It was an unusual season here in Michigan, and I know that this is true elsewhere. Here a few of many observations I made: Spring came early Very early spring weather, following a relatively mild winter, produced some enormously strong colonies in March and April. After a very warm period in March we had a …
Read MoreIn the previous article, we examined the W. T. Falconer Manufacturing Company. In 1890 the factory was in Falconer, New York and shown in their catalog (see Figure 1). The picture of the factory had several features indicating a thriving production of beehives. The buildings had active smoke stacks implying busy production. In the foreground, …
Read MoreSince January in this column I have been telling an evolutionary history of the honey bee we all know and love. In June I explained that daughter bees even in highly-related families can still be predicted to act selfishly, that is, lay their own eggs and abandon work for the colony. But this kind of …
Read MoreWorker honey bees are marvelous creatures. These females could have been queens, had their older sisters simply fed them more food while they were developing as larvae. The amount and quality of diet they were fed while young were the only things separating them from royalty. If they had been a queen, they could have …
Read MoreComment THE COST OF QUEENS I wonder if you have any thoughts on the insanity of current queen prices? This morning I was pricing around and it seems we’re up to 40 – 45 dollars for a single queen. This is madness! Don’t tell me how much a good queen is worth – I’ve had …
Read MoreKeeping colonies alive in winter has become more difficult since the advent of Varroa destructor. I also believe that we now have tropical African genetics in all of our bees. These characteristics are recognizable. Some bees are extremely defensive and more prone to swarm or abscond. One thing about these tropical bees, they do not …
Read MoreLast month we reviewed some of the history of Varroa destructor in the United States, as well as some of the mite-tolerant stocks available within the country. In this article we will review some of the integrated pest management (IPM) concepts in current use in the Americas. IPM is not a new concept, since it …
Read MoreResearchers discover process bees use to protect their offspring Arizona State University Tempe, Ariz. — When it comes to vaccinating their brood, bees don’t have a choice — they naturally immunize their offspring against specific diseases found in their environments. And now for the first time, scientists have discovered how they do it. Researchers from Arizona …
Read MoreStudy by UC Riverside entomologist and colleagues shows flowers serve as parasite-dispersing hubs University of California – Riverside RIVERSIDE, Calif. – Despite their beauty, flowers can pose a grave danger to bees by providing a platform of parasites to visiting bees, a team of researchers has determined. “Flowers are hotspots for parasite spread between and …
Read MoreSome members of the Hydrophyllaceae or Borginaceae1 Phacelia, facelia, lacy phacelia, fiddle neck, scorpion weed, valley vervenia, blue tansy or purple tansy. Scientific name: Phacelia tanacetifolia Origin: North America, basically western North America and possibly to some extent south of the U. S. Southern border. Plant description: Phacelia tanacetifolia is a 15-100 cm (5.9-39.4 in) annual. The stems are erect …
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