LURING HORNETS: SCIENTISTS UNLOCK SEX PHEROMONE OF NOTORIOUS HONEY BEE PREDATOR

Posted December 1, 2017

LURING HORNETS: SCIENTISTS UNLOCK SEX PHEROMONE OF NOTORIOUS HONEY BEE PREDATOR

Traps baited with synthetic pheromone could become solution to invasive Asian hornet Over the past decade, Asian hornets, predatory insects with a widespread and expanding population, have invaded parts of Europe and Korea. Vespa velutina has a growing reputation as a species that proliferates rapidly, preys on honey bees and poses risks to humans. Now …

Posted December 1, 2017

COAL MINERS SHIFT TO BEEKEEPING

University of Delaware researcher helps establish socioeconomic growth program for displaced miners in West Virginia University of Delaware Former coal miners or citizens whose lives have been shaped by the coal mining industry in southern West Virginia spent their summer learning how to establish and operate bee colonies thanks to help from the University of …

Posted December 1, 2017

Honey’s Magical Power: Four Ways to Slay Microbes

You’ve heard the rumors, right? Honey never goes bad, it’s been found in Egyptian tombs ready to eat, and it’s the only cure for some antibiotic-resistant bacteria. You may wonder if any of this is true, and if so, why. Let’s look at some of the details. Since the beginning of recorded history, honey has …

Posted December 1, 2017

Unusual Winter Cluster Behavior: Finally Observed with Thermal Imaging

During a dark and bitter cold morning of last January 2017, I had just sprinted to the back door of the house. I was running from the bee house by my home apiary. Not because of the bees, but rather I ran from seven measly degrees above zero, the only ones remaining at 4:00 a.m. …

Posted December 1, 2017

Anarchy in Paradise

Having spent 36 months thinking together about the social evolution of the honey bee, it’s worth pausing to reflect that the whole social enterprise rises or falls on the system’s ability to rein in individual selfishness. E.O. Wilson, the “father of sociobiology” and Pulitzer prize winning science writer, reminds us that we humans are eusocial …

Posted December 1, 2017

December 2017

Harvey & Irma’s Impact on Beekeepers Kirsten Traynor – 1179 How a Population of Wild Honey Bee Colonies Living in New York State is Surviving Tom Seeley – 1183 Breeding a Better Bee: Three Social Immunity Traits, One Massive Experiment Alison McAfee – 1195 Honey Bee Nutrition—Part 6 Dale Hill – 1199 Making Comb Honey Should Be Simple and Fun Rusty Burlew – 1205 What …

Posted December 1, 2017

December ABJ Cover

Fall arrives in an apiary. The changing leaves and shorter days mean winter will soon be here. Colonies are prepped and ready for winter, ideally with plenty of stores, lots of young, healthy winter bees, and low varroa mite pressure. Wishing you and your bees a Happy Thanksgiving.

Unveiling of the bee hive at the Naval Observatory. Official White House Photo by Andrea Hanks.

Posted November 30, 2017

There’s A New Buzz In D.C. – Thanks to Mrs. Pence

It was at a Governors’ Conference several years ago where Mrs. Karen Pence learned about bees firsthand. She knew they existed; she knew they were important, but Mrs. Pence did not realize exactly how exciting bees were until she attended this conference with her husband. The National Governors’ Association sets up meetings for first spouses …

Clare Densley on river dart bridge with abbey church in background

Posted November 1, 2017

Lessons Learned: Beekeeping Across the Pond By Ron Couch

I suppose most folks have a “Bucket List” and one of mine, for at least a decade, was to become a beekeeper. That dream became a reality about six years ago, and I now have nine colonies in my northeast Texas backyard. Of course, now I have a “Bee List” as well as a “Bucket …

Posted November 1, 2017

POLLEN STAYS ON BEE BODIES RIGHT WHERE FLOWERS NEED IT FOR POLLINATION

Ungroomed sites correspond with flower pollen-sacs and stigmas PLOS After grooming, bees still have pollen on body parts that match the position of flower pollen-sacs and stigmas, according to a study published September 6, 2017 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Petra Wester from Heinrich-Heine-University, Germany, and colleagues. Flowers depend on pollen for pollination, …

LURING HORNETS: SCIENTISTS UNLOCK SEX PHEROMONE OF NOTORIOUS HONEY BEE PREDATOR

Posted December 1, 2017