Dear Subscribers,
April Fools Day came and went with a bang of cold weather. Now it's Easter and raining much more consistently than in years past. Our drought problems appear to be
ameliorating. Lots of rain during nectar flow times are generally not favorable for honey production. Speaking of rain, I hope to get to see the new movie Noah; I am interested to see where insects fit in the story and whether there was any room for them on the arc.
The Florida legislature is in recess this week, but will return with a vengence on Monday. Beekeepers in the Sunshine State will be anxiously awaiting the budget conference committee hearings on a possible brand new beekeeping facility at the University of Florida (IFAS). This would bee an auspicious beginning for the next hundred years of
extension in Florida.
Many don't understand the Cooperative Extension Service's history or significance in Florida and the U.S. in
general. It is the third arm of the land grant system, authorized by the Smith-Lever Act of 1914, responsible for developing much of modern agricultural society as we know it. This “extension” model has been followed by many other countries and is the gold standard when it comes to “extending” education from institutions of higher learning to the general public. A look at Florida's
beekeeping extension program reveals why it's one of the best in the country.
There's a lot of discussion about printing out things these days from bricks to body parts. This video shows what can be done with a single piece of plywood. It's a
delightful rendering of a “crowdsourced” program producing an open-source bee hive. Once assembled, the hive can then be put into network via an open-source
sensory apparatus. So far this initiative has raised over twice it's orignal goal. Hurry! The
campaign ends April 25.
Alabama has gotten the message pretty late. Africanized honey bees may be arriving soon! I am not holding my breath nor losing any sleep over the announcement. This honey bee is already reported in the
region and no doubt will continue its expansion.
The study of natural history is on the wane for several reasons. A Catch The Buzz
release provides some answers as well as reasons to study this topic. “...natural history provides essential knowledge for fields as varied as human health, food security, conservation, land management, and recreation. In the April issue of BioScience, a group of scientists from institutions across North America details examples supporting their conviction that a revitalization of the practice of natural history will provide important benefits for science and society.”
It should be noted that much of what we consider good beekeeping practice also has come from observations by those looking at natural history. The list of folks contributing is full of men of the cloth, philosophers, and others. Only recently have so-called “scientists” been involved in looking closely at honey bee biology, but not necessarily natural history.
Dr. Peter Molan is reported to have retired! That may not mean much to many on this side of the world, but he's the pioneer that has brought to the world's attention New Zealand's manuka honey. Fortunately, he's put up a
legacy of his work on the web. This is a priceless trove of information about honey and honey research, as well as concentrating on the “specialness” of manuka. Read about the non-peroxide activity of the honey and the fact that all manuka honey is not the same, being categorized by whether it has “active” components . Only the
active stuff has been found effective. Unfortunately, many “knock offs” of manuka honey, sometimes sold fraudulently as the real stuff, can be found in the market place. Caveat emptor!
There's still time to participate in the 2014 loss survey run by the Bee Informed Partnership (
BIP) : Here's the recent plea: “Please go to our online survey at
http://10.selectsurvey.net/beeinformed/TakeSurvey.aspx?SurveyID=BIP2014 and complete the survey there. It will be live on April 1st and close on April 30th. Please do not complete the survey more than once.
“The Colony Loss Survey has evolved from our winter loss survey because last year we found that commercial beekeepers lost 25% of their colonies over the summer, and so we are now starting to monitor and report annual, in addition to winter losses. The National Management Survey is conducted annually in conjunction with the Colony Loss Survey. Designed to take about 30 minutes, the 2 surveys are aimed at looking for relationships between colony loses and colony management (including disease treatment strategies, supplemental feeding, etc.) and/or other factors that may influence colony health (such as colony location, honey production, and forage type). Your participation in this research is voluntary and your responses will be kept confidential. In any publication or presentation resulting from this research, no personally identifiable information will be disclosed.”
Thanks to Joe Traynor for his
April newsletter. Read about almond pollination, feeding bees, fluvalinate the “silent killer,” and the possible future of pollinating apples
Dr. Jerry Bromenshenk reports on Bee-L the recent status of The University of Montana's
online Apprentice-Level Beekeeping Course (April 7-May 9). It is up and running and full! There is a waiting lists so a new section is be offered May 18-June 20. Look for the launch of the Journeyman (Intermediate Level) this summer. Read more in this month's Bee Culture about the curriculum being called “NOT Your Grandfather's Beekeeping Course.”
This is good news for
Storey's Guide to Keeping Honey Bees,which has been adopted as the text for the Montana apprentice course. Amazon.com reports 101 units of were sold from March 17, 2014 - April 13, 2014. Best selling areas were Madison, WI, Chicago, and Seattle.
As always, see the latest on bee extension efforts at the
Bee Health Extension site.
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Gleanings from the April 2014 Bee Culture:
Remember that Bee Culture now has a digital edition.
http://sample.beeculture.com/default.aspx?bhcp=1
Tammy Horn, Kentucky State Beekeepers Association President writes there's good (animal welfare, sustainable agriculture and food safety appear to be winners, but also bad (no mention of pesticide regulation) in the $956.4 million farm bill. Joseph C. Fields looks at Rudolph Steiner's legacy of concentrating on process in improving bee health. Jim Cowan, Aberdeen, WA believes invasive plants have value at least in his neck of the woods, even though they might be looked at as taking over from native varieties.
As noted above an article on taking the survey by the Bee Informed Partnership opens up this issue of Bee Culture. Bee sure to take the survey!
Editor flottum takes a page out of Kipling's books, "..you'll do your work on water, An' you'll lick the bloomin' boots of 'im that's got it." Amen in the almonds and for all other foodstuffs. Read some of details like how many gallons it takes to make a hamburger (or cheeseburger)! Also look at his analysis of what he wrote some time ago about growing your own honey crop.
Kathy Summers has gone to the birds it seems. Feeding both domestic (chickens) and wild ones (cardinals, finches, etc.) in winter are her focus this month. She's waiting for Spring longer than usual.
This month what's new for you on the bookshelves includes Ernst Seeds (a book, catalog or
web site). NMC-Wollard has renamed its popular "swinger" to the "
NMC Super Bee." Finally, Larry Connor at
Wicwas Press has a new offering "Swarm Essentials."
The Pollinator Stewardship Council reflects that costs and risks are not considered when labeling compounds. Read the specific case concerning sulfoxaflor.
Ian Stell examines the honey bee leg and foot in some detail. Read which is more effective for the insect, sticky (suction) pads or claws.
Gregory Heck is excited about the potential of RNAi. This technology was purchased by Monsanto from
Beeologics back in 2011. I first wrote about it in
2008 for this magazine. This article is looking at the technology from inside Monsanto. Some of it may surprise you.
Jennifer Berry is into selling nucs. What's a nuc? Short for nucleus hive, usually around 5 frames of bees with a queen. Read about the challenges of getting started in this challenging activity in the Georgia Piedmont.
Jim Tew is thawing his bees after the coldest winter ever in Ohio. Read how he drove 2500 miles round trip, spoke a bunch of bee meetings and what he found when he returned to the midwest. Also see what the
future might hold in bee presentations.
Phil Craft still has answers to questions. Read his ideas about bee removal from structures important things to keep in mind during the Spring inspection.
Vaugh Bryant reveals why most beekeepers guessing the source of honey are wrong. Read about identifying pollen in honey and then developing something called a pollen coefficient value. Without the latter anyone attempting to determine honey source can only be led by the nose (taste), and generally that leads to an incorrect conclusion.
Gary Pullano looks at apple pollination basics from a grower's perspective. Read his tips on what beekeepers need to know.
Toni Burnham takes phone calls from the urban scene. Often it results in free bees, but she refects on what happens when one talks too much. Bee careful what you ask for!
Bethany Caskey reflects on collecting and storing seeds. Read why she also recommends the free plant guide at http://www.pollinator.org/guides.htm.
Herman Danenhower takes an updated look at the Hogg Halfcomb system. This is suitable for certain conditions well known to produce intense honey flows using large populations.. See more on
youtube.com
Ross Conrad suggests some basics for smoker maintenance. When it no longer produces cool, white smoke, the time has come to clean out the barrel or suffer the slings and arrows of upset honey bees.
Ann Harman examines the food safety modernization act in some detail. Five (5) specific areas have been upgraded. See full details on the
web site. Fortunately, honey has been declared a low risk food.
Jessica Louque concludes that feeding children is a challenge. Read how she copes using honey and vegetables in creative ways to make thing palatable for the younger set.
Jeff Harris recounts one of his tales about searching for queens. Read how he finally bested "old joe" in the queen mating yard and why they both told the tale gleefully to their circle of breakfast friends.
In all the news that fits read how honey bees are sharing their problems with wild bumblebees, discovery of the so-called "green gene" governing plant flowering and disease resistance, a "wrong tax" perpetrated on beekeepers in Washington, organic is not perfect agriculture (but pretty good), buff-tailed bumblebees in Chile have become an invasive pest, honey bees "taste" with their feet, Australia opens more public land to beekeepers, obituaries for Raymond Crocker and James Harold Gibbs, how climate change will affect the food supply and a discussion of a new virtual beehive http://www.beehave-model.net.
Ed Colby on the bottom board ruminates about his gig at the Western Apicultural Society on the heels of being hosted by ex president Victor Yushchenko during Apimondia 43. Read about him passing around a frame of advanced foulbrood and whether that was a good idea or not.
Sincerely,
Malcolm T. Sanford
beeactor@apisenterprises.com
http://apis.shorturl.com
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