Wild Bee Decline Threatens US Crop Production

Posted February 1, 2016

Wild Bee Decline Threatens US Crop Production

Following President Obama’s call for pollinator assessment, first-ever national bee map shows much farmland at risk UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT The first national study to map U.S. wild bees suggests they’re disappearing in many of the country’s most important farmlands–including California’s Central Valley, the Midwest’s corn belt, and the Mississippi River valley. If losses of these …

Posted February 1, 2016

U.S Honey Crops and Markets – February 2016

UNITED STATES What kind of weather winter will bring has been anyone’s guess, but long-range forecasts have predicted a continuation of milder weather with short periods of much colder and sometimes snowy conditions. The fall was mostly mild over much of the country, but sometimes quite stormy. The rain was welcome to replenish ground moisture, …

Posted February 1, 2016

Letters to the Editor – February 2016

Metal Tailgate Protector Until a bargain flatbed comes along, I am still working out of my Dodge pickup truck for working 500 hives. I have a plastic bed liner, and frequently work off of the tailgate. While lighting the smoker, usually several times, I balance it on my tailgate, the one with the plastic liner. …

Posted February 1, 2016

Agavaceae – The Century Plant Family

The Agavaceae consists of monocots from dry and warmer parts of both hemispheres.[3] In some references the family is placed in the Liliaceae (the Lily family). There are about 20-23 genera in the family and one reference states that there are 637 species worldwide.[6] In my opinion there seems to be little that is consistent about the family when …

Posted February 1, 2016

The Classroom February 2016

Q Wintering I have always struggled with this: Do I winter my bees in 2-deep boxes or 3-deep boxes? The winters here in Boise, Idaho aren’t full of snow, but they do get cold. Thanks, Mark A The rule of thumb Mark for just about as long since Langstroth equipment was adopted is that you …

Posted February 1, 2016

Thermal Beekeeping: Look Inside a Burning Bee Smoker

Before the bee smoker, beekeepers tried various devices to gain control over the bees while checking the status of the colony. Figure 1 shows an example, and also the hardship beekeepers once endured, with uncontrolled smoke. This large smudge pot hung on the windward side of the hive at top-bar level. The smoke would waft …

Posted February 1, 2016

Cell Use Patterns in the Honey Bee Superorganism

High on the must-know list for a beginning beekeeper is how to read a proper comb pattern. Pull out a brood comb from the middle of a hive body and it will look something like this: a concentric series with brood in the middle, an arc of pollen above it, and the rest of the …

Posted February 1, 2016

Colony Level Thermoregulation and the Honey Bee Dance Language

In recent months, I have spent significant time writing about various aspects of the biology of honey bees. The articles included the members of a honey bee colony (June 2015), the components of a honey bee nest (July 2015), the external (August 2015) and internal (September 2015) anatomy of the honey bee, the tasks of …

Posted February 1, 2016

My New Two-Queen Hive Design

It is late fall at this writing. We are already shopping for Christmas and Thanksgiving has arrived. It is a new year and as always we beekeepers are optimistic about the coming prospects of honey production. Maybe you also produce propolis, queens, nucleus colonies or beeswax and candles. We must have hive products to make …

Posted February 1, 2016

February 2016

Surviving without Treatments: Lessons from Wild Bees Leo Sharashkin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . …

Wild Bee Decline Threatens US Crop Production

Posted February 1, 2016