January 2017

Posted January 1, 2017

January 2017

International Honey Market Ron Phipps………………………………………………………………………………………29 Beyond Taktic—Beekeeper-funded Research Randy Oliver……………………………………………………………………………………43 The Varroa Problem—Part 4—Mite-resistant Bees—Pipedream or Plausible? Randy Oliver……………………………………………………………………………………53 Community Treatment Day Michele Colopy, Wendy Mather and Peggy Garnes………………………………………….59 Is It Time to Breed for Propolis? A. Lee Lang………………………………………………………………………………………71 Sensory Analysis of Honey Suzanne Ress……………………………………………………………………………………75 Marine Veteran Picked for Delaware Planting Hope with Honey Bees …

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Trends in Beekeeping

Alejandro Reed beekeeping topics ABJ December 2016

Posted December 1, 2016

Trends in Beekeeping

It has been my privilege to teach a few more new beekeepers these past several years. Beginning beekeeping is my favorite class to teach because it is the most fun. It is almost misleading for new beekeeping students to get a brand new package or nucleus started on new foundation. The first year is the …

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U.S. Honey Crops and Markets – December 2016

US Crops and Honey Markets

Posted December 1, 2016

U.S. Honey Crops and Markets – December 2016

UNITED STATES During the fall season beekeepers were finishing their extracting and bottling in preparation for holiday sales. Most reports indicated fair to good retail sales, but some reporters said they noticed that grocery store retail prices had declined some. Bulk domestic wholesale honey movement continues to collide with increased imports of cheaper foreign honey, …

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The Classroom – December 2016

Posted December 1, 2016

The Classroom – December 2016

Q Nutrition During Winter? Jeff A That is a loaded question because there are many needs and nuances and what it ultimately means to the health and sustainability of the colony. To add a wrinkle to this, honey bees before varroa mites were wild insects that simply tolerated us putting them in our beehives, but …

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Letters to the editor – December 2016

Posted December 1, 2016

Letters to the editor – December 2016

For Christmas Our local beekeepers’ club is small in number but pretty connected with each other throughout the year. We share an added blessing because we are fortunate enough to have a Dadant store right in Sioux City that makes access for our bee supplies not much out of our way. That is how your …

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College of Lake County Abuzz at Official Opening of New Apiary

College of Lake County Apiary

Posted December 1, 2016

College of Lake County Abuzz at Official Opening of New Apiary

GRAYSLAKE, ILL. — Recognizing the value of honey bees in pollinating the world’s food supply, the College of Lake County (CLC) dedicated its new apiary, or bee colony, on the Grayslake Campus Sept. 20. Members of the CLC Board of Trustees used hedge-trimming shears to cut an interwoven “ribbon” of goldenrod and other plants to …

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U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officers and Partners Seize 132 Drums of Illegally Imported Chinese Honey

Posted December 1, 2016

U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officers and Partners Seize 132 Drums of Illegally Imported Chinese Honey

MIAMI – On Aug. 12, Import Specialists from the Miami based Agriculture & Prepared Products Center of Excellence & Expertise (APP Center) in collaboration with U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP) Officers and Special Agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Chicago, seized around 42 tons of illegally imported …

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White ash (Oleaceae)

Fraxinus Americana male flowers

Posted December 1, 2016

White ash (Oleaceae)

Scientific name: Fraxinus americana Synonyms: Fraxinus biltmoreana Origin: North America Plant description: Fraxinus americana is a large tree generally in the range of 15 to 24 m (~50 to 79 ft high) and 60 to 100 cm (~24in to 39 in) in diameter. It can, however, be somewhat larger. Dirr[4] indicates that the national champion …

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Summer Swarms Are Far More Frequent: Our Bees Are Changing

summer bee swarm

Posted December 1, 2016

Summer Swarms Are Far More Frequent: Our Bees Are Changing

In previous column articles, I have documented summer usurpation swarms taking over established colonies. As part of my beekeeping management, I even have begun considering mid June through most of September as usurpation season for Piedmont Virginia. Briefly, based on my observations, here is a typical usurpation event, although I admit counter examples could occur. …

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Senescence and Mortality in the Superorganism

honey bee removal

Posted December 1, 2016

Senescence and Mortality in the Superorganism

It’s part of the mythology of beekeeping, a compelling story that we want very much to be true. It comes up in hallway discussions and in the Q&A time after lectures on sustainable beekeeping. It evokes an image of a simpler time when beekeeping wasn’t much more than controlling swarms and supering up for …

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