The Beekeeper’s Companion Since 1861
American Bee Journal Volume 166 No. 10 October 2026 Cover Cover Callouts: Apis mellifera, weather girl - 1077, Winter hive ventilation - 1093, 1101, 1105, How does the colony respond to OA? - 1127 Cover shoes a frame of brood with a queen cell and several bees near the center of the frame.

The More the Merrier? How Reproduction Affects Pyrethroid Resistance in Varroa

honey bee reproduction affects pyrethroid resistance in varroa
Posted March 1, 2018

The More the Merrier? How Reproduction Affects Pyrethroid Resistance in Varroa

How can I help my bees get rid of all these mites?” A question that surely emerges in beekeepers’ heads when they open their colonies and see legions of hungry monsters crawling around. Fortunately, many weapons are available in the fight against Varroa destructor. Unfortunately, they do not completely eradicate the parasite. Worse, the most …

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The Classroom – March 2018

Posted March 1, 2018

The Classroom – March 2018

Q IT’S RED!! Jerry, Found this lady outside of her hive in Northwest Georgia. The temperature had reached the high 40’s that day. The red in her pollen sacs is what caught my eye. I thought it strange, as I had never seen pollen that color, let alone in cold weather. An internet search led …

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Letters to the Editor – March 2018

Posted March 1, 2018

Letters to the Editor – March 2018

Tallow Tree Response Good grief! when it is not the varroa, it is legislators who actually want to kill the tallow tree. Our fellow beeks in Louisiana and Texas are heavily dependent on the tallow tree [which, unfortunately does not grow here :-( ]. Apparently, the tallow tree is an invasive species introduced from China. …

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HONEY BEE HEALTH COALITION CONGRATULATES WINNERS OF NUTRITION COMPETITION

honey bee health coalition winners
Posted March 1, 2018

HONEY BEE HEALTH COALITION CONGRATULATES WINNERS OF NUTRITION COMPETITION

Winners Will Use $40,000 in Prize Money to Improve, Accelerate Honey Bee Nutrition The Honey Bee Health Coalition announced that it has awarded $40,000 to four innovative projects aimed at improving honey bee nutrition and supporting honey bee and pollinator health. The awards, announced at the 2018 American Bee Research Conference, are part of the …

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UC DAVIS HONEY BEE GURU RECEIVES NATIONAL AWARD

Posted March 1, 2018

UC DAVIS HONEY BEE GURU RECEIVES NATIONAL AWARD

For 38 years, Extension apiculturist Eric Mussen did everything he could to help the honey bees. “I am basically all pro-bee; whatever I can do for bees, I do it,” Mussen told the American Bee Journal in a two-part interview published in 2011. “It doesn’t matter whether there is one hive in the backyard or …

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HOW HONEY AGRICULTURAL FUNGICIDE ATTRACTS HONEY BEES, STUDY FINDS

Posted March 1, 2018

HOW HONEY AGRICULTURAL FUNGICIDE ATTRACTS HONEY BEES, STUDY FINDS

When given the choice, honey bee foragers prefer to collect sugar syrup laced with the fungicide chlorothalonil over sugar syrup alone, researchers report in the journal Scientific Reports. The puzzling finding comes on the heels of other studies linking fungicides to declines in honey bee and wild bee populations. One recent study, for example, found …

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Some Interesting Signs of Spring

top bar bee hive stand
Posted March 1, 2018

Some Interesting Signs of Spring

As spring appears, here are three events to observe, ranging from the rarely seen to perhaps the under reported. In a melting March snow, the air too cold for bee flight, I was out patrolling my rural apiaries and came upon some birds fluttering around the hive stands. With the tracks in the snow cover, …

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The Latest Bee Science Distilled

Bees on a feeder
Posted March 1, 2018

The Latest Bee Science Distilled

If you crave tea or coffee in the morning, you’ve experienced how plant chemicals (e.g. caffeine) influence the choices you make. And this can be good! There are plenty of studies showing that a cup or two of coffee per day can be good for your health. But there are also synthetic chemicals that can …

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The Consequential Corbiculum

Generally Recognized phylogeny of Apis
Posted March 1, 2018

The Consequential Corbiculum

Apis. The genus to which our honey bee, Apis mellifera, belongs is so distinctive in the human imagination that its name is recycled up and down the chain of bee taxonomy. Moving first down the taxon, the genus Apis is divided into the small open-nesting species comprising sub-genus Micrapis, the large open-nesting species Megapis, and …

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What Happened to the Genetically Engineered Honey Bee?

Genetic Engineering Honey bee
Posted March 1, 2018

What Happened to the Genetically Engineered Honey Bee?

GMOs. Few acronyms induce as much debate at the dinner table, forming rifts between relatives about the very food on our plates. Tinkering with an organism’s genes is almost as divisive as politics. So why aren’t we talking about agriculture’s potential pollinator of the future: the genetically engineered honey bee? Genetically engineered honey bees were …

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