Dear Subscribers,
It looks like we will go into summer pretty soon here in North Central Florida. Eighty-degree days are now becoming normal, so Spring is likely to be short or non-existent. There are sporadic reports of the bees hitting the trees, as swarming season begins in earnest. For an entertaining presentation on swarm control and management, check out Bee Culture's Jim Tew's
take on this intriguing phenomenon
The debate concerning neonicotinoids continues with some fascinating developments, including a spirited discussion about whether beekeeping associations and/or researchers should or should not receive funding and assistance from pesticide manufacturers.
One take is from the
British Beekeepers Association. Note that it's important to understand the history of this situation according to the BBKA before coming to a conclusion. The Canadian stance is different. The Canadian Honey Council prominently displays the Bayer Crop Science logo on its
web site. A prominent study by Cynthia Scott-Dupree and associates, University of Guelph, Ontario showing no massive bee losses in treated seed for canola was funded by Bayer and, therefore, considered suspect by some. Other discussion lists have noted that researchers accepting funding from crop protection groups are often automatically “tarnished” by beekeeping groups.
Health Canada published the following: Evaluation of Canadian Bee
Mortalities that Coincided with Corn Planting in Spring 2012:
“The information evaluated suggests that planting of corn seeds treated with the nitro guanidine insecticides clothianidin and/or thiamethoxam contributed to the majority of the bee mortalities that occurred in corn growing regions of Ontario and Quebec in Spring 2012. The likely route of exposure was insecticide contaminated dust generated during the planting of treated corn seed. The unusual weather conditions in the spring of 2012 were likely also a contributing factor.
“Measures have been implemented to reduce honey bee exposure to dust generated during planting of treated corn seed, including communication of best practices to reduce the exposure of honey bees, labelling of treated seed, a treated seed dust standard, and development of technical solutions to reduce dust, including developments in the areas of seed coating quality, seed flow lubricants, planting equipment, and disposal of treated seed bags. Please refer to “
Pollinator Protection: Reducing Risk from Treated Seed” for details.
The April 2013 edition of
Alberta Bee News extensively quotes an article taken from Croplife America concerning the
2013 pollinator summit co-sponsored by the EPA and USDA. This was also attended by several other groups, including a delegation from the American Beekeeping Federation. The Alberta article provides a review of the events at the “corn dust summit,” including a new publication, The Guide to Seed Treatment Stewardship by the
American Seed Trade Association.”
The above results show the complexities of the situation. Few problems with canola, more with corn, and what about the influence of beekeepers who are using various chemicals to control pests and diseases, in conjunction with these planting systems? A
bibliography on the parent compound of the neonics, imidacloprid, also reveals the growing number of variables that might be needed to develop controlled studies concerning honey bees and non-target organisms.
Joe Traynor states that he "
sits with me" concerning the complexity of the situation as I reported last month. I originally quoted Cynthia Scott-Dupree's colleague Gard Otis at the University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada so Joe sits with both of us.
A recent article on the
Forbes web site provides a good summary of the situation. Randy Oliver at Scientific Beekeeping.com looks at
other non-target organisms and an
article on the politics of the situation is worth reading A quote from that piece is reflective of the skepticism engendered by another “nicotine" debate:
“There are obvious parallels with the tobacco industry,” said Goulson. “For 50 years they insisted that smoking wasn’t harmful to human health, even when the scientific evidence piled up, they still claimed there was no link. And they funded scientists to come up with spurious studies, which seemed to back them up. Here, the scientists funded by the [agrochemical] industry are the only ones that stand up and say, as far as we can tell, there’s no effect of these pesticides on bee health. I can’t help but being highly cynical about the independence of any of that [research].”
Finally, I urge folks to look at this
PBS presentation to try to get a more nuanced view of how plants behave. This kind of research might give us more keys to the pesticide-plant puzzle that also affects pollinators
The American Beekeeping Federation has developed an exploratory committee to look into making a bid for the 2019 Apimondia Congress. A big question is where will the up-front funding come from? It is estimated somewhere in the neighborhood of $200,000 will be required to do a half-decent bid. Most countries hosting this event have significant governmental assistance. That is not expected for the U.S. bid.
Preliminary discussion at the North American Conference and Trade Show in Hershey, PA indicated that Bayer, Monsanto and the Crop Life Association (previously the Pesticide Manufacturers Association) might be willing to assist. There are others on a rather small
list of pesticide manufacturers that might contribute. Given the European take on the situation, would this be an acceptable funding possibility for U.S. or European beekeepers? Would the world's beekeepers boycott such an event? Would Apimondia even allow the bid?
Good news for procrastinators! The Bee Informed Partnership's National Online Winter Loss and Management Survey has been extended the until April 30th. Click the
link and take the survey!
I have again selected a few topics this
month with respective links at publish2.com: These include: Self-Medication in Animals Much More Widespread Than Believed; Phillip Craft as Apivar's U.S. Technical Advisor; Biosafety Data as Confidential Business Information; Almonds measure honey bee health; Honey bees make poor substitutes for wild pollinators; The long and short of honey bee tongues; Honey bee robots coming to agriculture?; and more links on the neonic situation, many already mentioned in this newsletter.
Amazon.com reports 69 units of
Storey's Guide to Keeping Honey Bees sold from March 11, 2013 to April 7, 2013. Most were bought in Minneapolis- St. Paul, MN; San Portland, OR; and Antonio TX.
As always, see the latest on bee health at the
Extension.org site. This month features several good articles that are not to be missed.
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Gleanings from the April 2013 Bee Culture:
Remember that Bee Culture now has a
digital edition.
The cover of this issue and first letter to the editor have the same message. Take the BIP Survey. Fortunately, the deadline has been extended as noted elsewhere in this newsletter.
Karen Bean, Maple Falls, WA is a fan of libraries and says before buying a book check it out. Three copies of
Storeys Guide To Keeping Honey Bees are found in the Gainesville, Florida local library.
Joseph Strecker, Bellvue, NE reports an easy way to make sugar syrup.
Adin Ramer, Wakarusa, IN looks for a “low intrusion method” of making splits in July.
Lisa and Roger were not amused by Frank's letter in December concerning DDT and says there's not much point in calling Rachel Carson a “crazy lady.”
Roland Walls, Beckley, WV urges beekeepers not to become complacent in their management and Marlene Czarkowski continues the “tarpaper debate,” for an entrance reducer.
New for Beekeepers contains an offer from the
National Honey Board for a run of new, free brochures. Phone Andrea Brening, 800-553-7162.
Betterbee has come out with a “queen muff." . The Alphabetical Guide for Beekeepers (the British answer to
ABC XYZ of Beekeeping ) and Producing Royal Jelly are new offerings from
Northern Bee Books. Plants for Bees is also a UK focused volume published by the
International Bee Research Association. Finally, check out
Ferris Apiaries “gorilla frame.”
Editor Flottum describes a “trainwreck” in the California almonds, lamenting that safe places to keep bees are getting fewer and far between. He also looks at how the big ag companies have gotten the “bee health” message big time. Now he asks them to pony up for basic bee research.
Kathy Summers reviews the gorilla beekeeping event of the year in her neck of the woods, the Tri-County meeting in Wooster, OH. She reflects on the history of this event and congratulates Editor Flottum on 27 years of association with Bee Culture.
Moi aussi!
Clarence Collison and Audrey Sheridan take a closer look at juvenile hormone (JH). Read how this substance is really key to honey bee development. We now know it also involved in caste determination.
Mary Purcell-Miramontes provides a “Bureaucrat's Perspective” to CCD, Federal Funding and the Challenges of Bee Decline Research. Read what has been the response by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to this and what is likely to happen in the future.
Jeff Harris defines “epistemology,” the study of how societies produce new scientific ideas. He uses the example of the honey bee dance language. Read how this paradigm came about and what the debate about it has meant to the careers of scientists
Frank Linton describes the newest events in "barstool beekeeping" as found at last year's EAS meeting. There are two possibilities at the moment being used to monitor a honey bee colony's health, sound (audio) and temperature. Read where
this might be going.
Lauren Bennett writes that electron irradiation can save equipment and reduce chemical use. Read how
this technology is helping in many areas, including food and agriculture (beekeeping)
Jim Tew continues to live with his smoker through thick and thin. Read how this experience has infused his beekeeping, and why he is committed to using less smoke during his beekeeping activities.
David VenderDussen provides a history of using formic acid to control Varroa. Read how this is developing via a new product, Mite Away Quick Strips (MAQS), developed in Canada, but coming soon to beekeepers in the U.S.
Marrone Bio Innovations is coming up with a new biopesticide called “Grandevo.” Read about the possibilities this produces in agriculture.
Dr. Phil (Craft) continues to field questions in his column from New Mexico and Kentucky. Read his complete answers, indicating once again that all beekeeping is local.
Larry Connor publishes the 11th in his series on beekeeping with a column on full and part-time beekeeping. Read what it takes to ensure one is successful in these endeavors.
Toni Burnham lists the 10 top things to take into consideration as a roof top beekeeper. Search for honey in the
link in Washington, DC statutes: to see how some of these are implemented.
Daniel Berry writes about how to buy and sell a nuc (nucleus hive). Read his experiences and tips from both sides of this business. More and more nuclei are expected to be produced in the next few years as these small hives are considered a hedge against disaster in full-sized colonies.
Bob Ball describes a bear fence that works. A lot of research has gone into this fence and it is still working without one breach after being installed for three years.
Ann Harman urges folks to “Plan Your Field Day Now!” Read her tips based on a number of years experience running these events.
Ross Conrad reflects on the honey bee/human relationship. Read what he says about thoughts and feelings and how the idea of “love” may be more important than most people think when it comes to honey bee management.
Jessica Lawrence is caught up in the bigger picture. “Chicken Frenzy” is her topic, a shift from her columns of the last few months, concentrating on tattoos. Read her cast iron cornbread recipe.
In all the news that fits we see that Bayer is launching its bee care tour across the corn-producing area of the country. See more on that
web site. Also read about one of the largest anti-dumping cases in history and recent events on Kangaroo Island, with a huge purchase of honey from a surprising customer made to obtain that produced by the storied Ligurian honey bees.
Ed Colby on the bottom board remembers the coldest day in Colorado. Read what it took to get his partner Marilyn stung and photographed at the same time. A lot different than during the summer.
Sincerely,
Malcolm T. Sanford
beeactor@apisenterprises.com
http://apis.shorturl.com
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