeepers had significantly longer telomeres than non-beekeepers of the same age. Because telomeres naturally shorten as cells replicate and degrade over time, the maintenance of greater telomeres length among beekeepers provides direct, molecular evidence of a delayed biological clock and a reduced rate of cellular senescence (senescent cells are often called “zombie cells” because they refuse to die despite being heavily damaged, and they can “infect” surrounding healthy cells with dysfunction).

Researchers attribute this anti-aging phenomenon primarily to the regular, long-term consumption and handling of nutrient-dense bee products. The study demonstrated that both the duration of years spent consuming these products and the daily frequency of their intake directly correlated with longer telomeres. Hive elements such as raw honey, propolis, and royal jelly are densely packed with potent antioxidants and bioactive compounds that actively combat oxidative stress and promote cellular repair. Additionally, consistent exposure to the anti-inflammatory properties of bee venom—combined with the outdoor physical activity and mindfulness required to keep a colony calm—creates a unique environmental synergy that effectively acts as a natural defense against the traditional markers of aging.

SEE PMID: 26028466

Check out the comments section for the full benefits of beekeeping 🐝🍯🫶

09/02/2026

There is absolutely no shame in quitting beekeeping, and sometimes walking away is the kindest thing you can do for both yourself and your colonies.

Nobody likes to talk about walking away from the apiary, but sticking with it when your body or your mindset can't keep up is an absolute recipe for disaster.

So, in this post, I'll try to give you 3 reasons why you should stop your beekeeping career.

This is not an aggressive post but a mere cryout for those who try to hang on for something that doesn't fit them anymore.

We often romanticize this craft, but the truth is that keeping live bees requires a specific mental headspace, physical capability, and time commitment that not everyone can sustain forever.

The 1st sign is that you have completely lost your patience with the bees.

When you enter an apiary feeling agitated and rushed, your rough movements and slamming frames will send heavy vibrations rippling across the comb.

Bees detect these vibrations instantly, which triggers an immediate defensive response from the guard pool.

Doing that on a regular basis will cause your bees to become highly aggressive and will turn your hobby into a living hell.

You definitely can't keep bees if you lose your patience with them.

The 2nd major reason is that your back hurts every single time you work in the bee yard.

A single 10 frame super packed with honey weighs between 30 and 40 kg, and hunching over a low hive stand puts extreme stress on your lower lumbar spine.

Nobody should be sacrificing their spinal health and spending 3 days stuck in bed just to pull a few jars of honey.

If you love the bees way too much to walk away entirely, you should aggressively cut down your colony count from 20 or 30 hives down to just 2 or 3 manageable boxes (or switch over to a horizontal Layens or long Langstroth hive so you never have to lift a heavy box again 🙂).

You can also craft some stands and pay other people to do the heavy lifting, but I doubt you can afford that on a sustainable basis.

There is no shame in scaling down, and you definitely don't have something to prove.

The 3rd critical reason to stop is when your calendar is so full that you can't find the necessary time to properly manage your bees.

Beekeeping is governed by strict, unforgiving developmental timelines that will not wait around for your free weekends.

If you only inspect your yard once every 10 or 14 days because of work or family life, you will completely miss all the important steps in your colony's development.

Neglected hives also miss critical Varroa treatment windows, allowing viral epidemics to build up and collapse the colony before winter arrives.

That is unfair to the bees and to every neighboring beekeeper around you.

In my opinion, admitting that you don't have the patience, the physical health, or the hours in the day to care for bees is not a failure, but a mature and responsible decision.

If you enjoyed this article, I invite you to read the first chapter of my book (You can find it in my bio 🙏)

Happy beekeeping and full barrels 🐝🍯

09/02/2026

I had a few questions about my video last evening regarding those nasty bees.
So let’s clear the air:
Yes, they were truly as nasty as the video depicted! There was zero staging or acting.

For any new beekeepers or non-beekeepers tuning in, I want to be super clear: this is not what the bees are like year-round.

However, it is very much what they can be like at this time of year! And of course, I can only comment on my own bees in my specific location—every yard, every set of bees, and every location is completely different.

Anyone who knows me knows I LOVE my bees. On a regular day, I can sit out right in the middle of my apiary and just enjoy their company, and I can fill their sugar syrup without even wearing a suit.
So what the heck happened?
🐝It wasn't the colour of the hives setting them off.

It was a classic case of resource protection colliding with bad timing.
They were already on edge from wasps poking around, and then the temperature took a sudden, sharp drop.

Even though I wasn't doing a full hive check, I simply lifted the top cover to grab a feed jar. Even with the inner cover still protecting them, that was enough to set them off! They were guarding their stores fiercely, and lifting that outer lid triggered the alarm.

I have to laugh—well, I couldn't giggle at the time! When the stings hit right under the nail and on top of my pointer finger, I cursed and screamed so loud! I was really glad I live in a somewhat isolated area.
Bee Haven 2026
I wrapped up the evening as a fully wounded beekeeper: stings on the wrist, an ankle (which is always the most painful spot for me!), and two right on the finger.
I am so lucky that I don't systemically react to bee stings and usually don't swell up—it just hurts like crazy!

Have your bees ever caught you completely off guard when the weather or robbing pressure turned them into little dragons?

08/29/2026

✨ Nature Is Amazing: One Pound of Honeycomb Takes About 500,000 Wax Flakes! 🐝

08/27/2026

The beekeeping world is bracing for an invasive parasitic mite that reproduces twice as fast as Varroa and moves across the comb like lightning.

The parasite is Tropilaelaps, an elongated Asian brood mite that has jumped from wild giant honeybees to European bee colonies and is currently expanding westward across Eurasia.

Does this sound familiar? :) This is exactly how Varroa started.

Let's look at the biological why behind this parasite's explosive reproduction so you can recognize why it represents an unprecedented threat to all apiaries.

While a female Varroa mite takes approximately 12 days to develop inside capped worker brood, Tropilaelaps completes its entire life cycle from egg to mature adult in just 6 to 7 days.

This lightning fast generation turnover allows Tropilaelaps populations to multiply at more than double the speed of Varroa inside active brood nests.

That's quite scary.

Peer reviewed research shows that Tropilaelaps feeds aggressively on developing larvae and pupae, causing severe physical damage and transmitting heavy loads of Deformed Wing Virus.

Naturally, European bees have not evolved natural grooming behaviors against these rapid mites, which leads to sudden brood mortality and colony absconding if left unmanaged.

There's a little bit of hope though because this aggressive parasite possesses a major Achilles heel in its feeding biology that beekeepers can exploit.

Because Tropilaelaps has tiny, flexible mouthparts, it can't pierce the hardened outer cuticle of adult bees and must rely exclusively on soft, developing brood for food.

This structural limitation means that adult Tropilaelaps mites will completely starve to death within just 1 to 3 days if they are separated from open or capped brood.

Understanding this biological flaw means that queen caging or inducing artificial broodless periods will serve as our most powerful organic defense against this parasite.

Know your enemy first and then devise ways to beat it :).

If you enjoyed this article, I invite you to read the first chapter of my book (You can find it in my bio 🙏)

Happy beekeeping and full barrels 🐝🍯