Dear Subscribers,
The Apis newsletter has been delayed this month due to a number of circumstances. I got caught in two huge pollen flows, causing a number of days of down time. The first occurred in Florida. My allergies flared just after the maple bloomed, when the pines and oaks kicked in. The usual cascade of events included stuffed up sinuses, followed by infection, runny nose and a huge pink eye problem from rubbing too vigorously. Just after that on a trip to Atlanta, I was back in an even
worse situation with the same symptoms.
“In some areas, allergists say pollen counts this week are as high as they've ever recorded. A clinic at Vanderbilt University in Nashville recorded 11,000 grains of pollen per cubic meter Tuesday, the worst in the 12 years they've tracked the number. The Atlanta Allergy & Asthma Clinic has measured pollen since the 1980s and says this week's counts have beaten a high mark recorded there in April 1999. Their count for Tuesday was almost 9,400. Fifteen-hundred is considered very high.”
While in Atlanta, I checked the bees at East Lake Commons,
a co-housing development, which also grows vegetables and fruits, supporting about 100 Community Supported Agriculture units (
CSAs) . One unit has already swarmed! Others were way ahead of schedule, not surprising given a
Catch the Buzz Report on trapped heat in cities. We reversed a couple of brood chambers and started feeding to ensure the colonies didn't starve just before the much awaited nectar is expected to arrive. We all now pray for no more cold snaps!
Back in Florida our drought continues. On an outing to
Keystone Heights,_Florida, known for its unique lakes and aquatic fauna, we saw the results first hand. A couple of the lakes are no more than mud flats at Mike Roess Gold Head Branch State Park, one of Florida's first, the
web site warns: “The swimming and canoeing areas are closed indefinitely due to extremely low water conditions in our recreational lake. Other lakes in the park are available for scenic enjoyment, but there are no water recreation activities available."
Florida's 5th Bee College is history. About 300 folks showed up near St. Augustine at
Whitney Marine Lab to hear talks and join the dicussions about honey bees and beekeeping with guests, faculty and staff of Florida's
Honey Bee Extension and Research Laboratory Notables included: Niko & Gudrun Koeniger (Germany), Michael E. Young (Ireland), Larry Connor (Michigan), Mike Hood (South Carolina) and many others. Demonstrations ranged from working wax to encaustic painting. A gaggle of new Master Beekeepers graduated, and a few more white hats presented to those completing the Welsh Honey Judging cirriculum. The event sold out and had to turn some eager beekeepers away! Look for the organizers to have to come up with a bigger venue next year, which will not be easy.
There are some intriguing things shifting with respect to genetically modified organisms (GMOs). I provided an overview to the Georgia USA beekeepers at their recent meeting in McDonough on this topic. Many don't know the
background on this important area. Although there continue to be skeptics about this technology, principally in Europe and Japan, most other countries have embraced new genetically modified plants (GMOs) that are insect and herbicide resistant. Now, in a twist of unexpected consequences, the world honey market has been turned on its head with a recent ruling that honey containing GMO pollen cannot be marketed in the European Union. This affects large honey exporting countries like Argentina and Chile and has led to a new FAO
discussion list, which includes the following topics among others:
- Are GM crops cultivated in your country and if yes, are there any coexistence measures protecting beekeepers?
- What are, according to you, the possible measures that could/should be applied to protect beekeeping products from GMO contamination? (for example distances between apiaries and GM fields)
- According to you, who has to move to respect the distances, the producers of GM crops or the beekeeper?
- In your country, are there analyses of hive-products to control the contamination around fields with GM crops (post-market monitoring)?
GMO technology stems from the idea of
patenting organisms or sequences of DNA for commercial purposes . From this comes possible commercialization of personalized medicine patents, which now the Supreme Court has ruled
against.. This ruling may perhaps also impact the commercialization of genetically modified organisms going forward.
The newest wrinkle on CCD is a product soon to be introduced into the South American market from
Bees Free, Inc. One can even buy stock in this
company. Lots of buzz, but where's the beef (research)?
Thanks to the American Bee Journal for putting up the
abstracts of this year's American Bee Research Conference early. The subjects of these reports reveal the trend of research as much as results. Clearly more and more are involved with DNA analysis and other genetically-oriented studies. All are worth looking at.
David Wick at
BVS, Inc. is producing a newsletter. In February, he discusses his findings when examining a number of colonies for viral loads. Read why he was surprised to find in some samples and what he learned. He is continuing to promote his
viral mapping project , which could provide valuable information on honey bee colonies around the nation.
Ron Phipps
International honey report is worth reading. In summary it states:
“The current international honey market is approaching two fundamental changes. Firstly, the two-tiered market based upon a flood of laundered Chinese honey may be collapsing. Secondly, there is an impending serious shortage of both white and dark honey due to reduced crops in North America, serious problems with the honey crops in Vietnam and Argentina and a dramatic decline in exports of 'Indian' honey. Florida has reported the worst drought in half a century. While this article is being written, we are still waiting official U.S. Department of Agriculture statistics, the general impression is that the 2011 U.S. honey crop is among the lowest, if not the lowest, in recorded history.”
My comments about the Canadian loss report in last month's issue, netted comment. Here's one:
Hi Dr. Sanford,
I love reading your e-newsletter, It is just full of great and useful info. I was wondering if you could direct me in a project I am doing. I am the Recording Sec. of ECBA (Essex County [MA] Beekeepers)
I am trying to survey our membership for what we experienced in 'Winter Hive Loss'. I did see in your last e-Newsletter that you published the results of the Canadian 2010-2011 Losses.
I am looking for a form to use and what data I should include in my survey to make it good and scientific. I would like to make it specific and use good definition and questions. I have never participated in a
survey before, I am just a backyard (4 hives) beekeeper.
Do you know where or who I could ask for direction in survey data collection? I am a nurse and don't have any training in research.
Thanks in advance.
A happy Backyard Beekeeper!
Mary Foley
153 Chadwick St.
North Andover, MA. 01845
myrz@comcast.net
In my response, I relayed information provided at the American Beekeeping Federation Convention in Las Vegas about the Bee Informed Partnership (
BIP). Rather than individuals attempting to do something, it would be much better to aggregate beekeepers' observations. The Partnership will produce a
webinar on March 27 sponsored by Brushy Mountain Bee Farm.
My colleague Dr. Eric Mussen has set a targeted date of retirement as August 31, 2014, completing his 38th year of service. Until that date, we still have time to enjoy his
great newsletter. The latest issue features discussions of honey, adjuvents in pesticides, and the BIP Project discussed above entitled: “Surveyed to death.”
The discussion last week was the hiring of Florida's chief apiarist, Jerry Hayes, by
Beeologics, recently purchased by Monsanto Corporation. Now comes the news from
Catch the Buzz that Bayer Corporation has decided to implement a
bee health initiative, among other things, hiring another bee inspector, former Canadian provincial apiculturists Dick Rogers. It will be interesting to see how both these mammoth corporations, often at odds with beekeepers for different reasons, realize their vision of what bee health is.
The Extension Bee Health initiative now has a
Youtube.com channel. Expect more to appear here as time goes on. Recent
statistics on the amount of material being uploaded to Youtube.com are incredible.
Check out the selected links at
Publish2.com. These include among others evolution of altruism, Chinese pollination by hand, Manuka honey and honey bees versus oriental hornets.
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Gleanings from the March, 2012 Bee Culture:
Remember that Bee Culture now has a digital edition.
http://sample.beeculture.com/default.aspx?bhcp=1
Jennifer Berry, Comer, GA provides more information on Rossman Apiaries, a 60-year-old firm featured in a previous edition. The current owner, Fred Rossman was awarded
Georgia Beekeeper of the Year in 2011. David Wood, New York, provides information on the Southern Adirondack Beekeepers Association's Young Beekeeper Award based on the successful program of the Texas Beekeepers Association. This has proliferated elsewhere and there is also a program through the
Foundation for the Preservation of Honey Bees.
The National Honey Board replies to the
Andrew Schneider Article in Food Safety News that ultrafiltered honey is not really honey. Look for more of this kind of controversy as states continue to adopt honey standards.
Darcy and Don Arnold, Montrose, CO urge beekeepers and others to be more informed about pesticides before applying them. Their story is not a happy one.
Editor Flottum in the Inner Cover brings more to the table about almond pollination and his trip to the West Coast. He will visit among others, Paramount Farming in Bakersfield, California. He also waxes about the warmer-than-normal winter and his futile efforts to get ready for a cold one. He finishes with a discussion of honey labels and recipes.
New reading includes reviews of McCartney Taylor's Swarm Traps and Bait Hives and Karl Showler's Essays in Beekeeping History.
Steve Sheppard provides a history of the use of Hopguard, a U.S. Product coming from European researchers. It now has a Section 18 label in many states. This spin off of the beer industry is best employed on a winter cluster with a moderate to small mite load in temperate zones. Beekeepers in Florida are using it in a generally subtropical climate with some success.
Clarence Collison and Audrey Sheridan take a closer look at drone mating. Read the nitty gritty about this topic. This article should make human males give thanks they were not born as honey bee drones.
John Phipps gives us a short history of the Italian honey bee introduction to England and then the U.S. It is a fascinating story, containing much to contemplate. Read why Italian honey bees are often preferred universally around the world. Their color? The real reason will surprise you and makes a lot of sense based on the article.
Jennifer Berry takes on spiders. Read her description of the two most notorious, brown recluse and black widow, and how they might interact with beekeepers.
Dan Purvis publishes his third article in the series on commercial queens. Read about continued feeding, taking deposits and orders, positioning hives, and “de-miting” bees.
Jim Tew describes the various aspects of winter kill. Read about finding, diagnosing and re-establishing colonies that didn't make it through the winter.
Don Jackson relates his observations about dying bees. Read what he learned, especially about the “new” nosema and treatment he imposed.
Ross Conrad lists a number of queen conditions. Read his concept of the ideal colony and how queens and also beekeepers might go astray.
Larry Connor publishes his third article in a series on how to develop a Beekeepers Instructor's Guide. This one focuses on queen biology.
David Miller discusses beetle traps. Read about his experiences to always be prepared for an invasion of Aethina tumida, the small hive beetle.
Jim Thompson answers beginner questions. Read what this former bee inspector recommends and where it might be obtained.
City Bees Need Manners according to Ann Harman. Read what she says about rooftop beekeeping, swimming pools and swarming in urban areas and how its up to the beekeeper to keep honey bees "well mannered."
Connie Krochmal adds a little spice to her article by taking on the mints. Read about the history of these plants and how they are grown commercially. There are about 20 species, each with its own requirements.
In All the News That fits, read about genetic tweaking of Bt toxins, the firing of Kentucky state Apiarist Phil Craft, Florida's Right to Farm (and keep bees) Act, Monsanto and BASF moves to make GMOs more profitable, the local vegetable gardening trend, and Canadian efforts to mount HACCP-based food safety programs.
In the Bottom Board, Peter Seiling goes to Steuben County Farm/City Day to sell honey and beeswax. Read what he learned during a long day and a new possibility that emerged through observation of the “competition.”
Finally, be sure to follow Editor Flottum as he posts information to his
blog. The March 9, 2012 edition gives a good summary of the Almond industry. We look forward to seeing him on the East coast next month at the
Palm Beach Beekeepers Association.
Sincerely,
Malcolm T. Sanford
beeactor@apisenterprises.com
http://apis.shorturl.com
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