
Happy New Year.
Happy New Year Everyone. Can you believe how fast another beekeeping year has flown past, and how we’re about to enter a new one here in the Northern Hemisphere; though some time still before we open up hives for colony inspections ? I’m counting down to seeing the first snowdrop which might be soon given the warmest Christmas day on record (14°C). The sweet box is in full bloom and smells so delicate when I pass the the side apiary on my way to the bee shed.
Varroa Monitoring.

I notice more varroa falling during the warmer weather as the bees come out of tight clusters and move about a bit. I’m monitoring daily drops and will be charting the figures soon. I use the BeeBase calculations of multiplying the average daily drop by 400 from November to Feb. During March, April, September, and October the daily drop is multiplied by 100, and from May to August it is multiplied by 30. https://www.nationalbeeunit.com/assets/PDFs/3_Resources_for_beekeepers/Fact_Sheets/Fact_13_Estimating_Varroa_mite_populations.pdf I want the levels of live varroa in a colony to be less than the 1,000 varroa threshold above which serious damage is likely. A couple of colonies are above this figure at the moment, and I am waiting for results in early spring in order to plan which colonies I will rear new queens from.

A few weeks ago, I visited my friend Claire in her new house within walking distance of mine. Naturally, once I’d admired her lovely home, we got talking about bees and where to site the apiary when she moves her colonies across from their old location just outside Inverness. On the south-facing side of her house there is a steep terraced bank with a wall to provide some shelter from the north winds, and enough flat space to work a hive. Claire is contemplating this site. She often has small grandchildren to visit which is a consideration so it cannot be as close to her house as she would have liked.
Funnily enough, I’d walked past Claire’s house several years ago when it was being renovated and fantasied living there myself, but we have too much stuff stored in the loft to move anywhere now. However, there was nothing to stop me wondering where I would site an apiary— in the exact spot that Claire likes…
When you are an experienced beekeeper, it is easy to make such a decision, but what about new beekeepers? What should they look for in an apiary? And where to get advice? Would you take advice from an ancient Roman? Well, I would if it were from Lucius Columella who is totally trustworthy in some areas of beekeeping, though so much has been discovered about bee biology and behaviour since his day. He believed that the queen was male but he understood the mechanics of swarming much better than some of his contemporaries who still believed in beating a bull to death in the hopes that a swarm of honey bees might come and settle in the carcass. He was a kind and gentle man who treated livestock well, and we are in agreement about lots of beekeeping matters.
Ancient Roman Manual.
I bought Columella’s book called On BeeKeeping: The Ancient Roman Manual which has been translated by Dr Harrison Boyd Ash, and I’ll share some of the advice on setting up apiaries.

If you’re not familiar with my beekeeping hero, Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella, I’ll share some of what we know about him. Columella was born around AD 70 though not much is known about his early life. He was probably born in Gades, now known as Cádiz, in Spain. As a young man, he served for a while in the Roman army as a military Tribune in Syria, but since he didn’t want to pursue a long career in either the army or law he took up farming in Italy instead.
Columella was a man after my own heart with an innate sense of connection to the land and empathy with its animals and plants. Apart from being one of the greatest earlier farmers, he was a brilliant communicator, teacher, and writer and left an important legacy in the form of his famous tome on agriculture called De re Rustica written in 12 books. It is an amazing publication for many of his ideas are still relevant and practiced today. Columella wrote widely on many subjects including growing olive trees, and caring for both large and small farm animals. One of the chapters covers beekeeping and we will look shortly at what he says on siting apiaries.
Columella wrote about the roles of both farm managers and the ordinary farmer. He was very much against slavery and the exploitation of both humans and animals and he highlighted the relationship of man with the earth and nature. He was an early advocate of sustainability and his advice includes soil management with crop rotation to improve soil quality. He advised on how to store vegetables and created a gardening catalogue respectful of nature and believing in its rhythms. Columella understood that successful wine making depended upon growing vines in the correct soil and climate.
Columella’s Advice.

In his chapter on apiary siting, Columella emphasises the need for shelter from storms with hives placed in a sunny position and far away from cows and sheep. Great emphasis is placed on positioning colonies near good forage, and he mentions herbs such as thyme and marjoram and says that the area should be rich in clumps of them. He refers to goats saying, ‘nor frisky kids must trample down the flowers’ and he discusses many plants useful to honey bees in this chapter. So, columella recognises important aspects of honey bee health such as nutrition and hygiene. He also advocates growing certain health-giving herbs for when colonies are sick.
Avoiding Bad Odours & Noise.
The hives must face the sun at midday in winter and be far away from the noise of men and beasts. If possible, he advocates that the apiary be joined to a farm building and surrounded by a wall. However, he insists that it is on the side of the house away from the foul odours that come from the bathroom, latrines and dunghill. He is a keen advocate of good apiary hygiene and detests lazy beekeepers who cause filthy conditions for the bees. He advises on abstaining from sexual intercourse, drinking red wine, or eating garlic the day before inspecting the bees. He also advises against cooking crab anywhere near the apiary, and avoiding echoes and shrill noises in the area.
He discusses the provision of water which should contain sticks and stones for the use of the bees so that they have safe bridges to rest and spread their wings to catch the summer sun and, ‘if swift east winds have caught them loitering and rained on them or plunged them in the deep’.
Here’s my advice on siting an apiary and you will notice common themes linking us to ancient ways of best practice Roman beekeeping, https://www.beelistener.co.uk/equipment/siting-your-apiary-cool-smoke/
Two questions!
Some very old English texts advise you should not site hives where there is an echo. I’ve never understood the logic of that, maybe some reader can explain?
I once came across a claim that Columella said “if you have a particilarly aggressive hive, just get a slave to harvest it”. An interesting insight into social attitudes of the Ancients, if true, but I have been unable to find a (free) complete text of On Beekeeping. Did he really say that?
Happy New Year, Paul.Thank you for your interesting questions and comments. Do you suppose an echo might cause some vibration that honey bees pick up? Physics is beyond my comprehension so perhaps someone out there can explain it to us!
As an ardent supporter of Columella as a humanitarian and beekeeper, I bet he didn’t say that. He hated the idea of slavery. He certainly doesn’t say this in, On Beekeeping: The Ancient Roman Manual. All best for a great season in 2025.