Dear Subscribers,
Happy Valentine's day to the readership of the Apis Newsletter. We all hope this is indeed the beginning of Spring here in north central Florida. Although cold and windy, we have been spared much of the winter misery of the rest of the nation. Two weeks ago, my partner and I decided it was time to move our nuclei into larger colonies. The red maple was popping and lots of pollen was coming in. We are now feeding thick syrup and hoping the pollen flow was not frozen out in the couple of cold spells we experienced since, which did include freeze warnings. It finally will be in the 70s next week and maybe we can get a peek at how they are doing.
Meanwhile, March is just around corner and that means the
Florida Bee College will be in full swing near March 7 and 8, 2014 near St. Augusine. Invited honey bee personality this year is retired professor
Dr. Dewey Caron. I hope to stop in on my way back from Palm Beach, where I will be addressing the
Palm Beach Beekeepers Association after visiting retired USDA Research Leader,
Hachiro Shimanuki, and co-editor of the most recent ABC XYZ of Bee Culture.
The February issue of the
Western Apicultural Society Journal discusses a number of issues. September's meeting will be hosted in Missoula, Montana and current president Jerry Bromenshenk promises everyone a good time as noted in the last (January 2014) issue of this newsletter. It further describes awards garnered by
soon-to-be retired extension specialist Dr. Eric Mussen after some 37 years serving the California beekeeping industry. Most significantly, however, are the review of beekeeping conditions from around the western U.S., including Alaska and Hawaii. Too much cannot be said about the editor, Fran Bach, who lost her husband recently, but still labors on in service to beekeepers.
The activities of the Bee Informed Partnership (BIP) http://beeinformed.org/ are expanding. We now have one example in the newly published
Melitto Files, part of the continuing partnership between the University of Florida (IFAS) and the Bureau of Plant and Apiary Inspection (Division of Plant Industry) Florida Department of Agricultural and Consumer Services (FDACS). Read the article by Liana Teigen, of the
Georgia Technical Transfer Team, which reads in part: “So far I have taken over 2,000 samples from 25 beekeepers throughout the Southeast and thought I’d share some of my findings. This data does not reflect any particular management strategies and includes pre- and post-treatment data.”
Also note in the above publication, the recent effort by the Florida State Beekeepers Association to align the state legislature with an effort to raise $3.5 dollars for a new facility on the University of Florida Campus. The first part of this is an effort to raise funds for an economic study of the impact of such a facility on the state's economy. Note that beekeepers and associations from other states are also welcome to participate by donating via the Association's
web site.
There's been a lot of buzz about Monsanto and its bee health program as
reported by Randy Oliver and Editor Flottum, who also attended. Not to be outdone, Bayer Co. has launched it's Bee Care initiative according to a
Catch the Buzz. The company is quoted as saying, “At Bayer, we strongly believe that advancing sustainable solutions for honey bee health requires ongoing collaboration with partners and stakeholders,” said Becky Langer-Curry, manager of the North American Bee Care Program.
“Through our mobile Bee Care Tour stop, Bayer successfully fostered interaction directly with supporters of bee health in Washington to heighten discussion, increase awareness regarding good stewardship practices and encourage the sharing of ideas.”
Latest information is that the home center at
The Research TriangleThe Research Triangle in North Carolina is due to have a grand opening on April 15, 2014.
Coloradan Al Summers reflects on Bayer's fact sheet
things to know about honey bees: "...which admittedly describes Bayer's position on some of these issues. However, the basic statements and information about honey bees are accurate and substantiated by the majority of the scientific community.
"With a wider understanding and appreciation for what affects the overall health and viability of honey bees (all bee species actually)..I suggest we can then direct our efforts towards problem solving..rather than fearing things that have limited impacts. And solving some of the problems we now face in beekeeping..should be a first priority..I believe."
Allen "Al" Summers
Ichiban Honey & Apiculture
8289 N. 95th St.
Longmont, CO 80504
(303) 702-0085
The second edition of the
Bee Care Tour will visit University of California in Davis (Feb. 12); Oregon State University in Corvallis (Feb. 18); Commodity Classic in San Antonio (Feb. 27-March 1); South Dakota State University in Brookings (March 12); Purdue University in West Lafayette (March 20). Last, but not least, the Tour will make a final stop in Washington, D.C. to celebrate National Pollinator Week (June 16-23) at the United States Botanic Gardens.
The parallels that are apparent between losses of two important insects merit study. The decline of honey bees has had the lion's share of attention, but now the monarch butterfly is under the microscope according to a
Catch the Buzz:
“The news, while somewhat expected, was hard for monarch researchers, conservationists, and enthusiasts to hear. After reaching an all-time low during the winter of 2012-2013 (occupying 1.19 hectares), this year the area occupied by monarchs is a meager 0.67 hectares. Down from a high of 20.97 in 1996 – 97). Only 7 sanctuaries in Mexico had butterflies this December, with the largest, El Rosario, containing the majority of the population. What does this mean for the monarch migration? We’ve got work to do.”
Like honey bees, monarchs have a
perfect storm of similar things affecting them: habitat loss, climate change, pesticides, and natural enemies. Relatively speaking honey bees are worse off because of “unnatural” (exotic) enemies like Varroa destructor and small hive beetle (
Athena tumida).
It's "swarming" season in some parts of Florida. For beekeepers the issuing of a swarm can be the highlight of a visit to the apiary, in spite of the fact that most management decisions are designed to keep this from happening.
Other social insects also "swarm" and in some cases may surpass honey bee capabilities in this area. Implementing construction projects in areas that are too dirty and/or, dangerous for humans using robots through honey bee- or termite-like “swarming” behavior is now being taken seriously. It's worth a look at
some experiments using robots to perhaps better understand how honey bees can, through what appears to be “random” behavior, make marvelously complex structures.
Editor Flottum has published a raft of issues of Catch the Buzz recently that are worth looking at. There's no room here to look at them individually, but they do deserve some exposure. The best way is to access the
ezezine.com archive.
Amazon.com reports 70 units of
Storey's Guide to Keeping Honey Bees were sold from January 13, 2014 - February 9, 2014. The Minneapolis St. Paul, MN area led again with 17 copies, followed by Detroit with 16 units sold.
As always, see the latest on bee health at the
Bee Health Extension site.
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Gleanings from the February 2014 Bee Culture:
Remember that Bee Culture now has a
digital edition.
Chappie McChesney in Florida celebrates that the University of Florida football team is using honey for an energy boost during games. Bob Ricci writes about his observations on Monsanto corporation and the U.S. EPA. Bio Dunbar's bee hives survived a raging California fire. Read why and also why those in the drought-stricken West should take heed.
The monthly regional honey report has a new column added. The $/lb figure reveals that the smaller the container the larger the price per pound. Selling #1 cut comb tops the chart at $9.54/pound!
Editor Flottum takes on the historic California drought looking at various
maps. He also discusses the new column above on price per pound. Asking: “So how much are you selling a pound of honey for?”
Kathy Summers reflects on the first part of 2014 and some of the big bee meets coming up, including the grandaddy of them all, the Tri-County meet in Wooster, OH (March 1) and Mother Earth News Fair in Ashville, NC (April 12-13) and other venues later in the year. See these events and others on the
Global Calendar.
Winter reading suggestions include Jim Tew's new book, Wisdom for
Beekeepers,” and then there's “Out on a Limb,” what black bears taught the author Benjamin Kilham. Do black bears have emotions? The Hogg Halfcomb is back at
betterbee.com and for physically challenged beekeepers, see various options at
Royalty Hives.
Clarence Collison takes a closer look at Natural Queen Replacement. Read about the circumstances in a colony as honey bees determine when to create royal cells and whether they let them develop. Can you define polygyny?
Susan Kegley analyzes tank mixing pesticides and what might be the risks to honey bees based on this relatively common agricultural activity. Read how additives, surfactants, and synergism all are involved, and where regulations might be lacking or not sufficient.
Dan O'Hanlon looks at Plan Bee in West Virginia. Read how beekeepers and coal operators got together to put hives on
reclaimed land.
Mike Johnson and Mike Griggs finish their series on “It's Not Easy Being Green.” Read their final analysis on climate change and why honey bees are more resilient than plants at surviving a changing landscape. The "achilles heel" of honey bees is that they rely on those less-than-resilient plants for their food:
Catch 22.
Blake Hurst thinks the days of big data in agriculture are here to stay. Read what this might mean in terms of privacy and who owns your or anyone else's data. Anything, including beekeeping, where “location, location, location” matters will be affected by
big data. Even the concept of local food will prosper/suffer from this phenomenon, depending on one's point of view.
Jessica Lawrence urges us to get ready for Spring. Read how she's doing it for her garden and honey bees.
Jennifer Berry says “February in Georgia is always a critical time for honey bee colonies.” She might have written that with more emphasis if her article, “When It's Springtime in Atlanta...” had been written later, given the intense storms in the last few weeks. Consider her recommendations on hive reversal, feeding, etc. The evidence of a persistent winter hanging on even in the deep south continues to pile up. What will March bring?
Jim Tew contrasts winners and losers in today's environment. I couldn't help but look at his picture accompanying the article. Reminds me of a certain
famous sculpture. Read his musings on bob white quail, eastern white tail deer, emerald ash borers, and monarch butterflies.
Phil Craft continues to answer questions. This month they are about buying honey bees on
craigslist.com, small hive beetle challenges, and feeding honey bees.
Ian Bens discusses finding your market with reference to honey and bees. Read his chef's perspective on finding the best possibilities for maximum profit.
Ann Harman follows last month's column on honey, writing about 12 things to do with beeswax. Read some things you might not have considered. Floor sweeping compound any one?
Ed Simon builds an inner cover. Read how this can save you time and money.
Ross Englehart makes "Ross Hexagons" for lots of interesting projects. Read how the honey bees are partners in this activity.
Ross Conrad conducts a small-cell-size trial, based on various foundation sizes. Read about the challenges and results of using 4.9 millimeter foundation vs the more abundant size, 5.4 mm. Can half a millimeter make a difference in how bees survive and thrive? The project was supported through something called “
crowd funding.”
Heidi Fuller-love heads to the “mythical island of Crete,” and describes beekeeping through the eyes of Giannis Tsouganakis. Read about this activity and its ancient and modern history.
Buddy Marterre has developed spreadsheets for queen rearing. Read how this will help one understand this topic better. The spreadsheets include:
Reverse Split Queen Rearing Calendar;
Swarm Box Queen Rearing Calendar; and
Egg Frame Transfer Queen Rearing Calendar. These are also programmed to be at the new version of
beeculture.com coming soon!
To use these templates you must have a program like Excel and/or Open Office that reads .xls format. If you have a Windows based machine, Excel 97-2003 works and if you have a Mac, Excel 3.0 works. Download the template of your choice depending on the type of queen rearing you plan to perform.
General Instructions: "Open the file; change the BOLD DATE of your primary procedure in the yellow cell or box, and save the file as a new file using the “save as…” command. This keeps your original template file intact for future use. Then print the new file in landscape format (you may need to ensure that the file prints on one page by using “fit to 1 page” under scaling or page setup), carry it with you to the bee yard, and follow the instructions. Orange cells are for important procedures; do not change the contents of those cells manually."
In All The News That Fits, read about the retirement of Dr. Marion Ellis (University of Nebraska), a unique gift to the University of California (Davis) from employees of Valiant U.S.A. Corporation, Dr. Robert Page (Professor Emeritus UC Davis) being named Arizona State University's provost, and the obituary for Buckfast Abbey's skilled apiculturist Peter Donovan. Also read about North Dakota's honey bee protection plan (why there are beekeeper objections), sex determination in honey bees, final sales of Groeb Farms to Natural American Foods, and pollinator advice from Project Apism for the 2014 almond season.
Ed Colby on the bottom board relates how he got invited to the Ukraine for Apimondia 43 by none other than ex-president Victor Yuschenko. Read why he says, "politics is one thing, the beekeeper bond quite another."
Sincerely,
Malcolm T. Sanford
beeactor@apisenterprises.com
http://apis.shorturl.com
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