Yes... More Bees

Doing
I was invited to go and look at queen cells that people then put into incubators to rear queens. This is an art that takes a great deal of knowledge and practise. There are some great variance in different hives that people were looking at, they were also thinking about what is local, how easy they are to service. There was also the topping up of feed ensuring that the brood is well taken care of. The weather was a bit cold so things were quick but you have to think about how you would like your roof taken off your space on a Sunday morning. The new suit held up, which is a good start to the week and there was honey victoria sponge.

Lighting a smoker, a regular habit, like most things in bee keeping so many people have opinions over to  use smokers, not to... etc, there is so much opinion surrounding the right ways to do things. Inspecting for queen cells (bottom right hand corner) then collecting them for queen rearing.

Topping up feeders, to ensure that the bees have enough food, with the bad weather they will not want to venture out so need to be fed.

Documenting things of interest, mainly to share on the web or send to the BBKA or other friends that could help with questions. There was a small swarm that was also collected, these are an interesting set of techniques, the swarm always goes to the brood to protect it. There were some queen cells that were taken off the frame for rearing, this is where you put them into an incubator of 35 degrees to mature into queens. Great meeting with the honey club, a fantastic social innovation that is interested in bees. Picture of a queen cell that didn't make it.

A swarm that was rescued... this is interesting how they group and swarm, there is such a public perception of fear... but lets be fair, this one was tiny!

A fantastic tool, old lipstick holder and and a hair roller that has been adapted to keep a queen safe if she is being moved very temporarily, but super cheap. Great hack, or just an economy make.

There has been some great progress in the Artefact cafe project after the field work, watch this space for Made in Brunel.

Reading

Participant observation, Pierre Bourdiel a good look at ethnography, and how you immerse yourself in the group that you are studying.
Its just a matter of common sense, ethnography as invisible work, Diana Forsythe great insights, also supporting the school of "what people do is not always the same as what they say they do" very true but also quite a massive brush to paint a picture with.
Navigating the waves; the usefulness of a pilot in qualitative research, Helen Sampson, a real believer in trying thing out, a very good source with some great references.
Citizen science, highways and wildlife; using web based GIS to engage citizens in collecting wildlife information, Tracey Lee interesting project, great references that are worth a look. also defining citizen science which is interesting.

Writing
Submitted an essay for future everything, I will post a link when it is up!