Which Honey Comb Races are Best for Comb Honey Production?

Posted December 1, 2015

Which Honey Comb Races are Best for Comb Honey Production?

The many different races of bees are a result of natural selection for adaptation to geographic locations throughout the world. The naturally selected traits do little to make bees well adapted to modern beekeeping economics. There are many distinct geographic races. Only a few have been introduced into the Western Hemisphere. We will examine the …

Posted December 1, 2015

Honey Bee Biology

We see bees in visible light, comprising the colors of the rainbow. As we will see, there is another way to observe bees using heat. Bees as small creatures have a lot of surface area for heat loss or gain, relative to the volume of their bodies. In flight, a bee produces a considerable amount …

Posted December 1, 2015

Comb Building in the Honey Bee Superorganism

It’s no wonder that we call ants, wasps, termites, and honey bees social insects. It’s as plain as can be. What beekeeper has not marveled at the teeming thousands of colony members toiling away at their respective tasks – all for the common good. It has every appearance of a society, including specialization, cooperation, and …

Posted December 1, 2015

Mating Biology of Honey Bees

A few years ago, I had the distinct pleasure of meeting Drs. Niko and Gudrun Koeniger. Dr. Niko Koeniger is the former head of the German bee research institute in Oberursel, Germany and professor of biology at the Goethe University in Frankfurt. Dr. Gudrun Koeniger worked as a research scientist and editor of the international …

Posted December 1, 2015

Honey Bee Communication and Behavior

If you wish to investigate a frustratingly difficult problem, the communication of eusocial insects will not disappoint you. Multiple specialized glands produce a variety of sensory stimulation chemical compounds in ants, bees and wasps. These molecular concoctions can and do relate different signals to stimulate various activities and behaviors. The different compounds can be used …

Posted December 1, 2015

DECEMBER 2015

Mapping the Apis Species William Blomstedt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . …

Posted December 1, 2015

Beekeeping By the Numbers

One advantage beekeepers have over those who raise or manage mammals and birds is the tremendous reproductive power of the bee hive. While there are huge losses reported in survey results indicating that many beekeepers lose many bee colonies every winter (or their local equivalent, such as a nectar dearth), one unique aspect of bee …

Posted December 1, 2015

Holiday Dining Along the Danube

The winding, picturesque Danube River begins its journey from its headwaters in the Black Forest at Donaueschingen, Germany as two little streams merge to become Europe’s second longest river. The Danube slices through mountains, forests, farmlands, vineyards and floodplains, touching countless villages, cities and the countries of Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Croatia, Serbia, …

Posted December 1, 2015

DECEMBER 2015 Cover

Bill and Mary Weaver write about the Honl commercial beekeeping business operating out of Minnesota and Texas in this issue beginning on page 1323. The business prides itself on operating as a family-run operation.

Posted December 1, 2015

Beekeeping for Profit

Most of the people I know who keep honey bees do it to make money. Many started out looking for something to do, an activity that would benefit the the garden, help the environment, and provide them with a needed activity. But somewhere along the way they found out that they could make money from …

Which Honey Comb Races are Best for Comb Honey Production?

Posted December 1, 2015