COURT SIDES WITH W. VA. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, SAFEGUARDING BEEKEEPERS

Posted April 1, 2025

COURT SIDES WITH W. VA. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, SAFEGUARDING BEEKEEPERS

February 3, 2025, CHARLESTON — State officials announced a “major legal victory” for West Virginia farmers after a Kanawha Circuit Court upheld the right for a South Charleston man to keep bees on his property. In November of last year, Alex Urban was denied a permit to keep honeybees on his South Charleston property, leading …

Posted April 1, 2025

COMMERCIAL BEEKEEPERS LAUNCH NEW PROGRAM TO ADDRESS HIVE THEFT

Sacramento, CA — The California State Beekeepers Association is excited to announce a new effort aimed at preventing the rapidly expanding number of hive theft incidents that continue to jeopardize California’s agricultural production and increase food costs. “California has experienced an 87% increase in hive thefts since 2013 with loss to beekeepers estimated at over …

Posted April 1, 2025

Contents – April 2025

Spring Reads Rusty Burlew, Carol Hrusovszky, Eugene Makovec – 373 What is a “field-realistic” pesticide dose, anyway? Alison McAfee – 393 Bivouac Traps:Catch Swarms Before They Depart Frank Linton – 405 A Trial of Some Summer Treatments Randy Oliver – 409 Organic colony management … Choosing an Apiary Location Selina Bruckner, Margarita M. López-Uribe, Robyn …

American Bee Journal Volume 165 No. 4 April 2025

Posted April 1, 2025

ABJ APRIL 2025 COVER

Grocery bags: Our cover photo was sent in by Justin Scott, of Sweet Stingers Honey and Apiary in Edmond, Oklahoma. It was taken during late winter/early spring build-up, when dandelions were in bloom. “I was looking down in the broodnest fixing to pull frames to inspect and she flew in, stopped like that ad hung …

Posted March 1, 2025

The Classroom – March 2025

Bee use of propolis Do we know how long bees have been producing propolis? In the bee and wasp family, only honey bees exhibit this trait — is that correct? Calum Grigor Germany, December A Sawflies, wasps, bees, and ants belong to the insect order Hymenoptera (from the Greek: hymen — membrane, optera — wing, …

Posted March 1, 2025

An Emotional Guide to Consorting with Bees

We’ve all heard of certain human endeavors described as “interminable boredom punctuated by moments of sheer terror.” We might include combat, surgery, firefighting, whitewater rafting, or rock climbing in a list of activities that elicit periodic unhinging. I’ve heard folks describe beekeeping in this way, although I don’t quite agree. Boring? Absolutely. Terrorizing? Sometimes. But …

Posted March 1, 2025

Beware the Ides of March

It is all about the weather when it comes to managing bees in March. I have seen March weather disappoint me many times. We are most likely thinking of things we can do such as make splits, prevent swarms, try to raise queens or get ready for a honey crop. All I can say is …

Posted March 1, 2025

The Appearance of Bees to Each Other (Conspecifics) in Ultraviolet Light Part 3

In this article series, we have been exploring how bees see each other in ultraviolet light (UV). I have been using UV at 365 nanometers, which as shown earlier is close to a honey bee’s maximum sensitivity in UV. Seeing bees more like they see each other can bring us closer to understanding their lives. …

Posted March 1, 2025

Dealing with Old Queens and Old Frames

Simple questions don’t always have easy answers Question: “Should I requeen every two years?” Answer: “Well, yes and no.” This common subject came up again during some short email interactions a few weeks ago. At first glance, and from the perspective of an established beekeeper, yep … you should requeen every two years. Next question? …

Posted March 1, 2025

Letters to the Editor – March 2025

Why do bees beard? My November issue of the ABJ arrived a couple of weeks ago and I have recently finished reading it. I was particularly interested in Dewey Caron’s explanation of why bees sometimes hang in clusters around the entrance to the hive. This is a question that turns up regularly on the Facebook …

COURT SIDES WITH W. VA. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, SAFEGUARDING BEEKEEPERS

Posted April 1, 2025