Plain Talk Beekeeping March 2024 – Problem Bee Packages – Sometimes things just don’t go right

Posted March 1, 2024

Plain Talk Beekeeping March 2024 – Problem Bee Packages – Sometimes things just don’t go right

When package installation goes correctly Last month, I discussed some topics relating to hauling honey bee packages from the producer to the customer. The package bees have already been through an ordeal by the time the beekeeper acquires them. After the point of transfer from producer to customer, a second bevy of problems and challenges …

Posted March 1, 2024

FLORIDA BEEKEEPERS SEEK SUPPORT FOR “SAVE THE BEES” LICENSE PLATE

Floridians have the opportunity to provide funds for honey bee research with the purchase of a new Florida Specialty license plate, “Save the Bees.” The Florida Legislature authorized the Florida State Beekeepers license plate, “Save the Bees,” but the plate will not go into production unless …

Posted March 1, 2024

VERMONT BEEKEEPERS REBUKE AG AGENCY’S ASSESSMENT THAT THE INDUSTRY IS IN GOOD HEALTH

Vermont has not, in fact, saved the bees, according to Jeff Battaglini, president of the Vermont Beekeepers Association. Rather, he said the industry is struggling with significant losses that are becoming harder and harder to recover from. by Emma Cotton January 8, 2024, 6:29 pm On Sunday, the president of the Vermont Beekeepers …

Posted March 1, 2024

Letters to the Editor

Glutamate-stimulating Drugs Not Approved for Apicultural Use I enjoyed reading “Honey Bee Genetics Affect Foraging Behaviors” by Lori Thomas and Rodney Ewing [December 2023]. It is an excellent synopsis of research on scout bees conducted in my laboratory led by former graduate student Z. Sophia Liang, now a research scientist at Harvard University. I was, …

Posted March 1, 2024

Contents- March 2024

International Honey Market Report Ron Phipps 241 Division of Labor in a Colony: Who does What? Part 1: Early life and the teenage days Kayla deJong 261 The Lowdown on Louisville: NAHBE 2024 Tina Sebestyen 265 All the Jazz about Bees: ABF 2024 Karen J. Nielsen Lorence 269 Experimenting with Formic Acid …

Posted March 1, 2024

ABJ MARCH 2024 COVER

Evening blue: Beautifully painted hives complement a beautifully painted sky, in this sunset photo taken by Denise Roesler-Cunningham of Robertsville, Missouri.

Posted February 1, 2024

The Classroom – February 2024

Q Oxalic acid chemistry I would like to know if the oxalic acid treatment involves a liquid phase before vaporization or if oxalic acid sublimes, going directly from solid to vapor. I am not a chemist, and there is a lot of confusion on this topic in the available information. Marie-Hélène Majeau Québec, November A …

Posted February 1, 2024

Honey Extractors of the 1870’s: Part 2

Honey extractors evolved in America as the fledgling apiculture industry began to see the value of these machines. To understand that historical development from primary sources, I collect honey extractors, study them, and search how their original design functioned in the old bee literature. I had to find one important design: an 1870s Novice Honey …

Posted February 1, 2024

Notes from the Lab – February 2024

In last month’s column I described how the current pesticide risk assessment process for pollinators is inadequate in the United States, Europe, and other areas. I used the word “inadequate” because we know that pesticides are currently contributing to annual honey bee colony losses and declines of wild pollinators. In this month’s column I’m going …

Posted February 1, 2024

Spring Colony Buildup – And the Hygge Method of Late-winter Hive Rescue

By now, you’re either itching to get out to your bee yard, or you’re cuddled up cozy with no desire to brave the elements. While the sun rises and sets, the days are getting longer, and Baby New Year brood is emerging. If you haven’t yet performed your first inspection of 2024, now is the …

Plain Talk Beekeeping March 2024 – Problem Bee Packages – Sometimes things just don’t go right

Posted March 1, 2024