What This Site Is About
In short, this site is a record of my learning process as I try to understand aspects of colony health and productivity, and the reasons why various management techniques work (or don’t).
I started keeping bees as a hobbyist in 1967, 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 about 1000 hives with my two sons, from which we make our livings.
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”–scroll to the bottom for the most recent).
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 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.
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.
Please Donate Here
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 here:
Or Personal checks can be mailed directly to me at:
Randy Oliver
14744 Meadow Dr.
Grass Valley, CA 95945
Thank you!
