On a sunny spring day in April of 2005, I set up my first beehives in the lovely little part of the world I call my home in southwest Michigan. They found themselves living in a bee paradise with lots of forage, abundant water, wild areas, hay fields and a lawn filled with white clover. …
Read MoreThe honey bee gut is colonized by specialized bacteria that help digest components of the floral pollen diet and produce molecules that likely promote bee health. In a recent study published in PLOS Biology, a group of researchers from Switzerland uncovered which bacterial species perform which specific digestive functions in the bee gut. The authors …
Read MoreHumans have transformed the landscape to an amazing degree. We are losing our wild places, where much biodiversity of insects still awaits undiscovered. Many species of bees live in these untouched areas, pollinating a great diversity of plants. A new study shows how much of our wilderness areas we have lost since 1993. These maps …
Read MoreThe resolution declaring May 20th as World Bee Day was adopted at the plenary session of the United Nations General Assembly on December 20th, 2017. See the Letter to the Editor. Bees and other pollinators are extremely important when it comes to ensuring the global safety of the food supply chain. Every third spoonful of …
Read MoreThough it’s too early to tell whether it’s imploding — or merely suffering growing pains — the $50 billion American organic industry is going through some serious soul-searching. While some organic pioneers are bemoaning what they perceive as the ongoing degradation of a brand founded in an ideological movement, others see this as a time …
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May 20th declared World Bee Day Dear beekeeping colleagues, The 20th of May was declared as World Bee Day on the 20th of December, 2017 at the General Assembly of the United Nations in New York! From now one every year on this day, the attention of the global public will be drawn to the …
Read MoreMites, mites, mites A Comment from Wil in Alabama Hi Jerry, I just read your reply to Mac in Maine in the December issue. I totally agree with you that a sticky board is a not too accurate estimation of mites in a colony. I have been telling other beekeepers to do the following: Take a …
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In Virginia, the summer of 2017 was a difficult time for dealing with small hive beetles (hereafter just called beetles). I had heard others had trouble with beetles in newly made colonies (splits), something I had seen when I had bees in North Carolina years ago. While some of my apiaries had no extra problems …
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While there may be some fluffy white stuff on the ground outside your house right now, astute beekeepers know that spring is just around the corner. And each spring, I often hear two things from beekeepers regarding the new bees they hope to acquire: 1) they hope to catch a swarm from a feral colony, …
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Every few weeks a photo of a fly lands in my inbox, always accompanied by the same question: “What kind of bee is this?” The answer is simple. If your insect has short, stubby, barely visible antennae, it is not a bee. On the contrary, a bee antenna is long, graceful, mobile, and insanely cute. …
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- C.P. Dadant, Editor of ABJ 1912-1938
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