Scotland for the Bees

Post date: Oct 05, 2016 6:58:56 PM

From field work in New Zealand to field work in Scotland. Really can’t beat it. This is near one of our collecting sites. The correct way to eat scones.

We bounced between islands, but the one we stayed on the longest was Colonsay. There is a local beekeeper there, Andrew, who has bees without Varroa mites. This is a rare phenomenon. So we went and stayed in his “barn”. He lives on an island that it takes 2 hours to get to from the mainland by ferry. There is a ferry every few days. On that island Andrew has built a house entirely off the beaten path. You can only get to or from the house during low tide. Like so. This was our morning commute.

But the view could not be beat. This was the view from our kitchen sink. Stunning.

Although it is typically rainy, we lucked out with two spectacular and sunny days. So collecting was pleasant and easy. This is beginner's luck. It will never happen this way again.

Those are varroa mite free bee hives right there!

A few years ago, on my science website Nothing in Biology, I tried to start the hashtag #pollinatorselfie to encourage people to take safer pictures with wildlife. Pollinators, not bison, or sharks, or the other things people keep getting injured while taking selfies. This is my beekeeper selfie! It’s a start...

And another great view from a few scones.

While we were in Scotland, we had a rental car. Which was a small fiat 500. And it was yellow. For a trip collecting bees, this was perfect. We nicknamed it the Bumblebee. For obvious reasons.

I like Scotland, because I hate summer. The cooler weather was just what I was looking for, and really quite nice for collecting.

Again, I have no idea why they just leave castles lying around. Must be a European thing.

View from my cup of tea: working in Glasgow edition.