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

Mechanisms of Swarming in the Honey Bee Superorganism: Primer Conditions

Primers for Swarming
Posted May 1, 2017

Mechanisms of Swarming in the Honey Bee Superorganism: Primer Conditions

In recent years, the subject of swarming – and what to do about it – has grown in importance in ways I never could have imagined as a young scientist or even younger beekeeper. Ever since C.L. Farrar’s pioneering work in 1937 showed a positive relationship between colony population size and honey crops1, beekeepers have …

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May 2017

Posted May 1, 2017

May 2017

U.S. Honey Production Up 3 Percent for Operations with Five or More Colonies in 2016 USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service…………………………………………….485 Efficacy of Different Methods of Oxalic Acid Application Kathleen C. Evans, Nancy Ostiguy, Margarita M. Lopez-Uribe………………………….505 The Varroa Problem—Part 7—Walking the Walk Randy Oliver…………………………………………………………………………………..509  Absconding, the Mysterious Disappearance of Colonies Robert Weast…………………………………………………………………………………..521 Honey Bee Nutrition—Part I Dale …

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May ABJ COVER

May ABJ Cover
Posted May 1, 2017

May ABJ COVER

Michael LaSpina, who lives in northern California, took this beautiful photo of a honey bee working a wild radish flower.  Michael says that Northern California, like much of the rest of the West Coast, has been experiencing above average rainfall. The extra rainfall has brought back abundant growth of many wildflowers.

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NEW Delaware State Apiarist

Bob Mitchell at field day. Public outreach goes along with Delaware State Apiarist duties.
Posted April 1, 2017

NEW Delaware State Apiarist

Delaware has hired a new State Apiarist, Meghan McConnell, a native of Millville, NJ. She is a 2012 graduate of the University of Maryland (UMD) with a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science & Technology. Meghan currently is finishing her MS in Entomology at the University of Maryland under Dr. Dennis van Engelsdorp. Her research targets Varroa …

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U.S. Honey Crops and Markets – April 2017

US Crops and Honey Markets
Posted April 1, 2017

U.S. Honey Crops and Markets – April 2017

UNITED STATES The Northeast and Mideast have had relatively mild winters with regular cleansing flights. In some cases this has probably saved a lot of colonies that might have perished due to lack of winter stores or heavy mite loads. We have been receiving widely varying reports on colony losses ranging from light to heavy. …

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The Classroom – April 2017

Posted April 1, 2017

The Classroom – April 2017

Q PRODUCING COMB HONEY WITHOUT FOUNDATION I have some Jewish customers who would like to have me produce kosher comb honey for them. They don’t want me to use any foundation since they don’t know where that came from, but want me to get the bees to build everything from scratch. What is the best …

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Letters to the Editor – April 2017

Posted April 1, 2017

Letters to the Editor – April 2017

Grandpa’s Helpers Attached is a photo of my two grandkids, Josh and Rachel. They are getting old enough to have fun with grandpa in the beehives. Andy Hemken Big Bend, WI andy@hemkenhoney.com   Silly Science Not So: Senator Flake’s Wastebook and Science-Funding Advice In May 2016, U.S. Senator Jeff Flake (R-AZ) issued a “Wastebook” that …

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Searching For Queen Cells: Better Not Miss One

Queen Cell with worker bees and without worker bees
Posted April 1, 2017

Searching For Queen Cells: Better Not Miss One

In this article, we study finding queen cells in difficult situations. Three circumstances cause bees to rear queens: swarming to replace the mother queen who leaves with the prime swarm, supersedure to replace the mother queen who may be failing, and sudden loss of a mother queen. Beekeepers need to be skilled at finding queen …

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What Epidemiology Can Teach Us About Honey Bee Health Management*

Epidemiology and Honey Bee Health Management
Posted April 1, 2017

What Epidemiology Can Teach Us About Honey Bee Health Management*

In this, my fourth and final installment in a mini-series on colony health, I want to focus on how epidemiology, the science of disease spread and virulence in populations, can inform honey bee health management. As so many of the boundaries in biology exist only in the minds of human observers, there is some overlap …

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Teaching Others to Keep Bees

bee keeping suit by dadant
Posted April 1, 2017

Teaching Others to Keep Bees

Interest in beekeeping has grown exponentially in the aftermath of news concerning the dearth of bees with colony collapse disorder. Beekeeping clubs everywhere are getting new members, some of whom have no bees or beekeeping experience. This is a very positive development. So, where do we go from here? The first thing to do is …

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