The Beekeeper’s Companion Since 1861
American Bee Journal Volume 166 No. 5 May 2026 Cover features a close up of a drone bee emerging. Calouts: Do you really need a new queen - 491, AHB in the USA - 523, Where do honey bees mater?-527

THE ‘WEAPON OF MASS DESTRUCTION’ THAT’S KILLING HONEY BEES

Close up image of mite
Posted May 1, 2018

THE ‘WEAPON OF MASS DESTRUCTION’ THAT’S KILLING HONEY BEES

  These are new close-up images of one of the mites responsible for killing billions of honey bees around the world. The magnified photographs of the pinhead-sized mite, aptly named Varroa destructor, were captured by Dr. Jonathan Salvage of the University of Brighton (UK), using a state-of-the-art scanning electron microscope (SEM). Dr. Salvage, a Research …

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MAY 2018

Posted May 1, 2018

MAY 2018

Honey Harvest in a City Jim Fisher – 511 ABRC at AAPA 2018 Elina L. Niño – 515 Are Inferior Queens a Result of Contaminated Pollen? Karen Pedersen and Gil Pedersen – 521 The Varroa Problem Part 16b: Bee Drift and Mite Dispersal Continued Randy Oliver – 527 Gaining New Insights on Honey Bees and Hive Health Katie Coleman – 535 Blue Ribbon …

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MAY 2018 ABJ COVER

queen catch
Posted May 1, 2018

MAY 2018 ABJ COVER

Sarah Rath, wife and partner of Jack Rath of Betterbee, during a queen catch. The photo was taken by Jenny Dunn last summer at the Rath apiary in Vermont. Sarah is wearing one medical glove, so she can easily pick up queens. Check out Dunn’s article on varroa in this month’s issue.

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The Classroom – April 2018

The Classroom - American Bee Journal
Posted April 11, 2018

The Classroom – April 2018

Q Lithium Chloride Have you ever seen this article about Lithium killing varroa? Is there any truth to what it is saying about treating varroa mites? http://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/chance-discovery-could-tackle-the-honeybees-worst-enemy/ Thank you! Steve A I copied Section 11 of the MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) for Lithium chloride for you. It is waaaay too early to tell if …

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Who’s Got Guts: The Microbes Living in Bees

Microbes living in bees
Posted April 1, 2018

Who’s Got Guts: The Microbes Living in Bees

The honey bee gut is more than just a food processing chamber. It’s also home to hundreds of millions of microbes – some of which help the host, and some of which destroy it. Has a round of antibiotics ever given you an upset stomach or an uncomfortable yeast infection? These are common side effects, …

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On the Trail of a Pollen Tramp

Loose Pollen Bee on Flower
Posted April 1, 2018

On the Trail of a Pollen Tramp

Here is the problem. Over there, just beyond a tall hedgerow, is a vast field of wildflowers. Many of those plants need insect pollinators to move their pollen from flower to flower. Over here, just outside your garage, is a thriving honey bee colony with lots of brood to feed. Pollen is an essential part …

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The Latest Bee Science Distilled

bee science
Posted April 1, 2018

The Latest Bee Science Distilled

Sometime in the early 1960s in the Philippines, a tiny mite that fed exclusively on the eastern honey bee (Apis cerana) encountered a new honey bee species – Apis mellifera, the western honey bee. The mite latched on, and the rest is history. This is of course the story of Varroa destructor, THE major problem …

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More on corbiculate bees, and arguments for a European Origin for Apis

corbiculate bees
Posted April 1, 2018

More on corbiculate bees, and arguments for a European Origin for Apis

Since January 2015 I’ve been writing a monthly serial on the social evolution of the honey bee. Both words count: social and evolution. Social in distinction to individual selection that produces basic body plans, and Evolution in the sense of those genetic adaptations made over time in the context of group living. This is why …

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Nucs that “After Swarm”: A Scenario for Failure

queen cell
Posted April 1, 2018

Nucs that “After Swarm”: A Scenario for Failure

A newly made nuc–that swarms–is ruined. This problem, in my opinion, does not receive enough attention (see Figure 1). In the spring, I spend considerable time with numerous swarms, nucs, bait hives, and queen cells. I see all kinds of situations. When nucs swarm, they become a problem. Typically, what remains is an excessively weak …

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INTRODUCED HONEY BEES COULD CAUSE PLANT EXTINCTION

Posted April 1, 2018

INTRODUCED HONEY BEES COULD CAUSE PLANT EXTINCTION

In plant poor regions honey bees out-compete local pollinators, which play vital specialist role in plant pollination New research indicates that introduced ‘alien’ honey bees are competing for rare resources with native bees and threatening the survival of plants that rely on interactions with specific pollinators. The study, published in the journal Diversity and Distributions, …

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