The Beekeeper’s Companion Since 1861
American Bee Journal Volume 166 No. 2 February 2026 Cover Callouts: The Tremble Dance: A Hidden Language - 153, honey bees search for sodium - 193, iNaturlaist on the Apiary -147

Comparing Two-queen Colony Management Methods

Horizontal two-queen hive configuration. The top super was half full so I added two more supers.
Posted August 1, 2016

Comparing Two-queen Colony Management Methods

There have been a few inquiries regarding two-queen systems since my last article. There are several methods of making a two-queen colony. Some others may be more productive than the horizontal method to which I am committed. Most two-queen systems have extracted honey production as a goal. Double-queen systems date back many years. Farrar reported …

Read More

Other Stressors of Honey Bee Colonies

Posted August 1, 2016

Other Stressors of Honey Bee Colonies

As a follow-up to my last article, I will continue to discuss the major stressors of honey bee colonies. I covered the main biotic stressors (pest, pathogen, predator, parasite) of honey bee colonies in my July article. Now, I will discuss the other major stressors of honey bee colonies: managed-related stressors, nutrition, queen-related stressors, and …

Read More

Picking Apart the Waggle Dance

Posted August 1, 2016

Picking Apart the Waggle Dance

It’s hard to write a biology of the honey bee and not pause to linger over the waggle dance – one of the most celebrated examples of animal communication and a window into all sorts of questions about the honey bee’s evolution and modern functioning as a superorganism. Indeed, the waggle dance figures prominently in …

Read More

How to Mark Queen Bees with No Runs, Drips, or Errors

An unmarked queen hiding in a comb depression.
Posted August 1, 2016

How to Mark Queen Bees with No Runs, Drips, or Errors

Marking a queen with a dot of paint on her thorax is important in several ways. Queen marking makes the queen easier to find in a colony, particularly in a large populous colony, and sometimes when a queen hides (see Figure 1). The color code indicates the birth year of the queen (see below). When …

Read More

California Buckwheat

Erigonum fasciculatum ex lospilitas
Posted August 1, 2016

California Buckwheat

California buckwheat, Eastern Mojave buckwheat, Wild buckwheat, Flat-top, Flat-top wild buckwheat Scientific name: Eriogonum fasciculatum. (Family Polygonaceae) To this writer, trained as an entomologist, the genus Eriogonum appears to be a large and complex genus.  In the Flora of North America[9] (1991),  J.L. Reveal lists 224 American species, many having several varieties. The 2012 Jepson …

Read More

August 2016

Posted August 1, 2016

August 2016

International Honey Market Ron Phipps………………………………………………………………………………………871 A Study of the Causes of Falling Honey Prices in the International Market Norberto L. Garcia…………………………………………………………………………….877 How to Keep Honey from Granulating before Extracting Ron Miksha…………………………………………………………………………………….899 Why Did My Honey Bees Die Last Winter? Meghan Milbrath……………………………………………………………………………….907 Understanding Colony Buildup and Decline—Part 13b—The Winter Continued Randy Oliver…………………………………………………………………………………..911 Jim Cherry’s Life Has …

Read More

Why Did My Honey Bees Die Last Winter?

large brood nest frame dead honeybees
Posted August 1, 2016

Why Did My Honey Bees Die Last Winter?

Getting Ready for Winter 2016-2017 Introduction Beekeepers in northern climates lost a lot of colonies last winter (2015-2016). Some trends are starting to emerge. One of these trends is a specific type of colony death. In Michigan, I’ve received so many calls describing the scenario below, that I can describe the dead-out before opening the …

Read More

August 2016 Cover

American Bee Journal August 2016 Cover
Posted August 1, 2016

August 2016 Cover

C.F. Wengenroth of Fairfield, CT sent this wonderful photo of a queen and her court.  Read his Letter to Editor beginning on page 849.

Read More

Honey Bees More Likely to Regulate Hive’s ‘Thermostat’ During Rapid Temperature Increases

Posted July 1, 2016

Honey Bees More Likely to Regulate Hive’s ‘Thermostat’ During Rapid Temperature Increases

Honey bees use their wings to cool down their hives when temperatures rise, but new University of Colorado Boulder research shows that this intriguing behavior may be linked to both the rate of heating and the size of a honey bee group. The findings, which were recently published in the journal Animal Behaviour, indicate that …

Read More

Nation’s Beekeepers Lost 44 Percent of Bees in 2015-16

ABJ Extra July 2016
Posted July 1, 2016

Nation’s Beekeepers Lost 44 Percent of Bees in 2015-16

  Summer losses rival winter losses for the second year running Beekeepers across the United States lost 44 percent of their honey bee colonies during the year spanning April 2015 to April 2016, according to the latest preliminary results of an annual nationwide survey. Rates of both winter loss and summer loss—and consequently, total annual …

Read More

VIEW SITE MAP